Designing a Better Reading Experience: Reducing Product Risk and Removing the MVP Mindset

Designing a Better Reading Experience: Reducing Product Risk and Removing the MVP Mindset

In today's digital age, reading online encompasses several behaviors: deciding what to read, the act of reading itself, and what we do with our knowledge after we've read something. As avid readers, my co-founder Rob Mackenzie and I were top users of Pocket, a popular read-it-later app. However, we noticed that the first generation of read-it-later apps lacked intelligent features. They didn't prioritize, resurface, or decay content based on our needs. This realization led us to create Matter, a platform aimed at designing a better reading experience.

When designing Matter, we decided to prioritize trust and elevate writers as first-class citizens in our system. We understood that people trust recommendations from other people, and good curation is incredibly valuable. It allows readers to discover hidden gems that might have been overlooked by engagement-based algorithms. Trust plays a crucial role in deciding what to read, and we wanted to provide a platform that fosters trust between readers and writers.

Another aspect we focused on was the bias towards new content. While it's important to stay updated with the latest news, we believe that the bias towards new content is too strong. Some of the best content ever produced was not written in the past week. We wanted to create a counterweight to this bias and make sure that readers have access to timeless and valuable content. We understand that delivering relevant and manageable content is a challenge, but it's a problem we're excited to solve.

In the era of newsletters, we realized that email inboxes are not ideal for reading. Most people want to quickly skim through their inbox and move on. Moreover, email inboxes don't allow for highlighting or annotating. To address this, we introduced a feature called "audio highlights" that allows users to highlight as they listen without having to open their phones. This feature caters to the rising trend of audio consumption and enhances the overall reading experience.

To further enhance the reading experience, we incorporated minimaps. By tapping an article with two fingers, users can view a miniaturized version of the content, allowing them to quickly scan headers and navigate through the text. This feature was inspired by video games and code editors, and we believe it will be even more useful on desktop web platforms.

At Matter, our core users are what we call "active readers." These individuals are intentional about what they read and actively curate their information diets. They have favorite writers, subscribe to newsletters, and often frequent obscure blogs. Our goal is to increase the return on investment (ROI) of reading for these active readers. We want to provide them with more insight, knowledge, and even a sense of thrill when they invest their time in reading.

Now, let's shift our focus to reducing product risk and removing the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) mindset. When it comes to de-risking projects, our approach should vary depending on the type of customer we're building for. Initial releases may not have all the features or functionalities that teams desire, but continuous iteration solves this issue. As long as we deliver value to users as features become available, the lack of a complete product is not a problem.

However, we must acknowledge that users are generally unreliable narrators of their own behaviors and preferences. While it's essential to have conversations with users about their problems, we must also infer solutions ourselves. As the famous quote attributed to Henry Ford goes, "If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse." We can't solely rely on consumers to be excellent product thinkers.

Cody's design quality framework suggests that the level of investment before a product reaches customers depends on our confidence in understanding the problem and the viability of the solution. This framework encourages us to build features rather than focusing on a complete product. By building on top of existing products, we can create lightweight features that prove our ideas solve a problem. Once we've validated the solution, we can then invest more to reach the full potential of the product or feature idea.

Releasing products or features regularly also allows us to de-risk our vision technically. Instead of facing the challenge of scaling or breaking a complete product all at once, regular releases enable us to incrementally observe how what we've built performs. This approach helps us identify any technical limitations or areas for improvement before they become overwhelming.

In conclusion, designing a better reading experience involves prioritizing trust, curating content, and providing features that enhance the overall experience. It also requires us to reduce product risk by iterating and releasing regularly, while removing the MVP mindset and focusing on building valuable features. To apply these principles to your own projects, here are three actionable pieces of advice:

1. Prioritize trust and curate content: Consider how you can elevate writers and foster trust between readers and content creators. Good curation adds value to the reading experience by helping readers discover hidden gems.

2. Regularly release and iterate: Don't wait for a complete product before delivering value to users. Release features incrementally to de-risk your vision technically and gather feedback to drive further improvements.

3. Understand your customers' problems: While it's important to listen to your customers, remember that they may not always have the best solutions. Infer solutions based on their problems and be proactive in shaping the future of your product.

By following these three pieces of advice, you can create a better reading experience and reduce product risk, ultimately leading to a more successful and impactful product.