Burst
Comparative News-reading Application
Final Undergraduate Degree Project
January to May 2017
The Social Media Filter Bubble is the phenomenon where users of social networking sites will typically only be exposed to news and opinions that largely reflect their own views. The task was to find a way to show articles containing alternative views to the user, in an attempt to show that the news that is often pushed onto them may not always be as it seems.
The result was 'Burst', an application that allows users to easily compare two articles on the same story. By default, the top two sources will be displayed, with an option to view what lesser known sources have to say as well.
A very important aspect of the application was usability. It was felt that if the interaction to view the alternative news story was too complex, it may deter them from doing so. To prevent this from happening, the alternative story is instantly accessible by swiping across the screen.
FEATURES OF BURST
ARTICLE VIEWER - For the slickest user interaction possible, Burst loads all articles within the application, rather than linking to external websites. To switch between multiple articles on the same story, all that is needed is a simple swipe. The user can even choose specific articles that they would like to compare side by side.
PUSH NOTIFICATIONS - Push Notifications for Burst can be enabled to allow the application to constantly engage with the user throughout the day. Notifications can be set to inform when one of the user's alternative sources has posted an article, encouraging them to burst their filter bubble.
SMART CATEGORIES - Burst has individual categories for important news, such as Politics, Health, Education and more. There is also dual-location capability to see the news closest to home and at another place of your choice. Finally, BURST detects popular political topics at the time, creating a temporary category for these, so you can easily keep up to date with the latest events.
SOCIAL FEATURES - There are options to link Burst with your Facebook and Twitter accounts, meaning that even without opening the application, Burst can still suggest alternative articles for those you read on social media. It's never been easier to burst the filter bubble.
USER CUSTOMISATION - Burst encourages the user to select the news sources that they typically read, allowing the application to find appropriate sources to show as a comparison. The user can also select the topics of news they would like to read, with these then being given priority on the 'Top News' page.
VISUAL DESIGN - Each category has a strong defining colour, with the visual structure of the application inspired by current trends in UI design for news-based applications.
