Episode 28 – The Psychology of Boredom, Color in Data Visualization, Snap Inc IPO, and Medium’s “Series”
This week, our hosts, Matt, Anna, Will, and Min take some time to look at a range of topics, from broad tactics to concrete product launches. Our hosts guide take time every Monday to give you the latest information on technology, marketing, and design. Don’t miss an episode by subscribing to our email notification list or, on iTunes/Google Play.
The Psychology of Boredom [6:10]
Color in Data Visualization [14:45]
Snap Inc IPO [13:42]
Medium’s New “Serie” Feature [21:40]
The Psychology of Boredom
Anna takes time this week to explore the psychology of boredom and how it influences users addiction to games like Candy Crush and apps like Facebook. Together, the group identifies the relationships between boredom, micro transactions, and modern payment models.
“Our attachment to our apps is what makes us bored in the first place.” -Anna
“Knowing there’s something to check makes us impulsive, that’s why we constantly check the same app or social media platform.” -Anna
“If you’re a business that’s driving people to make contributions, do it in a way that’s engaging them.” -Anna
“Usually the company needs to win me over before I’ll start purchasing micro transactions in a game or app.” -Matt
Color in Data Visualization
Color plays a much larger influence on many of the things you see and how you perceive it, whether you know it or not! Min leads the group on a discussion to uncover the hidden details about color and how it can influence your design, especially in data visualization.
“Humans associate density with darker colors so, if you use a darker color, people will think it’s a higher number.” -Min
“Computers render colors differently so you need to be careful about how it’s showing up and explain your choices well!” -Min
“My personal favorite tool for working on color pallets is Adobe Color. The color wheel, adjustments, and recommendations it gives you makes it a lot easier to do.” -Min
Snap Inc IPO
This week marks the first week that Snapchat stands as a publicly traded company and that fact means a lot for the company and its future. Will takes time to analyze where Snapchat stands now and where they’re poised to go in the future!
“Everyone’s wondering if Snap INC will end up like Facebook or Twitter.” -Will
“60% of Snapchat users skip ads which is posing a risk for their ad revenue starting out.” -Will
“Overall, I think Snap Inc will do really well, they’re going in the right direction and they’re super innovative.” -Matt
“Snapchat built their foundation on being unique and they need to maintain that.” -Anna
Medium’s New “Series” Feature
In the wake of Snapchat’s success, many companies, Facebook included, have been adding features to similar to those of Snapchat in a bid to steal its users back. Medium is no exception to this as Matt explains this week. They’re adding a new feature called “Series” which mimics the functionality of Snapchat’s “Stories” with a few changes!
“Medium is really good for long form blog posts and now they’re branching out into short form stories through their ‘Series feature’.” -Matt
“The visual elements will be a great improvement for Medium.” -Will
“Medium’s ‘Series’ feature has potential to be a really great story telling tool for you brand.” -Min
“People want to share their entire experience which includes pictures and the text.” -Will
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