Technology is constantly advancing and has been developing faster than ever. There are countless applications of how platforms enhance our lives and make every day easier. Unfortunately, they're not always around when we feel like we could have used them the most. They take time to develop and are often launched on different timelines. These two below are most likely the ones that would have provided me the most utility to manage my high school's tennis team more effectively, while strengthening the relationship between the student-athletes.
The features of Knowpia would have made assisted managing the tennis team much easier from a systematic standpoint. The platform acting as a fundraising alternative, having integrated social media feeds, and offering a free splash page, just to name a few of the many features. Knowpia is an up-and-developing platform, hosting both pedia and media sections. It'll offer compensation for the content shared, as well as the rights to that content by the contributor. It operates on a decentralized system, self-governed and monitored by the public individuals.
Knowpia
| Feature | Concern | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Fundraising Alternative | Fundraisers were sometimes difficult to put together and execute, often involving a service or product most individuals didn't need (e.g. car wash, restaurant promotion cards). | Team members could have been encouraged to post opinionated or factual content, thus removing the need to plan and the resources for an all-day event. |
| Integrated Social Media Feed | Social media platforms were beginning to increase in popularity during that time, but lacked a platform that could pull all the posts and announcements to a single feed on a page. | The integrated feed would have helped decrease the likeliness that followers miss any updates, making it easier to traffic attention to one page for their convenience as well. |
| Free Splash Page | Having a website meant recurring payments to maintain, and it didn't seem necessary at the time to create one for the team. | Looking back in hindsight, a free web page would have been a plus and would have also allowed us to bring greater awareness to the school about the matches/tournaments, fundraising activities, and roster. |
TikTok may have offered some internal benefits to help rally the team from any game losses the team experienced. TikTok is a video-sharing platform where individuals or groups are able to record short videos that contained brief dances, comedy, talent, or lip-syncs. It can be thought of as one of the many outlets that allow people to express themselves.
TikTok
| Feature | Concern | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Team Bonding | The tennis team was always a proud group and any loss was taken very seriously, often taking a few days or practices to fully recover from. | The team occasionally collaborating and recording some short videos could have enhanced the team bond, and helped keep the overall atmosphere generally warmer and more relaxed despite any game shortcomings. |
| Peer Engagement | A handful of school club/sports were always well-known because of their popularity (e.g. basketball, football, baseball, soccer, volleyball), and many other org's - including tennis - naturally had less student-awareness about them. | Using TikTok may have helped engage other students to take interest and become more curious about the tennis team's activities, especially if the team were to take part in the numerous viral dance trends. |
Other platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter have all grown from when they first launched and have influenced different groups'/organizations' success. Which platforms are you using now and how are you optimizing them for your school, work, business, or yourself?
