Socialising Aircraft Pilots

[Admin]

Hi All

 

Over the coming days you will see some experimenting with "Socialising" Aircraft Pilots. What we are doing is trying/testing different elements of changing the concept of the site "Forums" into "Community"

 

What you will see at various times is the testing of an Aircraft Pilots "Social" Bar. This displays across the bottom of your screen and will contain Social elements for site users if they so choose.

 

The final result will be an Aircraft Pilots Social Bar that users will be able to choose to display the Social Bar or completely turn it off.

 

We are trying different ones to ascertain the best way to "Socialise" the site between users. We know that some users have Facebook, twitter and other Social Networks and some don't. Some users use Instant Messaging like Skype, MSN etc and some don't. What we would like to provide you is a way to leverage of these social environments for you here on Aircraft Pilots...if you want to, if not then you will have the option in your site settings to turn it on or off at any time.

 

There are 3 elements we are looking into:

 

- A 1 to 1 Instant Chat with popup invite system triggered by icons next to a user's name (we tried one but there were far too many issues)

 

- An instant 1 to 1 chat and social bar across the bottom of the screen - the user can select to display or not but if not selected then it will prevent access to any social activities like Chat Room, 1 to 1 instant chat etc

 

- A combination of both a 1 to 1 Instant Chat with popup invite system triggered by icons next to a user's name and a social bar across the bottom of the screen that the user can select to use or not but still allows for the 1 to 1 Instant Chat

 

PLEASE, your comments are greatly appreciated

 

 

[Admin]

The first one that we have been testing with good results purely as a 1 to 1 Instant Messaging system is this:

 

In the bottom right corner of the screen there is the instant chat with other site users option showing the number of users currently on-line:

 

 

Clicking this displays all the users and what country they are from. In there clicking the "Chat" link will start a 1 to 1 instant conversation with that user:

 

 

The other user will see a popup notifier that another user would like to have an instant chat with:

 

 

An instant chat instance will start and you can chat to each other about anything. If you want to invite another user (a 3rd, 4th etc) to the chat, you can simply click and drag their username from the right box into your current chat box:

 

 

You can click the title bar of the chat box to minimise which will leave the conversation open whilst you browse the site or ???. At the very end of the conversation you simply click the "Close" indicator and the chat instance will end and close the chat box.

 

Note, you can have many instant chats going at the same time.

 

 

You can also hover your mouse over a username and a popup user info box appears. From here you can go to the user's profile or start an instant chat with them.

 

 

Note, this system does also provide a General Chat Room function however I have disabled it as we already have our more powerful Chat Room with video, file sharing, whiteboard etc.

 

Well there you have the first of several options we are testing for you here at Aircraft Pilots. Ultimately, you will decide what you feel is best so it will all depend on your comments that you make here in this thread as we test each alternative solution.

 

(envolve)

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

Ian, the one-on-one instant chat is a great idea. I had an instant chat with Kyle comm yesterday and it worked well. As a community chat it was just getting too busy, and we do have the other chat site as you mentioned. Instant chat is easy to access and use, gee I almost had a chat with Corrine even, but you sent her away to peel spuds !!...............Maj...

 

 

[Admin]

Thanks Maj, this option 1 is the most expensive but I am very impressed with it so far. The only issues I find with it is that it is just limited to the chat and not more "Socialising" like the other options you will soon see. The other limiting aspect with this one is that it locks the bottom of the screen to just a chat function...two of the other options we will be testing will allow for a "Social Bar" across the bottom, that users can turn on or off, that can be used together with a Chat Icon driven system...an icon appears next to a user's name on the site to initiate a 1 to 1 chat function.

 

There are pros and cons of each one and hopefully there will be enough user comments in this thread to help make the right decision based on what you all want or not want.

 

 

[Admin]

Ok, here is option 2 that I have turned on for your testing and thoughts.

