3 product trends to watch in 2013
TRANSCRIPT
Max Engel
3 Product Development
Trends to WatchJanuary 2013
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Topics Covered
- About Me
- Introduction
- Discussion of Key Trends
- Implications
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About Me
3
A Bit About Myself
Max Engel, Product MacGyver
About Me
4
About Me
5
About Me
6
Brickd.com(Lego)
8BitKid.com(nerdy things)
MaxEngel.com(work and personal)
Introduction
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Where We Are
What is Driving the Evolution of Online Storytelling
Introduction
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Introduction
Online Narratives Have
Changed
• Stories are being told in different ways
• Content is more readily available
• News is being commoditized
Circa iPhone app
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Introduction
A “Story” is Now Much
More
• The story only begins when the publish
button is pressed
• The line between content creator and
contributor is being blurred
• Users want to participate and be
engaged
Forbes’ new article page
Product Trends of 2013
3 Key Driver of Innovation
Introduction
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3 Trends are Shaping Product
Development
Introduction
Mobile SocialData
Discussion of Key Trends
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Mobile
How smartphones are reshaping how we build
Discussion of Key Trends
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Discussion of Key Trends
The Needs of Mobile Users
are Different
• Value in designing “mobile-first”
• Users enjoy “snackable” content
• Content needs to be optimized for on-
the-go consumption
Pocket iPhone App
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Discussion of Key Trends
Responsive Design
• One site across all screen sizes
• Often HTML5 sites leveraging CSS3 to
perform media queries to make content
adapt to the screen it is on
• Ensures parity across platforms and a
consistent experience
Sasquatch Music Festival Site
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Discussion of Key Trends
Native App vs. Web App
• Native apps help drive engagement via
push notifications and can leverage
device API’s for speed and functionality
• HTML5 web apps help fight
fragmentation
• It is important to choose the right
technology based on the problem being
solved
Grooveshark HTML5 app
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Data
Information is abundant and freely flowing
Discussion of Key Trends
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Discussion of Key Trends
Going Beyond Analytics
• Now the challenge is not getting
the data, but instead figuring out
how to make it actionable
• Real-time testing means content
can be optimized on-the-fly to
drive core KPI’s
• User intent can be better
understood
USA Today Uses Real-time Headline A/B Testing
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Discussion of Key Trends
Open Platforms and API’s
• Data can become a commodity
that innovative experiences are
built on top of
• Structured data projects like
Facebook’s Open Graph give
semantic meaning to online
engagement
SoundCloud Developer Hub
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Discussion of Key Trends
Personalization
Recommendations can be custom-tailored based on data
analysis
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Pandora(recommendatio
n as a product)
EchoNest(recommendatio
n as a service)
Spotify(music-driven
content
recommendation)
Social
Moving from feature to foundation
Discussion of Key Trends
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Discussion of Key Trends
Building on Social
• While social used to be a feature
bolted onto sites, it is now
enabling sites that couldn’t have
existed before
• Users need to be a part of the
content creation process
• Curation helps the best user-
generated content filter up
Rap Genius
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Discussion of Key Trends
Distribution
• Content no longer lives in a silo, and
users may not interact with your
content or brand inside of your walls
• Social media referrals means that every
page needs to be a landing page
• The lines between writers, contributors,
and readers will continue to blur
Soundtracking’s
Twitter Cards
implementation24
Implications
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While these 3 trends are going to
catalyze product innovation in the
coming year, it is also important to
recognize their pitfalls
Implications
• Monetization is still immature
• Users still love big experiences on big screens
• Certain interactions are better suited for unique designs
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Mobile is amazing, but…
Implications
• Be mobile first, web second
• Create content that bridges platforms seamlessly
• Consider when a responsive design might lead to bad user
experience
So maybe I should…
• Doesn’t lead to serendipity
• Emphasizes quantitative analysis of qualitative evaluations
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Data lets me do great things, except
it…
Implications
• Be data-informed, instead of data-driven
• Remember that A/B testing can’t create new ideas
So it might be better to…
• Authority still matters
• They often create a low social signal-to-noise ratio
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Users demand social products, and
yet…
Implications
• Not discount the importance of curation
• Never forget the power of an editor
So it might be better to…
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Conclusion:
trends are great, but being trendy isn’t
Implications
Thanks!
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