Secret
Rising of a Pheonix
Secret is a fascinating app that has the potential to disrupt the way we communicate via social networks. Secret is described as an online platform that enables users to share their personal secrets with other users anonymously, the more I use the app, the more I see its potential.
Many people complain that it’s a platform only for techies, a tool with no social value, a place for nonsensical comments and empty gossips. Though it’s somewhat true now, let me quickly paint a brief picture how powerful of a tool Secret could be, using Twitter as a benchmark for comparison.
Twitter has become an important and influential instrument for many to communicate in real-time — from the #bringourgirlsback movement to U.S. presidential debates and elections, people have used Twitter to hallmark, galvanize and debate monumental moments in modern day history. Now, imagine taking this one step further — people voicing their knowledge, opinions or despair against oppressors without fear of retribution — remember the Arab Spring? Syria? How could Secret have changed the way #Snowden or #Assange disseminated information?
Secret is unique in the fact that you are able to see your friend’s raw beliefs. In this blog post, I’m going to focus on the product, suggest features to improve user experience for people with various interests, and promote it as a platform that could bring people together around a common purpose.
Product Design
The app is well built for a user who creates content, but there are areas for improvement for a user who consumes the content. Just today in my feeds, I saw a post that literally read: “I insert Q-Tips into my ear canal and I fucking love it.” This secret is sadly irrelevant to me. A goal of the new design is to reduce the noise on my feeds. Using UXPin, I wireframed a new concept with which I do a fun A/B test experiment with my hypotheses.
The objective of the experiment is to:
- Increase user engagement.
- Increase visit duration.
- Increase visitor frequency & recency.
Illustrations below are side-by-side comparison between the current/control version(A) and my new/experimental design(B).
Feeds
A
- When opening the app, the feeds is what a user sees on the screen. She never sees more than 2 posts(secrets) on the screen because the text boxes take sufficient real estate regardless of the secret’s length. So, navigating down to read other secrets feels slow. I assumed it’s built this way in order for posted pictures to be displayed in visible dimension.
- Secret is built around a network of geo-location and friends.
B
- In the experimental design, a text box is flexible relatively to the secret’s length. A user can see 3 secrets or more. Why does that matter? It matters because now a user navigates through many secrets much faster. If she posts a picture, the text box will default back to the original size. This UI will make easier for users to discover more secrets faster.
- I go further with the network that Secret is built around. Each secret is organized based on topics relevant to that user, hence the hashtags(#). I believe that having content to the user finds interesting will increase user engagement reflected by the # of comments, favorites, shares, daily active users (DAUs), — thus, increasing visit duration as well.
Compose Screen
The compose screen is split in two boxes.
A
Step 1:
- The top box is where a user writes her thoughts.
- The bottom box has a line “Who will see this?” when clicked, a message pops over.
Step 2:
- Once a user touches the top box, the keyboard slides up enabling her to write her thoughts.
B
Step 1:
- The top box remains untouched.
- The bottom box is filled with hashtags. The hashtags in this instance are organized in 3 columns. The first column contains the most trending topics within categories relevant to the user. The second and third columns contains last used hashtags and hashtags on topic of interests. I put the hashtags in that space because in the control version, it’s a grey empty space with no action.
Step 2:
- The user has now 2 options. A user can follow the same steps as the original version. Or, she can choose a hashtag relevant to the thought she’s going to share which will prompt the keyboard to slide up enabling her to write her thoughts.
Conclusion
My hypothesis is that the new UX|UI will increase user engagement — users will find more secrets that they find interesting. I’m really excited to see what the future holds for Secret and I believe this social platform can become as instrumental as Twitter.
