After analyzing the information we gathered at the Alemany Flea Market, our group brainstormed with the aid of dozens of Post-It notes, about the design challenges we noticed at the market. Eventually, we narrowed our focus to fostering a community environment at the Alemany Flea Market and local marketplaces in general.
One of the things that stood out to me the most about the atmosphere of the market was the sense that we did not belong. If the sense of community is indeed one of the advantages of peer to peer interactions over online sales, it certainly did not apply to all who participated in the market. My team members and other classmates who visited the market felt similarly uneasy. Perhaps it was because we were not just ordinary shoppers, but were actually probing into the inner-workings of the market.
In any case, we hoped to make the experience for newcomers less confusing, as well as enhancing the experience for regular buyers and sellers. They way we hoped to achieve this was through a social networking site for buyers and sellers. We saw the Internet as a tool that could potentially strengthen the sense of community, rather than being a threat to the downfall of peer to peer sales.
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