Surviving The Digital Apocalypse: Can UX Save Content from he Burning Platform?

Christine McGlade Senior Partner | @cmcglade

Jesse Emmanuel Rosario User Experience Specialist | @jemrosario

Can UX save Content from the Burning Platform?!

Surviving the Digital Apocalypse!

DrupalNorth Regional Summit | June 26, 2015

Hello!

Christine McGlade Senior Partner

@cmcglade

Jesse Emmanuel Rosario User Experience Specialist

@jemrosario


Business is changing and content is getting impacted


Content has been “in trouble” since at least 2005. But Dries’ articles have clarified and defined the problem very clearly.


news articles

magazines

learning objects and resources

television programs,

documentaries, ��etc.

Content is in trouble

Producer!

Captive Audience !

In the Old World…!

There used to be direct relationship between a producer and a captive audience, where producers

created a huge content scarcity only they can fill. That business model has been

turned upside down.

In the New World…!

INFORMATION OVERLOAD More choices. Specific Needs. Limited Attention. !

So content is in trouble because

#1: Content is commoditized.

The new scarcity is attention.

PERSONALIZATION

What do Facebook, Flipbook and Apple News do best? Leverage data to drive a one-to-one relationship between users and the platform. !

Content Platform ! User Platform !

“Get your content here!” “Content comes to you!”

NEVER AGAIN! …will you have to wade through reams upon reams of pages and

content anymore!

…instead you’re given��‘things you might like’

…based on your previous transactions with that same user platform.

Content !Platform !

User!Platform ! BOOM!!+ =

Dries Buytaert’s equation for digital disruption


#2: User platforms are beating content platforms on delight and relevance.

“The last great experience a [user] has becomes the expected experience for everything that comes after.”

Owned media is a

dying model

OLD MEDIA THE INTERNET PROGRAMMATIC

CHALLENGE: Revenue Generation

Programmatic Advertising

Content Platforms (e.g. News websites, etc.)


#3: Traditional platforms have become increasingly hard to

monetize because of programmatic advertising.

So where does content sit ��within the broader digital economy?

Publishers are at the bottom of the smiling curve, i.e. yields the lowest value-input

Source: Stratechery by Ben Thompson (h-ps://stratechery.com/2014/publishers-‐smiling-‐curve)

IT IS JUST NOT ENOUGH TO PUSH CONTENT ANYMORE. Value now rests at the other ends of the curve. Compete or fold.

Source: ChrisAne McGlade and Jesse Emmanuel Rosario

We’re feeling the pinch! L

Users <3 us so much we’re beating content platforms!

So, content is in trouble because ��

it is losing its relationship with

its readers.


my smile curve slide script!

When it started, radio was all about selling listeners to

advertisers



$

$

$

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Listener = the Product; Content = demand

generator, relationship & ��ad revenue builder



0100110 1011000

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Content is no longer enough to generate demand today. Amazing UX generates !

the demand. !


Adaptive Content ! BOOM!!=


We believe that adaptive content is the emerald city for content platforms since it provides personalization and contextualization – ��

keys to fantastic user experiences


<ul> The Road to Adaptive Content: RESPONSIVE DESIGN!


<ingredients>

The Road to Adaptive Content: INTELLIGENT CONTENT!


Adaptive content has been described as a link between online and offline, because adaptive content needs to know the user journey. It is content that adapts to the user journey. ��

This yellow brick road to adaptive content is paved with user experience design principles.

The Road to Adaptive Content: ADAPTIVE CONTENT!


PROBLEM: Adaptive Content is a tough sell (involves metadata, taxonomies, and more forms ��

for content producers to fill in, hence more work just to make it ‘adaptive’… not sexy)


Our UX Secret Weapons to Make Content more Adaptive!



AGE

POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT

RELIGIOSITY

Younger 20s, 30s

Older 50s, 60 onwards

Proactive Outspoken, Activist-like

Reactive Closer to events of the past in Jewish life/politics

Less Religious Not observant,

but still identifiesas a Jew on holidays or

culturally

Highly Religious Very observant, being a Jew ‘defines’this person’s being

Scenario Planning. !Find out the two most critical and uncertain things about your users, ��then map a user story or persona to each sector.


Younger, Proactive

Older, Reactive

LessReligious

HighlyReligious

“Foot%in%both%worlds”%

“The%%Ac4vist”%

“The%%Downtown%%

Jew”%

“Holis4cally%Jewish”%


AGE

POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT

RELIGIOSITY

Younger Older

Proactive Reactive

Less Religious

Highly Religious

Younger, Proactive

Older, Reactive

LessReligious

HighlyReligious

•  Mikhail$is$a$TorontoObased$media$professional$currently$in$his$30s.$

•  Describes$himself$as$“culturally$Jewish”$but$not$at$all$religious.$

•  Many$of$his$friends$are$in$interfaith$(i.e.$“mixed”)$relaBonships.$

•  “I’m$all$digital”$when$it$comes$to$his$news$media$consumpBon.$

•  He$perks$up$at$the$menBon$of$certain$Jewish$foods.$$

MIKHAIL% “I#didn’t#have#a##Bar#Mitzvah”#Foot$in$Both$Worlds$




4) our 3 UX "Killer apps"!•  user story mapping

– CAMH contextual content, severity scale, "sales funnel"




“Hooked” is a book by Nir Eyal!


STAGE 1: Triggers


STAGE 2: Motivation and Action


STAGE 3: Reward


STAGE 4: Investment


UX is the key to demand generation and the ability to stay relevant, own the relationship with users, and generate revenue. Content isn't king: CONTEXT is king. If we can build USER context into ADAPTIVE content, we may escape the burning platform


Thanks!