it is important to surface important actions to users
no app address the reading list problem(pocket is doing better than other apps through the obvious archiving button at the bottom of the screen)
pocket address the problem of finding saved article by list through tagging/ categorizing
medium helps reading effective through easy commenting/ highlighting & presenting popular comments or highlights from other people
both pocket and readability has profile/ in app recommendation… but i don’t use it often(because that’s not my main social media & recommend does not feel personal enough for me?) also for most sharing I share because I want to save the article so that I can come back to it someday when I need it.
Apps
Before Reading
During Reading
After Reading
Other
sample questions:
How does these apps help me save articles from the web?
how does this app present my saved articles? Am I motivated to read them? Why or why not?
sample questions:
What can I do while reading the article? Is it helpful for me to be effective in reading the article?
sample questions:
what happens after I finish reading one article?
sample questions:
Why this app is popular? What people say about it?
Readability
(ios app)
use chrome plug in to save
save into my reading list
reading list a list of articles synced offline
i can search through filter
display adjustment/ share/ start/ archive/ delete etc. - all in the hidden menu
can click on links in the article to open the webpage in Safari
i can just go back to the list/ the article will still be in the to read list…
star/ share with friends/ archive &unarchive etc.(user need to double tap or slide left to open the left menu)
archive recommend star available in list view
star/ archived list in the main page(which is handy to switch back and forth)
recommend to follower in the app and share it on Facebook or Twitter(same as pocket)
“ it's fast, it gets out of your way, and(contrary to others) I like the typography. ”
“ If you never want to add or organize articles on your phone, it's superb. If you do, it's a bit frustrating. ”
“Next on my wish list is the ability to highlight passages. If I read an article and find a part of it important enough that I might want to go back and reference it I should be able to highlight that. Because we all know we don't have time to go back and read the whole article looking for that one thing we know we read in that article.”
after selecting(i have no idea this feature exists)
copy/ defines/ recommend/ share selected part
in the hidden menu
add tag
display adjustment
listen
switch to web view
delete
i can just go back to the list/ the article will still be in the to read list…but archive/ recommend icon obvious, stick at the button of the page;
easy archive
share(to friend/ open on safari/ copy link etc.)
recommend to follower in the app and share it on Facebook or Twitter
archived article list paralleled to the reading list
can search article in archived list & list together through search and tag
add article to favorite only in the list view
“Removal of the handy Highlights feature in a recent version is unfortunate. I used that to find Quick Reads in my list all the time. Now it's open articles one by one and manually scroll to check length to see if it fits my free time or attention span. ”
“Why force someone to hold the Archive(check) button and choose Delete? I have accidentally archived something I wanted to delete many times. Correcting that adds multiple steps and frustration. “
“i wish it were easier to see what I recently read…”
“offline mode”
Medium
(ios app)
saw the article online and bookmark link near the article
can find all the articles in bookmarks but not way to find or search
highlight/ comment/ private comment/ share - selected parts
recommend or bookmark the article(obvious and first level)
see other people’s(usually people i follow or popular) comments and highlight(this helps me to be an effective reader)
read article share the same tag as the article - explore similar articles
recommend/ which will show in my profile
comment/ read other people’s comments
share/ bookmark/ see the author’s profile
I need to un-bookmark it in order for it to disappear from my bookmark list
“the content and writing are always spot on”
Highlight
chrome plugin to activate highlight mode
on highlight home page, I can connect my pocket account, and see the list of articles
view quick summary of things you highlighted
share highlighted content
highlight articles in pocket/ archive articles is made easy with a big archive button(always available while reading the article)
friends highlight(including # of people who highlight the same thing)
see the origin of the highlight
see all my highlight
search for my highlight
Evernote
use chrome plug in to save - can be saved through selected content/ simplified article/ bookmark/ screenshot etc.
can search/ find notes with certain tags & notebook/ search in notebook etc.
Findings