The secret is just a tool.

secret

Editor's note: Foreign secret red through the sky, the first domestic apprentice-no team to launch the "secret", but also quickly attracted a lot of people's attention. Outside of the main acquaintances anonymous social application of mixed, but overall, spit "secret" on the content of no moral integrity, the majority of negative energy bursting. The writer is the product manager from Tencent "Wolf Ye Mountain", in his view, "secret" is only a tool, what to do is the user's own things. In this article, he only from the product design point of view, to "secret" made seven recommendations.

This year, in Silicon Valley's most controversial and most popular app, "secret", the main acquaintance anonymous social application, one months has been in Europe and the United States red, a total of nearly 10 million U.S. dollars to finance. Any phenomenon-grade products appear, the domestic will appear imitators, Secret's first Chinese Apprentice-"secret" was officially online two weeks ago, behind the team is no network of the parent company, based on the anonymous contacts in the directory is introduced to the country.

Let's talk about the use scenario of the "secret" application. In the use of micro-trust in the circle of friends, you may have encountered the heart has spit but not easy to send in the circle of friends, because the fear will affect the relationship between colleagues or friends. "Secret" provides a place-still a group of friends chatting, but each other wearing masks, unable to identify the specific identity, then everyone can express their true feelings freely, without fear of affecting others to their own views.

In short, "secret" is an anonymous social software that is an acquaintance with a mobile phone book aggregation circle. There are no IDs, no names, and even your avatar is completely random in different topics. Users just apply for the "secret app", the phone address book and your number, you can see the post you sent. This kind of post is labeled as a friend from a "secret app," and you don't need to keep a person's phone number, so as long as he saves you, he can see the posts you send.

This kind of friend relationship is one-way. In order to ensure anonymity, in the "secret" timeline, even if the same person's message, each message is independent, there is no connection, which makes it impossible to retrospective a message published before the post, to comprehensively judge the identity of the person.

In the domestic situation, acquaintances have QQ, stranger relations have done a Mo, class FB mode with Alternative investment company Everyone, Twitter also has a loyal apprentice Sina Weibo (what, you said there are Tencent Weibo? Don't make a fuss. ), and a pile of copy Snapchat, copy vine, copy whisper ... Can think of almost all have to do, the only has not formed products, it is called "acquaintances" "Anonymous" "Social"--secret.

Right, this pointcut has been personalized reading has been done by the tepid team found, Ganci, hit. From the online day on the app store in China free list 13, social list first, should be able to explain the huge demand here.

The author is cautious and optimistic about such a product: On the one hand, there is a huge user demand for anonymous social contact, on the other hand, the "secret" product is relatively rough, the future development also faces the user threshold, product life cycle, policy and legal risk and many other risks and challenges. As a "secret" of a heavy user, the author only from the product design point of view, the "secret" put forward the following seven recommendations:

First, improve the product experience as soon as possible

Learn from the inside, "secret" online time is very tight, the whole project in less than one months on the line, a total of two PM to deal with a pile of development, but also Android and iOS two versions at the same time online, experience and logical flaws are unavoidable. For example, there is no memory account function.

In addition, the current number of IOS6.0 users is very large, but the "secret" does not support IOS6.0, this cannot but say is a regret.
Although the core of such products is product logic, that is, play, but the promotion of early, small flaws may become fatal.

Ii. appropriate reduction of entry threshold

The "secret" current product logic is that at least 3 friends are using "secrets" to unlock their friends ' secrets. The official explained that this is to avoid too little friends, the user through the content to guess the author. But it also increases the user's access threshold. In this product is not well-known enough, the popularity of the situation is not wide enough, must have 3 friends to use the unlock threshold is high, unlocked before the preview caused by the user is not attractive enough.

The author made a simple test, the "secret" recommended to 5 students or friends, the result is 2 people because unable to unlock, see friends to share the secret and give up. Thus, the threshold caused a very small loss rate.

