Drew Cogbill | Thesis Blog

Pigeon is now available in Spanish.  I’m not exactly a Spanish expert, so if you hear any problems let me know.

The translation and recording wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Kevin and Venessa!

Pigeon now has an official online home: callpigeon.com.  There’s general information about the system, and you can also sign up for an account.

Check it out and let me know if you have any thoughts.

Pigeon now cues up your unheard messages first and tells you which messages are unheard when listening to your contact’s Pigeon messages.  Let me know if you have any problems with this.

Very soon, Pigeon will tell you as soon as you log in if you have any unheard Pigeon messages from your contacts.

Jordan Carver has been kind enough to let me use his Pigeon Typeface!

Pigeon now allows you to remove contacts from your flock.  Currently, you need to know the Pigeon number of the contact you would like to remove.  In the future, it may also be nice to simply read out the names of a member’s contacts and say if that is the person they would like to remove.

“Flock” language is also beginning to be integrated.

I’ve been considering what language should be used when describing adding contacts on Pigeon.  When you add a contact, you are able to hear their Pigeon messages and they are able to hear your Pigeon messages.  Users have been confused in the past about what exactly happens when they add a contact; more precise language or a clearer analogy through the words could help users more quickly understand the functionality of Pigeon.

I did a mind map of things related and this is how things broke down:

Print words

• broadcast
• subscribe

Communication words

• send and receive
• exchange
• trade
• correspond

Bird words

• flight, flock, kit (what groups of Pigeons are called)
• route (as in a carrier pigeon’s)

Physical space words

• drawer
• closet
• space
• locker

Other words

• pipeline
• cue/Q

I think, perhaps, I’m most attracted to ‘flock’, as in “to add someone to your flock, dial their Pigeon number now.”  This isn’t really clear though.  Maybe the answer is just to say “by adding a contact, you will be able to hear their Pigeon message and they will be able to hear you Pigeon message.”  Or maybe a combo: “by adding a contact to your flock, you will be able to hear their Pigeon message and they will be able to hear yours?”

Also, I need to make it clear that you add one contact at a time.

(As a side note, yes, Harry Potter Owl Post appears in my mind map.)

We’re more gold now, and the pigeon outline is changing.

Both at sign in and sign up, some members have been having problems when not all of their dialed digits are accepted or perhaps they mis-dial. I’ve been working on catching these errors.

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There’s a new voice of Pigeon - mine. This is definitely a temporary solution. I’m looking to record in better quality with some voice talent soon. Let me know if you have any problems or can’t understand anything.