ARCHIVES University of California, San Diego, 2003
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Red Ink: Open Source Financial Analytics for People & Communities MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY By SEPi4 Ryan O'Toole B.A., Interdisciplinary Computing in the Arts & Music Minor, Computer Science & Engineering ARCHIVES University of California, San Diego, 2003 Submitted to the Program in Media Arts & Sciences, School of Architecture and Planning, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Media Arts and Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. @ Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010. All rights reserved. September 2010 Author I I ~' ~ Program in Media Arts & Sciences September 2010 Certified- Chris Csikszentmihilyi MIT Media Lab, Research Scientist Director, Center for Future Civic Media Director, Computing Culture Group Accepted Professor Patti Maes Associate Academic Head Program in Media Arts & Sciences Red Ink: Open Source Financial Analytics For People & Communities By Ryan O'Toole B.A., Interdisciplinary Computing in the Arts & Music Minor, Computer Science & Engineering University of California, San Diego, 2003 Submitted to the Program in Media Arts & Sciences, School of Architecture and Planning, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Media Arts and Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. © Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010. All rights reserved. September 2010 Abstract Red Ink is an open source social-financial web-service that enables people to share, aggregate, analyze, visualize and publish their financial transactions as individuals and ad-hoc groups, through data sharing campaigns. Virtual and geographic communities of financial data sharers can form on Red Ink to create new sources of information for self-knowledge and understanding of complex personal, community, economic, environmental, and civic concerns and how to better coordinate their solutions. Red Ink posits that just like volunteering time or donating money, personalfinancialdata is itself an asset that people can share to gain group leverage. Further, in the hands of everyday people, the data and tools of corporate scale consumer analysis will be reborn to serve larger and more personally meaningful goals. Thesis Supervisor Chris Csikszentmihilyi MIT Media Lab, Research Scientist Director, Center for Future Civic Media Director, Computing Culture Group 4 Thesis Advisor Chris Csikszentmihdlyi MIT Media Lab, Research Scientist Director, Center for Future Civic Media Director, Computing Culture Group Thesis Reader Dr. Alex "Sandy" Pentland MIT Media Lab, Toshiba Professor of Media Arts and Sciences Director, Human Dynamics Group Thesis Reader_______________ ____________ Dr. David P. Reed MIT Media Lab, Adjunct Professor Co-Director Viral Communications Group I / / Thesis Read, v /'K Thomas W. Malone MIT Sloan School of Management, Patrick J. McGovern Professor of Management Director, MIT Center for Collective Intelligence Acknowledgments The Centerfor Future Civic Media: Development Team: Chris Csikszentmihilyi Mike Norman Jeff Warren Melva James Matt Hockenberry Britton O'Toole Rick Borovoy Kwadwo Nyarko Leo Bird Lorrie Lejeune Advisers: Andrew Whitaker Inge Endter Chris Csikszentmihilyi Christina Xu David Reed & John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Tom Malone Sandy Pentland The Computing Culture Group: Community Foundation of GreaterSouth Wood County: Josh Levinger Adam Whiton Kelly Lucas Noah Vawter Helen Jungwirth Tim Krause Liz Everson Media Lab Staff Kristi Anderson & Everybody from South Wood County who Jon Ferguson took time to speak with me. Aaron Solle Nicole Freeman Stephanie Gayle Community Partners: Michail Bletsas Journalism That Matters: Detroit Matt Renner Friends: Lou Rutigliano Geoff Samek Joost Bonsen Andrea Silenzi J.B. Labrune Michelle Ferrier Micah Eckhardt & Mellissa Scott Phuong Nguyen Richard The Jonathan Ward Scott Greenwald Kathryn Payne Jess Wheelock Deborah Egloff Catherine McMahon Leslie Chung & Everyone else who got me through 2 years of IHTFP Table of Contents A bstract ................................................................................................................................................................................ 3 A ckn ow ledg m ents ........................................................................................................................................................... 13 T able of C on tents .............................................................................................................................................................. 14 Introdu ction ....................................................................................................................................................................... 16 B ackgroun d ......................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Consum er A nalysis........................................................................................................................................................................ 19 A c yso Data ttCS ................................................................................................................................................................................. 20 P vac ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 22 e A ..dNences for Consum er A nalysis ............................................................................................................................... 22 Wb 2 .0 ..............................................................................................................................................................................................2 3 T ech nical2..............................................................................................................................................................................25 3rd Party Web-B ased Financial D ata A PIs........................................................................................................................... 25 Technical Requirem ents............................................................................................................................................................. 27 Technical Com ponents2................................................................................................................................................................ 28 Data Collection ................................................................................................................................................................................ 30 W eb-B ased G raphical User Interface .................................................................................................................................... 31 U ser Registration3........................................................................................................................................................................... 32 Cam paign Creation ........................................................................................................................................................................ 33 Filters, Mem os & M erchants ..................................................................................................................................................... 33 Options ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 34 Campaign Membership .......................................................... 35 Da hbdS oard .........................................................................................................................................................................................36 Technical Evaluation .................................................................................................................................................................... 36 Social Com m entary .......................................................................................................................................................... 44 Pantners .............................................................................................................................................................................................44 A lpha Beta Soup ............................................................................................................................................................................. 45 Seeding the System4....................................................................................................................................................................... 46 Finding A Com m unity Partner.................................................................................................................................................48 JTM : Detroit...................................................................................................................................................................................... 48 Future of New s & Civic Media 2010 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