 

It is cheaper then Option 1 and is more of a Social Bar with many components that can be added to it, it's more versatile and a bit more "modern" looking:

 

 

It can have a bar that stretches across the entire bottom of your screen or it can be collapsed into just a little component in the bottom right corner:

 

 

When it is collapsed, clicking the up arrow on it will display all the different components of it anyway:

 

 

The bar can have a variety of components that are called "apps" which I can add to it or remove from it...here is one that provides an announcements box (I know we already have an Announcements forum but this is just to demonstrate an app)

 

 

Another app is a poll where we can add polls if we wanted to...again just demonstrating

 

 

The "Socialising" of Aircraft Pilots comes in with the different Social Media apps for those that use some form of Social Media. Here is the Facebook one by clicking the Facebook app on the Social Bar...there is also a "Tweet" app and Google +1 social app. We can also have a snapshot of the videos on our YouTube Wall for sharing:

 

 

The Instant Chat function shows the currently logged in and appearing online users for you to click one if you wish to have an instant 1 to 1 chat with:

 

 

Starting an instant chat pops up a chat box on your screen ready for you to start typing...the same appears on the receiver end showing that someone has invited them to have an instant chat...to decline the chat the receiver would just close the chat box by clicking the red close X on the top right corner of the instant chat box:

 

 

The instant chat box displays the comments that you make with a background colour to distinguish between the two comments plus there is also a smilie box that you can use to set the mood of any comment in the instant chat:

 

 

The Social bar also has an app that displays on a Google map the locations of current logged on users plus a list of the most popular places on the site that users are going to:

 

 

So there is a brief outline of Option 2 of the Aircraft Pilots Socialising options that we are testing...naturally we want to do this properly in a way that you prefer and we can only do that by basing our decision on which way to go on your comments that you make in this thread. So please, let us know your comments and help us to help you...thanks

 

(skysa)

 

 

[Admin]

Hi All

 

Well, this is option 3 in our testing phase to bring you a "Socialised" Aircraft Pilots site.

 

To recap there are two objectives:

 

1. Provide an easy to use 1 to 1 Instant Chat function on the site so users can create 1 to 1 live chats with other users and suppliers
    
    
   
2. To provide a means for those that are into the different social media entities like Facebook, Twitter etc to engage in the use of these social mediums whilst on the site but also provide for users that are NOT into these to be able to simply "turn off" the social media functions
    
    
   

 

 

We have tested a 1 to 1 instant chat only function (Option 1) that lays at the bottom right corner of your screen. We have tested a 1 to 1 chat function that also has some social media interaction that displays as a bar across the bottom of the screen (Option 2).

 

Now, we are testing Option 3 which is purely a Social Media Bar across the bottom of the screen but does NOT have instant chat...it is purely a Social Bar. The Social Bar, if accepted, will be on by default to logged in users. Users can have it across the bottom of their screen or minimise it to just a little box in the right bottom corner. Users will also be able to completely turn the whole darn thing off by a setting that we would place in the user settings page "Use Social Bar" - Yes/No.

 

Live 1 to 1 Chat in this scenario would be provided by placing a little icon next to a user's name so another user can click the icon and an instant chat would start. The application we would probably use for the instant chat would be this one:

 

http://www.flashcoms.com/products/site_messenger/overview/

 

If you have a look at that one you can by using two internet browsers try their demo of the application on their website to get an idea of how good it is.

 

So here is Option 3...The Pure Social Bar...

 

The Social bar displays across the bottom of your screen and like the others follows you at the bottom throughout the site when you are logged in:

 

 

Or you can minimise it to just the bottom right corner and out of the way by clicking the down arrow at the right hand end of the bar:

 

 

Many of the elements of the Social Bar require you to log in to one or more of your social accounts. For example to create a whole list of bookmarks either on our site or other web sites, you need to first log in to your social account:

 

 

Once logged in to your social account(s) you can start to use many of the other features...here is the Bookmarks box that displays all your bookmarks:

 

 

You can update your status posting to your walls on your social sites either on just one or all of them at the same time: (this example shows me being logged in to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn)

 

 

Using another element of the Social Bar, you can post something directly onto the Aircraft Pilots Wall:

 

 

Or you can Tweet to the Aircraft Pilots Twitter Page, your own Twitter page or use Twitter right here inside Aircraft Pilots:

 

 

You can post directly to LinkedIn, to one of your LinkedIn Groups or Individuals:

 

 

If you use one of the other social media entities or just your own email, you share something using them:

 

 

We can also advise of any special notices like updates to the Social Bar or special rewards etc using the Notification box:

 

 

There are also many other applications that we can place on the Social Bar for you like adding our own Group Chat Room etc.

