Zaker Leeson peace talks design details: Not only for the user to consider

Zaker founder, CEO Leeson and, think design is "stepping stone", and not only for users to consider

In the December 2010, a reading app called "Zaker" appeared on the ipad for the first time, and today it has more than 9 million users, and is increasingly known to smartphone users. Zaker is more praised for its interface design, in our interview, Zaker founder, CEO Leeson and gave a lot of design details of the explanation: such as why is the left and right page, why the use of channel subscription, but there is no "folder" of the collation, aggregation channel weights are different, but did not emphasize " The reason for the recommended algorithm.

In the process of Leeson and many references to "from the media perspective" thinking, this may have something to do with his experience: Despite being a young entrepreneur born in 1982, he started a Web site, graduated two years later, and joined the "read the World"-a service that would bring magazines online to attract more paid readers. In contact with the traditional media, Leeson and familiar with their work flow, but also know that the traditional media system, it is difficult to do the new media step. So he hopes Zaker can make the media content into the feeling of the magazine, while using technology instead of the process of the United States.

The following are Leeson and oral finishing: Products rely on the visual impact of design to retain users, but the core competitiveness depends on the background technology; Admit to start with the Flipboard, but the successor version of the unique design has been patented; in the future, it will be the main revenue mode of the production of independent advertising, not yet because the market is still not ideal.

Zaker's "cover" and the entrance to the Metro-style channel after entry

Product design: "Stepping stone" to retain users

A molding field, if there are emerging enterprises want to enter, we must give users a new sense of the concept. Because reading is not a zaker, the portal also has its own app, if I just adjust the pattern, the form or the same as others, the equivalent of a shell, the change, you can not achieve the popularity of the product to the popularity of users, communication will be more difficult.

With the help of visual impact, let the user first see your things are willing to spend more time on the above, such as Zaker even application cover each time is not the same; with these times, then look at the back of the content service can put him stuck. If the user first saw the feeling is very general, the content is very general, simply deleted; But good-looking is only a stepping stone, the following service or rely on algorithm.

For reference Flipboard design problems, the ipad is there, but the iphone we come out earlier, we do not want to learn from an application, but the original. At that time WP system came out soon, the main interface of Zaker also adopted a similar style of Metro, but did not use WP thought is the core of the large, and the grid magazine layout as the core. This way it seems that the magazine is sparse, in fact, a screen can carry more than the number of articles, so the most want to hear the user rating is "feel the screen has become big."

The design just came out when there was confusion. At that time all the applications are up and down, only Zaker is left and right turn. We struggled for a long time, worried about destroying the habits of users, and finally felt that they should be close to the magazine, and that the return key in the lower left corner, when all the applications were in the upper left corner, which also persisted, the IPhone 5 came out and found we were right.

For fear of plagiarism, these designs have been patented. Of course, the patent is not to kill the gold medal, can not save you, or see the whole line of services can not impress the user. The significance of good design is that the user service can be good and content provider to talk about cooperation; On the other hand, beautiful design can attract high-quality media content, block entrance design is also from the media perspective (detailed in the third section).

Not only for the user to consider, the media advertising party's interests should be balanced

RSS is a good thing, but in China has been unsuccessful, because there are two problems did not solve: 1, the content provider of the profit problem, no ads hurt the media, 2, too technical, small white users do not like trouble. Now the Channel subscription method "Selected a few is done," so weaken the customization, remove the "input RSS" one, because if this need, it is not my mainstream users.

Reading is not a strong demand, the average netizen reading the most is not the information but the novel, so it can not be compared with the use of fire, but it is a rigid demand, so reading is a bitter industry, as if the media is also a bitter industry, but the industry is there. There are many platforms are still streaming this demand, such as WAP, Weibo, portal app model, we want to use a unified, convenient way of reading as a win for the user's advantage.

The layout of the grid format of the magazine, each screen can accommodate 6 article information. From left to right in order: today to look at the implied recommendations of the ranking, each "store" of different "decoration" style, the body content of the reflow.

There are two ways to attract content partners; The first is to provide the media with the form of presentation, to try to do better than its own to do it well; the second is to use digital description of the ability to attract users, perhaps its own app installation can not be 500,000, but into the Zaker recommendation to attract more than 500,000 of readers. For example, from "View the original" to some traditional media sites brought about by the traffic, has exceeded its original flow.

To the media to solve the problem of profitability is advertising (not yet online). Future advertisements are made by us, in a media "channel" in the advertising revenue will be counted to the content provider, and there are backstage to provide the media (how many readers, like what articles, etc.), so that the media feel is not "traffic loss", but "traffic can be converted into advertising is important." So at present copyright this piece of cost is zero, the media also don't zaker money, Zaker also don't want media money, hope can cultivate this market together.

Mobile end of the ad now there are many in the way the Internet, patches, Banner, are not targeted at mobile internet. And as the business side, sometimes and the advertising production side is disconnected, do not know what technology can do. At present, we are making ads in the demo stage, the form will be innovative, such as the combination of brand interactive advertising.

Now there is no advertising is not because of less traffic, but mobile internet advertising market as a whole immature, the enterprises in the mobile Internet advertising investment accounted for is too little. In the future hope to get the flow of the portal, the value of selling magazine ads.

Content mode: Subscribe to the recommendation? Social reading?

Theoretically, in the future can speculate what users like, but not yet, and this perspective does not take into account the media's feelings: the media have media ideas, our jamming sort may and its positioning does not conform to, and some media daily production is not much, this way is not conducive to them.

Block entrance rather than timeline design, part of the reason is to differentiate the media, otherwise the media will not be enthusiastic input. This is like we opened a fashion shop, each brand of shop decoration style may be different, but if the goods are sold together, the buyers and businessmen are not satisfied with the two parties.

There is no "folder" design because you don't want to set a deeper level. Originally only need to "start-click" Two, if there is a folder on the point of three, the iphone early also did not have a folder. Pagination can be understood as a sort of categorization, but I feel wrong to subscribe to more than 5 pages, and one cannot read so many things. If the user is attracted to the "collation" of the matter, the rules will not be read after all-like the "collection" This function will not be enhanced, because I have been a collection of collections rarely read again.

We do not give up the recommendation mechanism, more on the aggregation channel into the algorithm, filter the article. "Today's highlights" is the "Media Division" and "chronological/importance ranking" in the middle of reconciliation, is to improve the efficiency of the reader. It will be filtered according to the feed, the heat, and your preferences.

The weight aspect, mainly considers the following several parameters: the subscription quantity, the number of people entering each day, the number of PV per day, and the average time of stay; If a media generally stay for a long time, meaning it out of depth or comment on the article, but such a small amount of production, so once the weight is relatively high; In addition, forwarding comments is also a target.

But also will not declare themselves as a recommendation mechanism, is to hope that users find themselves more and more easy to use. On the data, users now read articles from 10 to 20 several, proving that we are right. The things that shout technology every day have little meaning to the user. and social reading is still in the groping stage.

(Ya nan)