Designing a Better Reading Experience with Matter: Smart Things Smart People Said

Designing a Better Reading Experience with Matter: Smart Things Smart People Said

In today's digital age, reading online has become a multi-faceted process. It involves choosing what to read, immersing oneself in the act of reading, and then deciding how to apply that newfound knowledge. As someone who has been an avid reader for years, I understand the importance of a seamless reading experience. That's why my co-founder Rob Mackenzie and I created Matter, a platform that aims to enhance the way we consume information.

One of the key issues we noticed with the first-generation read-it-later apps was the lack of intelligent features. These apps failed to assist with prioritization, resurfacing, or even decay of content. However, we believe in the importance of focusing on needs that won't change, as highlighted by Jeff Bezos. Customers will always demand faster delivery, and in the same vein, the supply of great content will continue to rise. The challenge lies in effectively managing attention and making informed decisions about what to read.

Trust plays a crucial role in the decision-making process when it comes to selecting reading material. People trust other people, and that's why we made a conscious decision to elevate writers as first-class citizens in our system. By prioritizing good curation, we enable our users to discover hidden gems that are often overlooked by engagement-based algorithms. It's about creating a better experience that empowers readers to find valuable content.

While there is an undeniable bias towards new information in our information consumption habits, we believe that the emphasis on novelty is too strong. We want to serve as a counterweight to this bias. After all, some of the best content ever produced was not written in the past week. We need to find a way to deliver relevant and manageable content, striking a balance between what's new and what's timeless.

One area we identified as ripe for improvement was the reading experience within email inboxes. Most people want to breeze through their inbox quickly, making it an unsuitable environment for immersive reading. Additionally, traditional email platforms lack features like highlighting and annotation. This is where we incorporate highly reliable parsing techniques, such as NLP and computer vision, to enhance the user experience. By leveraging these advanced technologies, we can push the boundaries of what's possible in email-based reading.

Furthermore, the rise of audio as a mode of content consumption cannot be ignored. Listening has become increasingly convenient, thanks to hardware innovations. Recognizing this trend, we introduced a feature called "audio highlights" on Matter. Users can now highlight important sections of an article while listening, without the need to open their phones. This seamless integration of audio and reading enhances the overall experience for our users.