4 ms·

". I don't understand this recent fad of pressing harder/longer on a button to discover a secret hidden feature that's unavailable otherwise." No kidding, as a

by swalsh 11y ago

". I don't understand this recent fad of pressing harder/longer on a button to discover a secret hidden feature that's unavailable otherwise." No kidding, as a 28 year old I'm embarrassed to admit how long it took me to "get" snapchat's UI.

DominikR 11y ago
You are not the only one, I'm building mobile chat applications for a living (6 years now) and to this day I don't "get" the Snapchat UI. I believe the UI has been tweaked for users that are more impulsive. I know it sounds strange, but you open the app the first time and you are immediately asked to make a picture of something and then send it to someone. (even though you haven't seen your available contacts yet)
- sehugg 11y ago
  Getting someone to contact someone else ASAP is key to virality.
  - DominikR 11y ago
    Yes I agree, but it is an interesting choice to ask the user to send a picture even though he didn't yet have the chance to see who else from his contacts is using Snapchat.
    - CodyReichert 11y ago
      I think it's smart. You can break down this feature into two types of users: - A user that has friends on snapchat. For them, just sign up and snap a picture. You're off to the races. IMO, there's no reason to pick who I want to send it to until I take the picture. - Another type of user would be someone who does not have any friends using SnapChat. For those people - you don't want to just say, "Sorry, you don't have any people to talk to - but feel free to play around with the camera." That probably won't encourage them to do much more with the app. Instead, you get them to create something first. When it's time to send their creation, they don't have anyone to send it to, but they are way more likely to say, "Hey <other person in the room>, download SnapChat so I can send you this hilarious thing I just made." Both of those people are way more likely to download and use the app - but the chance of them doing so goes way down if they never invest any time and creativity into the app. Just my two cents, but I think it makes perfect sense.
      - alttab 11y ago
        Funnel friction at its best.
paulmd 11y ago
I read an interesting piece that argues that the confusing interface is actually a feature. Can't find it at the moment, but it went something like: Snapchat's confusing interface complements the way their users interact. Users tend to learn about features from social interactions with their friends (face to face, or digital), which builds a sense of ingroup. Additionally, the confusing interface tends to filter out older users, who lack the social guidance of the younger users. This keeps the userbase heavily skewed young, which further reinforces its branding as a fun app for the cool kids. After all, nothing is less cool than your mom doing the things you like. I'm not sure that this is what the company wants (they've had screenshots of a redesigned UI leak this week), but it makes logical sense to me.
- peterjmag 11y ago
  Was it this one? http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2015/01/snapchat_why_teens_favorite_app_makes_the_facebook_generation_feel_old.html http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2015/01/...
acchow 11y ago
Snapchat is unusable if you don't learn this hidden "long press" action. Facebook will still be Facebook for you with all its cat photos, link-sharing, memes, blog posts and likes even if you don't figure out how to say "angry".
alttab 11y ago
As a 29 year old I'm wondering g how you're even using snapchat. That cohort seems so far away from me. I'm also married, if that matters.
abustamam 11y ago
I'm with you too. 25 year old developer here, and I had to be taught by a 15 year old how Snap chat works. And I still don't even know how it works. Just... why???

by swalsh 11y ago

DominikR 11y ago

You are not the only one, I'm building mobile chat applications for a living (6 years now) and to this day I don't "get" the Snapchat UI. I believe the UI has been tweaked for users that are more impulsive. I know it sounds strange, but you open the app the first time and you are immediately asked to make a picture of something and then send it to someone. (even though you haven't seen your available contacts yet)

sehugg 11y ago
Getting someone to contact someone else ASAP is key to virality.
- DominikR 11y ago
  Yes I agree, but it is an interesting choice to ask the user to send a picture even though he didn't yet have the chance to see who else from his contacts is using Snapchat.
  - CodyReichert 11y ago
    I think it's smart. You can break down this feature into two types of users: - A user that has friends on snapchat. For them, just sign up and snap a picture. You're off to the races. IMO, there's no reason to pick who I want to send it to until I take the picture. - Another type of user would be someone who does not have any friends using SnapChat. For those people - you don't want to just say, "Sorry, you don't have any people to talk to - but feel free to play around with the camera." That probably won't encourage them to do much more with the app. Instead, you get them to create something first. When it's time to send their creation, they don't have anyone to send it to, but they are way more likely to say, "Hey <other person in the room>, download SnapChat so I can send you this hilarious thing I just made." Both of those people are way more likely to download and use the app - but the chance of them doing so goes way down if they never invest any time and creativity into the app. Just my two cents, but I think it makes perfect sense.
    - alttab 11y ago
      Funnel friction at its best.

paulmd 11y ago

I read an interesting piece that argues that the confusing interface is actually a feature. Can't find it at the moment, but it went something like: Snapchat's confusing interface complements the way their users interact. Users tend to learn about features from social interactions with their friends (face to face, or digital), which builds a sense of ingroup. Additionally, the confusing interface tends to filter out older users, who lack the social guidance of the younger users. This keeps the userbase heavily skewed young, which further reinforces its branding as a fun app for the cool kids. After all, nothing is less cool than your mom doing the things you like. I'm not sure that this is what the company wants (they've had screenshots of a redesigned UI leak this week), but it makes logical sense to me.

peterjmag 11y ago
Was it this one? http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2015/01/snapchat_why_teens_favorite_app_makes_the_facebook_generation_feel_old.html http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2015/01/...

acchow 11y ago

Snapchat is unusable if you don't learn this hidden "long press" action. Facebook will still be Facebook for you with all its cat photos, link-sharing, memes, blog posts and likes even if you don't figure out how to say "angry".

alttab 11y ago

As a 29 year old I'm wondering g how you're even using snapchat. That cohort seems so far away from me. I'm also married, if that matters.

abustamam 11y ago

I'm with you too. 25 year old developer here, and I had to be taught by a 15 year old how Snap chat works. And I still don't even know how it works. Just... why???