Here, the author gives the following suggestions:

1. Lower the threshold and reduce the 3 to 2 or 1 persons.

2, do not set a rigid threshold, change bullying as a lure, do not invite friends can only preview one or even half of the secret between friends, to see more then need to invite friends. Or the more people you invite, the greater the permissions. For example, the default can only see the X bar, inviting successful one to unlock the Y-bar secret.

Optimization of the default recommended algorithm

"Secret" in addition to sharing secrets between friends, there are a lot of system recommended content, but in my opinion, a lot of recommendations only one or two words, quite boring. On the other hand, the "secret" of other embarrassing things in China is very readable.

For unlocked users, can not see the secret of friends, the official recommendation content is not interesting, then the wastage rate must be very high. And the user may further think: My friend's content with this product may also be similar to the default recommendation list of such uninteresting content, which will lead to attract users to invite friends and unlock the power is not enough.

Here, I suggest:

1, based on the user Address Book friends to browse and share data, to provide users with personalized recommended content.

2, if necessary, manual editing, screening a number of default recommended content.

Iv. Event Marketing

Although the "secret" is very hot in the circle these days, but almost nobody outside the Internet circle know. Event marketing is the key to low cost and quick influence. The secret of the United States, also because of a rumor and fire up. (Of course, this side-effect event should be avoided)

Based on the "secret" itself is a huge source of heavy information, no need to specifically plan or fabricate, as long as the sensitivity, coordination of all links, you can do a good job of marketing events. For example: Users of the food industry "poison xx" insider, causing media attention, and then aroused widespread public concern, and then the official intervention and investigation, the ultimate industry cancer eradication. In this process, the "secret" can be very natural to obtain a wide range of visibility and good social benefits.

V. The scene of sharing

Anonymous sharing is a novelty, destined to attract a lot of eyeballs, but, after the freshness, how to continue to guide users to create valuable content, create more attractive play, is the key to determine product follow-up trend.

Valuable content, it is difficult to define, can be simple to understand the content of interest to users, but users are interested in the content is difficult to guide people, such as the author likes to see the industry's explosive material, gender issues (shame). But some people like to see gossip, daily necessities, then need to let each user see their content of interest, if the product logic address book in the content generated by friends can not be flexible operation, those hot topic is a better entry point.

More attractive play, is more broad. For example, you can join the discussion group feature, users can create an anonymous discussion group, generate two-dimensional code invite friends to add, three people successfully joined the group displayed in the team list of members (avoid the first one to know which is the group owner). This can be aggregated by the topic of the circle, so that a group of people to discuss the issue without any restraint.

Another example is to label the secret, you can use different tags or regions and even the current geographical location to view the secret, increasing the way users get content.

Vi. further strengthening the interaction between users

To further extend the life cycle of the product, it is necessary to further enhance the interaction between users. And the motivation of users to create information is mainly from the reader's reaction to the author. At present, the one-way reply of "secret" application is more difficult to stimulate users to create information continuously. Applications can be made such as allowing comments on a response, replying to support expressions, images, etc., to enhance the social discussion elements, and further stimulate the user to constantly create information.

Vii. avoiding policy and legal risks

According to the official statement: "The Address Book and password will be one-way encrypted and salt treatment (mathematically proven irreversible), to ensure that even in the worst case data is stolen and can not be decrypted." So, if someone creates illegal content and spreads the bad effects (for example, by spreading rumors that the victim commits suicide), there will be no official dilemma. Can you find out who sent it? found that the credibility of bankruptcy, the user lost confidence, not found out, by the public as an accomplice to the aiding and spurned.

Or that sentence, completely anonymous results, is completely not responsible. The risk is one of the most likely determinants of the product's life and death.

Here, in addition to a variety of traditional keyword algorithms and manual audit, the author gives a suggestion:

Control of the spread of uncontrollable secrets: When a secret of the number of praise or the number of responses to reach the threshold, in addition to the participants, other people temporarily invisible, by the official manual audit, through the thaw.

PostScript

As for the new product manager who recently saw a lot of mental psychology, DAO is a product with negative energy, release the evil in the heart, will affect interpersonal relationships and so on, I just want to say: This is a tool, it is your business, but also a massage stick, some people to masturbate, some people to hammer the shoulders.

What do you think?