Collect

Inspiration

I created Collect iT AI Workstation out of the frustration hack teams and I had with the time-consuming tasks of onboarding teams members, sharing resources, researching tools (APIs, competitors, online documents), and content creation to name just a few. And the chaos of everything being disorganized and time being lost in trying to stay organized unsuccessfully.

Also, having to onboard when new team member 'by the hand' through every step of the way when joining during the middle of the hackathon, was an annoying process. Besides, the standard browser bookmarks did not provide enough information or a clear visual previews of the content we've collected.

I wanted to create a solution that would allow seamless remote collaboration with the teammates, moderators, mentors and judges within their own browsers, no matter what pages we were individual working in.

Constant, diligent user interviews and testing with hackers gave me insight to build in the right direction with Figma prototypes and an MVP .

What it does

Is it faith?

I have been researching and started building Collect iT with the intention of reaching out to the Devpost team to see if I could sponsor some hacks by letting the participants use Collect iT once it was ready. If things go as planned, it should be ready in 2 to 3 months, if not sooner.

Problem Statement:

Hackers participating in hackathons face too many challenges besides the actual hack challenge. Such as time constraints, information overload, and difficulty in collaborating with team members and communicating with moderators and mentors. Plus, we often have to switch between multiple tools and applications to collect and process data, which is time-consuming and distracting.

Solution Statement:

Collect iT AI Workstation solves these challenges by streamlining an all-in-one centralized platform for research, data collection and curating from online, personal drives, and networks, real time communication between team members, and stakeholders. All from any webpage they are presently on.

The integrated AI Assistant helps create customized content from processing and analysis the relevant information teams collect related to their project. Such as text from saved content and AI generated transcripts directly from YouTube, and videos from their drives and network.

Making it easier for hackers to focus on ideation and development during the hackathon. Enabling teams to focus on ideation and development, resulting in increased productivity and efficiency. Allowing them to work smarter, not harder.

The browser dropdown folders display previews of the saved content in their actual formats, which allows users to see the images, automated GIFs, text, play and transcribe YouTube videos and uploaded videos from the saved timestamps. The popup/modal AI Assistant displays on the webpage with a semi transparent background, making it easy to see, navigate, and continue to collect the website content.

An example of Collect iT Workstation & AI Assistant at work

Live GIF

In the video above, Collect iT is used to bookmark and add annotation to the GIF of the cat freaking out on the computer, and saving it into a Collect iT folder. Now, the team and those with shared access to the folder can see the animated GIF playing and notes within the folder in real time on any webpage.

The team's online saved content and uploaded files in their Collect iT folders and network can be used in conjunction with Collect iT AI Assistant for a more customizable automated content creation.

Collect iT AI Assistant Automated Content and Code Creation

AI Assitant

Content and Code can be created instantly to help in the brainstorming stage, develop their app, write pitch decks, presentations, summaries, and also web search for competitor analysis, industry matches and possible beachhead markets.

For full tutorials on how Collect iT works, use the link below to check out the onboarding videos

Onboarding Videos

So unlike Slack/Discord, Dropbox, where you either have to keep jumping to the app or website. With Collect AI Workstation, you stay on the webpage you are on and work directly with the workstation and AI Assistant. You don't need any additional browser tabs open or applications to work in collaboration with the webpage you are on.

✨ Desirability

Did they build a case for if hackathon participants would actually want this?

I have done user teasing with participants at a hackathon with a smaller version, and they really say it being extremely useful.

How widely would the solution appeal to the broader community?

If referring to broader community within Devpost. As mentioned before, stakeholders (moderators, mentors, and judges can use it during the hackathons. But also Devpost staff can use it within the company. Devpost and Sponsours can create a Public Devpost Folder in Collect iT and post future Hacks and events as content cards so that users can get notifications in thier browser, click on the content card which will bring them straight to the Hack event page on Devpost.com This can be done manually or via an Automated API so that when a new hack is posted to it goes instantly to Collect iT and users get a ping notification so they can check the folder and se the event

Example of when new/ipcoming Hackathons are posyed on Devpost they are automatically added to the Devpost Public Folder in Collect iT

The green arrows to the left show the hacks on Devpost website and ghe green arrows to the right show the hacks populated into aa folder in Collect iT. THis was a rushed design. An option is there can be a main Devpost folder with separate subfolders of categorized haks and events populated with an API.

✨ Viability

How widely would the solution appeal to future hackathon sponsors?

It would appeal to a wide range of future hackathon sponsors because it is so easy to use and will improve productivity and efficiency for the hack teams. Its features for streamlining research, data collection, and processing would be beneficial to sponsors looking for innovative solutions to common hackathon challenges.

Is this project something most companies hosting a hackathon can provide?

Yes. It is a Chrome extension, so anyone using a Chromium browser, including Windows Edge, can add it instantly. And a Firefox version will follow (which I personally am looking forward to since Firefox was my preferred browser. But the most popular browser used is Chrome by over 60%. Follow the numbers).

✨ Readily Usable

How far did the participant go to build out the idea?

It is in Beta and I hope to have it ready to launch in a month or two, if not less.

How well-thought-out is the project and its user experience?

I am a UX researcher sand product designer. The entire project and process from idea conception has gone through rigorous user interviews and testing.

Would this project make it easier for hackathon participants to submit a project to a hackathon?

Yes. Teams can give access to all the resources, including Git repositories, Figma, slides, pitch decks, spreadsheets, etc. all from within the project folder.

Assigning User Roles to folders and subfolders is intuitive, fast and easy.

Full access roles like Owner & Admin can be given to team members to collaborate together, while Contributor roles can be given to moderators and mentors and Viewer roles for judges.

Cloud Storage accessed from the folders

Teams can upload files from their computers and network to folders for collaboration and to submit to moderators and judges which they are assigned to.

The annotation feature allows team members to add notes and comments to the collected information, with tags and links, and other helpful information to their saved content providing additional context and insights.

The AI assistant makes it easy to gather information from the page you are in and from your saved content in your folders to generate summaries, write code, create designs, develop prototypes, structure your business model canvas and pitch deck, streamline your presentation and more.

The new UI for AI Video/Audio Transcribing

Clicking on the content card brings you to the webpage with in the same tab (or new tab, optional) and to the location where the content is located. You can even share and assigned roles with in the folders to share content with others and collaborate on projects.

Some of Collect uses for hackathons are :

With the AI assistant, the team can quickly find and share relevant resources, such as code snippets or design templates, which can speed up the development process and increase efficiency.

Collaboratively brainstorm and plan project workflows, exchange ideas and best practices, and resolve issues as they arise.

Organize and keep track of project ideas, progress and milestones and even share it with moderators, mentors and judges all in one place.

To better understand and analyze and suberize collected data for the project.

Set up alerts and notifications within Collect iT to stay informed about updates, deadlines, and other important project details.

Use the platform to create and run custom code templates, reducing the time and effort required to write and test new code.

Help build pitch decks and presentations.

Finally, after the hackathon, Collect iT can be used to share and showcase completed projects with other team members and stakeholders. This can help ensure that the team's hard work is properly recognized and valued.

Milestones

API Automated Intergration

Future plan is to create APIs to integrate with API platforms such as Zapier so teams can connect between other apps they use and automate their tasks and workflows.

Time Management

Adding providing reminders and notifications to help team members manage their time more effectively by notifing them of upcoming deadlines and meetings. This will help team members stay organized and avoid procrastination.