 

Whilst this Social Bar is cheaper then Options 1 and 2, it doesn't as I said, have the 1 to 1 instant chat so the cost of the Instant Chat Application as a one off purchase is extra making it expensive but comprehensive.

 

Anyway, have a play with this one and PLEASE let me know what you think!

 

(wibiya)

 

 

[Admin]

Here is Option 4 however with this option you are not just limited to using it when you are here on Aircraft Pilots...the Aircraft Pilots Tool Bar.

 

The Aircraft Pilots Tool Bar is a tool bar that you download and install yourself by simply clicking a button. The tool bar is then added to your web browser so no matter where you are on the internet you can make use of direct links to Aircraft Pilots, including the chat room plus all your own social media sites. There are hundreds of different functions you can add to the tool bar yourself, customising it to suit your needs. It has some defaults like the current weather at your location, listen to Air Traffic Control around the country, an automatic email checker, a personal calendar that you can connect to Google Calendar if you use one...much much more.

 

Remember this option allows you to customise the toolbar your self but also you have it wherever you go on the internet...the 1 to 1 Instant Messaging will be handled by icons next to a user's name whilst on the Aircraft Pilots site as in Option 3 above.

 

The thing is, you can download the Aircraft Pilots Tool Bar right now and try it yourself and keep using it irrespective of which option we go for here at Aircraft Pilots. Download the toolbar now from:

 

http://AircraftPilots.OurToolbar.com/

 

So here it is...

 

A Tool Bar that becomes a part of your internet browser window:

 

 

Quick links to any part of the Aircraft Pilots site:

 

 

No matter what web site you are on, you can get both the latest "What's New" and the Aviation News as it happens or check out the Aircraft Pilots Social Pages:

 

 

Again no matter what web site you are on you can participate in group Video/Audio/Text Chat in the drop down Aircraft Pilots Chat Room:

 

 

Listen to ATC while your browsing the internet (with compliments and approval of LiveATC)

 

 

Quickly check your calendar that has alerts or syncs with Google Calendar:

 

 

Use your own Facebook:

 

 

Or your own Twitter:

 

 

See what the weather is doing outside at your location:

 

 

You have the ability to set your own settings for the Aircraft Tool Bar:

 

 

Have a look at all the different components you can place on your Aircraft Pilots Tool Bar yourself, customising it to suit your own needs:

 

http://apps.conduit.com/

 

This option is completely independent of which ever way we go in Socialising Aircraft Pilots however if this is the chosen method, all we will need to do then is to add the 1 to 1 Live Instant Chat which could be either Option 1 or using the Flashcoms Site Messenger product: http://www.flashcoms.com/products/site_messenger/overview/

 

Please let me know your thoughts

 

 

[Admin]

The final option is Option 5 which is a purely dedicated 1 to 1 Live Instant Chat application called Flashcoms Site Messenger. A couple of years ago we used the Flashcoms Video Chat Room software before we changed over to the one we use now.

 

The Flashcoms solution uses little Chat Now icons that are placed next to a user's name so if you want to have an instant live chat with another user on the site, you simply click the chat icon next to their username and they get notified that you want to have an instant 1 to 1 chat with them.

 

The Flashcoms solution also has video, file sharing, drawing etc in a popup chat window. You could use this solution to for example watch a supplier's webcam on how to use a specific product or just simply talk to a manufacturer without any typing if you both have webcams.

 

With this solution there is no bar across the bottom however the pure "SocialBar" of Option 3 or the Aircraft Pilots Tool Bar of Option 4 could also be used which the users can choose to use or not to use.

 

Here are some YouTube videos of the final option of "Socialising" Aircraft Pilots:

 

How It Works:

 

 

So there you have all the best options that I have found to help you to "Socialise" here on Aircraft Pilots along with providing not only some extra great features, but to provide you with an aviation web site that will can meet the so many diverse needs of its users and the ability to communicate instantly with other site users AND with suppliers and manufacturers in the industry all from one single easy to use location.

 

Please, let me know your comments on what has been put forward here on your home of Pilots, Aircraft and Aviation Enthusiasts.