Snack is a health-focused social search tool developed for the Emory Predictive Health Institute, designed to facilitate interactions between healthcare advisors and clients. It includes features like a web app and browser extension for managing health information, messaging, and search challenges, with two primary user roles: advisors and clients. The platform aims to enhance health resource collection, client guidance, and social connectivity through curated information and collaborative searching.

1. Snack
a social search system

2. Overview
Snack is a health-focused social search tool. It
is being designed with and for the Emory
Predictive Health Institute.
Snack has two principal research directions
within social search
● Transitions: moving between large/anonymous groups
and small/known groups.
● Role support: interactions between diverse socio-
professional roles and search roles.

3. Snackers
Snack has two primary users: Advisors and
Clients.
Advisors are healthcare professionals (but not care
providers). Snack helps advisors work together, collecting
valuable health resources for their clients. Snack also helps
advisors connect with and encourage their clients.
Clients are an advisor's 'patients'. Clients use Snack to
guide their own health searches, and to reach out to their
advisors.

4. Components
Web App Browser Extension
● User Accounts ● Highlights
● Curated Information ● Saved Searches
● Messaging ● Functionally equivalent,
● Search Challenges install for your browser.
● Saved Searches
● Dashboard

5. Web App
Overview
A collection of health information and meeting point for
Advisors and Clients.
Specs
Created with typical HTML and Javascript, accessed by
any modern browser. Backed by a MySQL server, which
serves as the link between the Web App and the Browser
Extension. Likely employing a Content Management
System like Drupal.
● No mobile version planned

6. Web App
User Accounts
Advisor accounts will be setup manually. On initial Client
sign-up, the Client inputs some required information.
● The Advisor they are paired with
● Health Interests
○ Entered in the form of brief tags
■ Weight Loss, Stress, Yoga
○ Advisors can see tags, number of people with each
tag to guide their own information seeking.
○ Suggested starting point: Health Action Plan.

7. Web App
Curated Information
Web resources gathered by Advisors. A resource includes
the title, URL, advisor notes, tags as well as Q&A.
Publix Marathon Salt Cravings My Net Diary
www.blahblah.com
www.blahblah.com www.blahblah.com
A popular marathon in
Hit salt cravings without An excellent calorie tracking
March, sign up early because
wrecking a low-sodium diet. tool that is easy to share.
it fills up!
Tags: Sodium, Recipes, Tags: Tools, Website, Diet,
Tags: Running, Atlanta,
Blood Pressure Diary, Free
Cardio, Exercise
● Clients can ask public questions about a resource

8. Web App
Browsing Curated Information
Clients can explore and search the curated information in
several ways.
● An Advisor can explicitly share a resource with them
● Searching, via keyword and/or tag
● Browsing via a visualization
● Recommendations

9. Web App
Messaging
Google Talk or alternative included for advisor-advisor and
advisor-client messaging. We will explore both real-time
and asynchronous messaging as well as video chat.

10. Web App
Search Challenges
Posted by one or more Advisors to encourage clients to
share their health searching. A challenge begins with a
description like 'best diet tracking tool', and also includes an
Advisor's own resource as a starting point.
● Searchable via tag or keyword, just like Curated Info
● Recommended to Clients based on tags, can also be
explicitly suggested by an Advisor
● Responses may be public or private

11. Web App
Saved Searches
Any web resource may be saved and added to a personal,
private saved search. These items can be added to the
curated area (by Advisors), used as a response to a Search
Challenge or (Clients), or shared in a private message
(Advisors and Clients).
● Like Curated Information, each item can include notes,
tags and comments
● Private unless shared
● Save resources via Browser Extension

12. Web App
Dashboard
A 'home page' for Advisors and overview of site activity
● Tag yourself, then track activity in the repository on
information relevant to you
● See new questions, messages and challenge
responses from Clients
● Client tags: in aggregate, what are your Clients most
interested in? What are the most common groupings of
tags amongst your clients?

13. Web App Overview
Advisor-Curated Information
Public Private Add to
Questions Questions Collection
Saved Searches
Add to
Collection Answer
Ask
Create &
Messaging Share
Advisor Client
AdvisorAdvisor Client
Messaging View Answer
Create
Advisor
Search
Challenges

14. Browser Extension
Overview
Modifies the browsing experience based on Web App
content, offering links back to the Web App. Install the
version for whichever browser you prefer.
Specs
Versions will be developed for Chrome, Firefox and (if
possible) Internet Explorer 8-9.
● No mobile version planned

15. Browser Extension
Highlights
Items present in the Web App's repository are highlighted
on the page level and in search results pages for Google
and Bing.
● Quick links to post a question or view the item
● Search by tag: in-place filtering of results, a way of
browsing the repository from within a web search

16. A - Highlights (information in Web App repository)
B - Tags
C - Filter by tag

17. Browser Extension
Saved Searches
Save resources to organize searches, to add to the Web
App's Curated Repository (advisors), to respond to a
search challenge (client), or to share.
● One-click from any web page
● Quick link to view/manage saved searches will take
users to the web app

18. Evaluation Tools
Instruments for evaluating Snack that may interact with
users, but are not part of the system's functionality.
● Browser extensions for tracking search history
● Logging of system actions
○ Experience Sampling: in-situ mini surveys after
certain key actions

19. Snack System Overview
Web App Browser Extension
Advisor-Curated Information Highlight Curated Information
View in
Web App
Public Private
Search Results Pages
Questions Questions Clie Advi
. nt sor .
Add to View
Collection Highlights
Answer Ask
Video
Advisor Chat Client Client Advisor
Messagi
ng
Discuss Share with Save Item
Informat Answer View
Advisor
ion
Answer
Client Saved Searches
Advisor
Ask Search
Challenges Shared
Searches .