Daringest.ru — all for one

we launched a joint gift, in the course of finding loopholes in Facebook's API and coming up with elegant solutions on usability and design. Feedback is welcome.

be Creative and save money

One of my friends somehow killed at least 10 bears, elephants and lions, which gave her acquaintances and friends wishing to Express their warm (and soft) feelings on the occasion of her birthday... No living creature is not affected — it was all soft toys and Souvenirs, absolutely she doesn't need and no joy is not created.
People often don't have the time or money for a really cool gift, and in the end they buy "otwarci" according to the principle: "let it be some nonsense for 1000 rubles, but, like, cute."

We have created a DarimVmeste.ru instead of a Teddy bear you can give a dream. Drive, laptop, car, whatever... the Collective mind of a few friends will quickly find that is the idea, which will hit the jugular, and friendly, crowdfunding will provide a cash resource.
While participants will not spend 1000 rubles, and 300. Because a lot of times for 300 rubles — this is the fifth iPhone, and once 1000 rubles — this is the trinket for the release.

Once we have made a General gift — realize the dream of our friend. It turned out great, but how many were scribbling, accounting, cash logistics and letters in different social networks, email and messengers... thus was born the idea DarimVmeste.ru – Internet-service of collective gifts.
Before you start working on it, we looked into the Russian and global Internet and found several projects with a relatively similar idea. However, neither one of them did not suit us – in some lacking functionality in other facilities. We have to do the service that you want to use yourself.

Next – some of our discoveries from the development and design service.

Facebook private messages on behalf of a user

Earlier in the API Vkontakte and Facebook (to integrate them into the service was, for obvious reasons, it is necessary to invite users to a page of gift) declared the ability to send private messages to friends on behalf of users. Each network has its own specifics, but in General, obtaining permission for a certain class action, the question could be solved. Now the situation has changed: if you want to achieve send messages through the API, it is unlikely that this can be done easily. Confirmation — just a few examples of services that have managed to implement this functionality, as well as errors that occur when trying to use the remaining documentation methods.

However, there is a "plan B". Closed not all: in Vkontakte you can post the API on behalf of the user video. This, of course, it's not much, but still some thread. Because, if you try, to this videos, again, via the API and then add a comment. And this is something.

Facebook de facto also does not allow you to write messages on behalf of the user. That is, it permits, but for this your site needs to be useful to Facebook, for example financially. It is clear that aspiring start-up can offer nothing that will interest the giant.

For our service to invite friends via Facebook it is important, as air. We got out so: autorisoes the organizer of the gift through Facebook, pick up the ID of his friends to send regular mail to the address id@facebook.com (on the habré already a lot has been said and written).
But these fall into the folder "other messages" that is actually in the spam.

Output is clear — at the level of mail server is entered in the "from" field is not the address of our service and the address of the sender. Everything starts to work. By the way, this decision long ago can use mass mailing, sending by using this algorithm, anything in a billion user base.

social network, which is not the social network

We believe it is a godsend, by the following fact: DarimVmeste.ru — it is like a social network, but in fact it is not. Social network in form and UI design. The same wall, friends, likes. But the site is not a "shell" and independent service. It focuses on the convenience of solving a specific problem. People come here from different social networks (on the order of Twitter, then all others) or not at all of them. They create their gifts and leave Daringest until the next occasion to give someone something... But returning mechanic likes (for rating gift ideas) and posts on the wall (to tighten live streams of communication-discussion) immediately integrated into practice — user friendly and intuitive the entire interface at first sight.

For this convenience and clarity, we had to cut a lot of ideas that arose in the course of development: implemented only the most necessary functions, so as not to overload a service and not to delay the development. For example, the service transfers the money (this puts more requirements to the security level). And with all this development took exactly a year.

feedback

All this time we cooked in their own juice. A post on habré — our first attempt to go beyond friends and to show the service unfamiliar but appropriate people. Therefore we would be grateful for any feedback — criticism, suggestions for usability issues... Even if you just Express your attitude to DarimVmeste.ru we say thank you.

UPD: IN response to the first edition of this post we got a lot of fair criticism of the fact that the service is not working under Opera. However, in addition to critics, we have received several concrete proposals and advice on how to overcome our problem. Thanks to Habr-community now DarimVmeste.ru work in all modern browsers. Thank you!

And that very last video about the service:

Article based on information from habrahabr.ru