In the context of news, maybe there is content finishability and task finishability. Allowing for both give content the best chance to be consumed.
Content finishability is the ability to completely read or get what you want out of content. Task finishability is the ability to mark and read/interact with later. Both are within the single finite reading experience and are key to completing it. Demand for apps like Pocket and Instapaper highlight the need for both reader journeys.
There are a few ways publishers make their content as finishable as possible from the reader’s perspective and plenty of unfound ideas.
The Browser does a good job of pre-warning the reader of words to expect in an article - “(4,100 words)” and Medium takes this a step further by turning words into minutes — “3 min read.” While everyone reads at a different pace, minutes can be appreciated more than a word count. You can turn minutes into something useful and quickly decide if the piece can fit into your next chunk of free time. You could be more likely to read or mark something to read later if you know what you’re getting into. 3 minute read? Great. *Click*. 12 minute read? Fine. *Pocket*. Providing the reader with a high level view of the content from any sort of feed or hub view (front page) could be helpful for the reader’s near term planning. This is a value-add for any publisher.
Think about recommending a book to your friend. Maybe you try to convince them to read it by saying “It’s a quick read” or “This is nice for a long vacation.” It’s not that a short read or a long read is bad. It’s that short or long fits into an appropriate time slot. It shows respect for the reader. There are different means of improving task finishability. Time to consume can go beyond word counts and minutes. Say, 3 clock icons progressive in size 1–3. Clock #1 is a small icon representing short consumption time and adding clock #2, a larger icon, represents longer consumption time. It doesn’t always have to be “reading time” either. Remember a piece of content can consist of just a slide show or meme list. Publishers can be clever here. The key is to respect the reader’s time and provide a useful way to consume now or later.
News is being consumed during increasingly tiny chunks of time throughout the day. A minute on the train, a few seconds while the barista prepares your fuel, and during any little break you might have. This endless stream can feel unrewarding at times. You never feel finished.
It’s a good idea to create a series of finite experiences so you always feel progression. The Yahoo News app does a great job of showing progress (“You’ve read 7 of 9") but this can be expanded upon. What we can learn from Yahoo is that visuals are key to the progression and finish. Vox Card Stacks do a great job of showing progression through topic comprehension reading.
Creating individual, mini experiences are key to comprehension and delivering a feeling of progression. People love this sense of accomplishment and crave it often to keep engaging with the news. Code Academy does a great job constantly patting students on the back while they learn how to code. Breaking the day’s news down into manageable pieces, visually representing progression, and clearly showing a reward for finishing can lead to a happy reader that comes back every day. Creating individual experiences that clearly fit into time of day slots makes news approachable and finishable.
