Commodity: Content, UX and Organization of North American Expat Social Website By Lauren Sternberg University of Greenwich February 18, 2016

“The Expat Rec Room” ideas:

What is a “rec room?” From Wikipedia: A recreation room (also known as a rec room, rumpus room, or ruckus room) is a room used for a variety of purposes, such as parties, games and other everyday or casual use. The term is common in the United States, Australia and Canada, but is less common in the United Kingdom where the preferred term is games room. Often children and teenagers entertain their friends in the rec room, which is often located in the basement, away from the main living areas of the house. Usually it is a larger space than a living room to have the ability to serve multiple purposes and entertain moderately large groups.

Concept (revised): A humorous, social-themed website filled with resources and events for American and Canadian expatriates living in England. Main items will include: –A calendar on the front page –a navigation –photos from past events –a search function –“about us” section – blog with multiple authors – embedded twitter feed on front page – humor! – entertaining/entertainment Canadian/American-style

Navigation Elements 1.About Us 2.[What you should know] *better item title sought 3.At the Pub 4.Making Friends & Dating 5.Entertaining/Entertainment 6.Blog 7.Social Media links

Calendar *tabs to show two different calendars - London /Manchester* –Color-coding to show which events are sponsored by North American Expats in London Social Group and The London Canadian Expat Meetup Group –Color-coding to show which are hosted by related groups –Color-coding to show which events would be of interest to Americans and Canadians living in England

Calendar (continued) –Specifically: Canadian Expats in London * American Expats in London * UK Texas Exes * Canadian LGBT Monthly Meetup Americans in Manchester (UK) Facebook Group General events in London that may be of interest * American-themed events * Canadian-themed events *

“About Us” The people who run the social group: Lauren (founder) & Richie as leaders; Sari, John, Jon, Dane, and Anna as Facebook admins. Will include photos and bios. The leader of the Canadian Expat group, Dave Our history Photo gallery: happy hours, Memorial Day, 4 th of July, Canada Day, Labor Day

At the Pub drink names (“Screwdriver” = “Vodka Orange”) drink sizes ( it’s “free pour” in the US!) people will look at you funny if you say... the non-verbal  terminology

Making Friends & Dating dating culture terminology (“fit” and “fancy”) faux pas general chatter progression of romantic relationship possibly a separate area for more mature discussion marrying a British citizen

Entertaining/Entertainment Where to get Canadian & American- style takeout Where to buy Canadian & American- style food (online) Where to buy American & Canadian style food (in stores) North American comedians/comedy shows Country music venues

Technical Website will be in American English with dd-MON-year format (to eliminate confusion between American & European/Canadian date format) Website will have icons Accessibility to screenreaders (tags) Color accessibility

Target Audience American Expats living in England Canadian Expats living in England post-university age, approx early 20s to early 40s Those who do not have children Brits who wish to understand American & Canadian culture Brits who have lived in North America, repatriated back to the UK and want to continue to enjoy American and Canadian culture

Timeline Survey writing, collection (3 weeks) Event info from outside groups (throughout) Further research into culture (2 weeks) Generating further content (throughout) Event information (throughout) Building (starting in March/April) Testing with group admins (late August/Sept)

Generating Further Content social resource for expats, created by expats through surveys through contacts with similar groups through further research/readings through blogs guest bloggers event photos