Idea: Emails sent when new projects posted

[Steve Thomas]

You could sign up for once a daily digest or perhaps one email per project posted/updated. 

Once setup you could send out an email to the squeakland list with an opt-in link in the email (or two: Opt In for: daily digest or each post)

Sample Email below:

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 New Projects in Showcase

Name That Number Bingo  (2010-Oct-02 2:30 EDT) by Mr. Steve <mrsteve>  A game to help kids find multiple ways to represet a number and realize a number is all the ways you name it.

 Updated Projects in Showcase

How Many Pizzas SIMP  (2010-Oct-01 9:41 EDT) by Carlos Rabassa - Version simplificada del projecto original con más explicaciones. <carlos>  Cuantas pizzas puedo comprar con $920

Etoys in the News and in the Classroom

Etoys launches into "Modeling and Simulating NASA's Launch Abort System" has been written by Randy Caton.

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I created an issue with in tracker: http://tracker.squeakland.org/browse/SQ-847

For those with HTML mail it could look like this:

New Projects Posted today:

Stephen

[Carlos y Nenny Rabassa]

Steve,

My personal preference as far as the method to become aware of new projects would be almost what we already have.

My suggestion would be that when we open the showcase,  we see all projects in order of date,  most recent first.

Showing them by rank,  shows always the same ones.

There are enough new projects,  and with time there should be more,  to make it interesting to check the showcase each time we are in the mood to look at new projects.

If you are busy with something else when you first notice an interesting project,  you may come back a few days later and very easily check the showcase again.

If the project you wanted to see and didn´t have the time,  is no longer the first in the list,  you know it will still be close to the top.

The email sounds easy but chances are it will arrive at a time when you are not in the mood or not have the time to check a new project.

In my case,  which I imagine is quite common,  when I look at a list of new emails, even if the list is not too long because I usually check them frequently,  I see all kinds of messages competing for my attention,  messages written specifically for me by someone I know, messages from lists I subscribe to,  newspapers and,  still have to take a quick look to those classified by the computer as spam,  some go to that folder but are not spam.

I did mention recently an idea that maybe was not properly expressed:

Try to create in forums conversation about projects,  new or old.

People ask questions.

You might remember a project by you or someone else that illustrates the point raised by the question.

You might like to create a new project to illustrate your answer.

One of the viewers might offer a challenge you want to accept,  either an open challenge to everyone or a specific one to you as the author of a project.

If I recall correctly I once posted a "mathematical challenge" that produced,  in my opinion,  most interesting results,  with projects from Randy Caton and from yourself as well as others from other forums.

When I finally fix al the problems I had recently,  the "HowManyPizzas" series is a response to about four other individuals,  from three countries, Chile, Ecuador and Uruguay,  each one trying to find a way to solve a problem someone proposed.  

Solutions were offered using SocialCalc, TurtleArt, Scratch and Etoys.

There are many interesting discussions on the side,  not strictly about the projects themselves.

Carlos Rabassa

Volunteer

Plan Ceibal Support Network

Montevideo, Uruguay