Here are some GUI designs from a possible competitor:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeoB5y9zjLw&feature=youtu.beWhyhttp://www.deepdotweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/2.pngBuilt in Chatrooms: Bitshares mail will not be good enough!Notice the clever integration of the built in chatroom? That built in chatroom supports encrypted voice and video. It supports file sharing as well.
Notice the clever integration of news?
Notice the store? Address book?
Why not borrow their designs best elements and improve on them for Bitshares?
I think Bitshares will need to integrate chat functionality. It can go beyond email by implementing the Jabber protocol so that users can connect to all the mainstream instant messaging platforms including Googletalk.
Built in fundraising: The gift economy should be promoted within the user interface.
I also think we should integrate the gifting/donation fundraising directly into the GUI. When people load up Bitshares there should be a category (fundraisers) or something similar. In that category there should be different projects seeking fundraising such as Bitshares Music and there should be a way to donate BitUSD to those projects directly through the Bitshares interface.
This way the process can be streamlined, it can improve marketing, as it would be less keystrokes and clicks away for an individual if it's built into the GUI vs if they have to go to a fundraising site. Network effects will make it where we might someday not need fundraising sites anymore and having it built into the GUI would allow eventually the Bitshares DAC to charge a fee to people who want to be listed in the GUI.
It may seem unorthodox as marketing but the less a person has to leave the Bitshares GUI the more sticky it becomes.What do millennials like to do with their computers? Instant message? Chat? Video chat? Voice chat?
Most people don't use email anymore so while email is nice in theory it's a protocol people are moving away from. People are into Instant Message, Twitter, Video chat and Voice chat. People also like to check the news and if you could provide a news feed for all the Bitshares relevant information to be in one place I think it would be useful.
The idea is people should keep Bitshares open at all times. They should check that GUI for everything Bitshares related instead of checking this forum. There should be exclusive information channels to that specific application which don't exist outside of it.