Innovative Design – My improved product is a social media app that works based on location. There would be no follower system for accounts, as well as no rating system for posts. It would work much like a community message board, allowing users to interact with people around their community and in their general area. A large part of the app would be including support for community projects that anyone on the app could sign up for right there.

Upgraded Criteria – The criteria that I chose to focus on is Group Dynamics. I feel that a large problem with current social media is that it can be extremely isolating. We as a planet have never been more connected, and yet feelings of loneliness and isolation have been on a steady rise. As someone who has struggled with the isolating aspects of social media, it’s very important to me that the social media of the future has a heavy emphasis on building community and lifting people out of isolation instead of continuing on our current course. The removal of any type of follower or rating functions in my app would encourage people to interact with others without worrying about likes or followers, creating deeper and more meaningful connections.

Supportive Context – My hope with an app like this would be that people begin to see the harms of more traditional social media and would begin to move away from it. This could be an unrealistic goal though, due to how engrained things like Instagram and Twitter are in our world. If I could not get people to switch social media, I would at least hope that my app would be used in conjunction with other social media in order to help people be more well rounded in the digital sphere.

Weigh Costs – I expect that the costs for an app like this would be fairly low. An app like this would have no more of an environmental cost than any other app. I also think that because the app is based on your location, it would be easier to save money on servers, which would also lessen the environmental impact. There is no real cost to people that I can think of associated with my app, as it would be designed to be non-addictive and to create a sense of community. Another good thing about my app is that even if someone did not use it, they would still be able to see its effects as a large component of the app would be encouraging community projects and collaborations.