4 ms·

The bad UI generates a sort of viral effect. I know a lot of young kids who use snapchat and often the conversation starts with 'How did you do that effect on t

by nmat 11y ago

The bad UI generates a sort of viral effect. I know a lot of young kids who use snapchat and often the conversation starts with 'How did you do that effect on that video?' or 'How do you send a text message without a picture?'. Snapchat is one of few apps that has a lot of hidden features for power users that are not explained anywhere. I am not saying that it is a good thing, but it makes people talk about it.

jrowley 11y ago
That's a really good point. Theres no other app I use consistently which requires me to ask people for help in person.
c1ehman 11y ago
This is definitely one of the reasons I enjoy it and continue to use it daily. Their are a lot of cool things that I am still learning how to do even after using the app for more than a year.
dorian-graph 11y ago
> Snapchat is one of few apps that has a lot of hidden features for power users that are not explained anywhere. AFAIK, every feature is explained on Snapchat's website. Also when new features are introduced, they've usually explained in the release notes on how to use them—like when lenses were first added.
- huac 11y ago
  That incentivizes people to explore the website/release notes to find these things, and be the first to get a new filter/lens/hologram on their story
prawn 11y ago
Same is probably true of Minecraft where people (especially early on) learn of things to craft, tactics to use, the best ways to farm or mine or whatever.
- jandrese 11y ago
  So you're saying to use Snapchat well you need to have a bookmarked link to the Wiki available at all times?
AndrewKemendo 11y ago
Isn't this the exact opposite of everything everyone preaches in product design? Doesn't that totally go against every best practice and case study of simple UX? For example how facebook mobile changed their notifications bar from the hamburger menu to the tab bar is held up as a great change cause it makes things easier. Same for almost the entirety of apple products. What gives?

by nmat 11y ago

jrowley 11y ago

That's a really good point. Theres no other app I use consistently which requires me to ask people for help in person.

c1ehman 11y ago

This is definitely one of the reasons I enjoy it and continue to use it daily. Their are a lot of cool things that I am still learning how to do even after using the app for more than a year.

dorian-graph 11y ago

> Snapchat is one of few apps that has a lot of hidden features for power users that are not explained anywhere. AFAIK, every feature is explained on Snapchat's website. Also when new features are introduced, they've usually explained in the release notes on how to use them—like when lenses were first added.

huac 11y ago
That incentivizes people to explore the website/release notes to find these things, and be the first to get a new filter/lens/hologram on their story

prawn 11y ago

Same is probably true of Minecraft where people (especially early on) learn of things to craft, tactics to use, the best ways to farm or mine or whatever.

jandrese 11y ago
So you're saying to use Snapchat well you need to have a bookmarked link to the Wiki available at all times?

AndrewKemendo 11y ago

Isn't this the exact opposite of everything everyone preaches in product design? Doesn't that totally go against every best practice and case study of simple UX? For example how facebook mobile changed their notifications bar from the hamburger menu to the tab bar is held up as a great change cause it makes things easier. Same for almost the entirety of apple products. What gives?