Rebel Rebel: a case study on taking the opposite approach

Products we’re passionate about start by scratching an itch; we have a problem we want to solve. But with a marketplace crowded with options and the likelihood it’s been tried before, how do we approach it in a way that’s fresh enough to attract users?

In this case study, Hannah and Matt will share the thinking and process behind their product This Is My Jam, an unconventional approach to song sharing.

Learn about the benefits of (and techniques for) questioning established product and technical orthodoxy; the role style and trends play in product appeal; and victories as well as mistakes from the early days of prototyping Jam.

Transcript

1. Rebel Rebel
   Hannah Donovan & Matthew Ogle
   UX London 2013
   

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2. HI!
   @han
   we are…
   & @flaneur
   

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3. Product patterns
   Trend, anti-trend
   The story of Jam
   In this
   talk…
   

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4. Product patterns
   Trend, anti-trend
   The story of Jam
   1
   2
   3
   In this
   talk…
   GO
   

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5. There are two big problems
   in online music:
   

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6. There are two big problems
   in online music:
   I want to listen to ‘my’
   music – when, where
   and how I want
   Access
   * For varying definitions of ‘my’
   

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7. There are two big problems
   in online music:
   I want to listen to ‘my’
   music – when, where
   and how I want
   Access
   * For varying definitions of ‘my’
   I need ‘new’ music
   Discovery
   and ‘new’
   

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16. Access Discovery
    Music Startups by Primary Focus
    

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17. Access Discovery
    Music Startups by Primary Focus
    1998
    Napster
    2006
    Last.fm
    Pandora
    YouTube
    2004
    MySpace
    2010 +
    Turntable.fm
    Jam
    iTunes Match
    2002
    iTunes Store
    2000
    iPod
    2008
    Spotify
    GrooveShark
    

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18. Access Discovery
    Music Startups by Primary Focus
    1998
    Napster
    2006
    Last.fm
    Pandora
    YouTube
    2004
    MySpace
    2010 +
    Turntable.fm
    Jam
    iTunes Match
    2002
    iTunes Store
    2000
    iPod
    2008
    Spotify
    GrooveShark
    

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19. Access & discovery are examples
    of 1st and 2nd order problems
    

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20. Access & discovery are examples
    of 1st and 2nd order problems
    1st order
    Infrastructure
    Tools
    Needs
    

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21. Access & discovery are examples
    of 1st and 2nd order problems
    1st order
    Infrastructure
    Tools
    Needs
    2nd order
    Community
    Play
    Wants
    

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22. Access & discovery are examples
    of 1st and 2nd order problems
    1st order
    Infrastructure
    Tools
    Needs
    2nd order
    Community
    Play
    Wants
    Government consensus Public gov.uk website
    

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23. Access & discovery are examples
    of 1st and 2nd order problems
    1st order
    Infrastructure
    Tools
    Needs
    2nd order
    Community
    Play
    Wants
    Government consensus Public gov.uk website
    

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24. Access & discovery are examples
    of 1st and 2nd order problems
    1st order
    Infrastructure
    Tools
    Needs
    2nd order
    Community
    Play
    Wants
    Government consensus Public gov.uk website
    Sodastream™
    

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25. Access & discovery are examples
    of 1st and 2nd order problems
    1st order
    Infrastructure
    Tools
    Needs
    2nd order
    Community
    Play
    Wants
    Government consensus Public gov.uk website
    Clean tap water Sodastream™
    

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26. 1
    st
    or
    2nd
    ?
    Both are important but require different strategies.
    

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27. Find out as early as possible
    which type of problem you
    like working on.
    It will make
    you happier.
    

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28. 1
    st
    order
    products
    2nd
    order
    Second order products
    usually require a stable first
    order product or system in
    their space first.
    

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29. Access Discovery
    Music Startups by Primary Focus
    1998
    Napster
    iPod
    2006
    Spotify
    GrooveShark
    2004
    Last.fm
    Pandora
    YouTube
    2010
    Turntable.fm
    Jam
    iTunes Match
    2002
    MySpace
    2000 2008
    

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30. First order Second order
    Product Opportunities by Problem Type
    Infrastructure
    Tools
    Needs
    Community
    Play
    Wants
    

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31. First order Second order
    Product Opportunities by Problem Type
    Infrastructure
    Tools
    Needs
    Community
    Play
    Wants
    Trends
    & taste
    matter more
    

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32. New trends often emerge in
    opposition to previous ones.
    

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33. New trends often emerge in
    opposition to previous ones.
    70s
    

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34. New trends often emerge in
    opposition to previous ones.
    70s
    80s
    

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35. New trends often emerge in
    opposition to previous ones.
    70s
    80s
    90s
    

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36. New trends often emerge in
    opposition to previous ones.
    70s
    80s
    90s
    00s
    

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37. New trends often emerge in
    opposition to previous ones.
    70s
    80s
    90s
    00s
    …and we wanted to make a
    new music discovery service
    201
    1
    it
    was
    

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38. We noticed:
    In 2011, music discovery apps
    were borrowing many trends
    from online culture in general.
    ✤
    big data / algorithms
    ✤
    social = real-time feeds, updated frequently
    ✤
    more content = better; playlists as base unit
    ✤
    “spreadsheet music”
    

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39. Imagined
    Opposite
    ✤ 100% hand-picked
    ✤ Slow
    ✤ Less content; a song as
    base unit
    ✤ Visual culture of music;
    personal expression
    If you want to create something playful, a good
    exercise is to imagine the opposite.
    ✤ Big data / algorithms
    ✤ Fast (real time)
    ✤ More content; a playlist
    as base unit
    ✤ “spreadsheet music”
    201
    1
    Status Quo
    

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40. This Is My Jam
    1 2
    

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41. This Is My Jam
    1 2
    

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42. And we recently reached 1million jams shared
    (slowly and thoughtfully).
    Chris Thorpe @jaggeree
    @ThisIsMyJam is closest thing I've felt for a while to the John Peel
    show I remember from youth. You may not like all but discovery is key.
    27 Jan 12
    “Here’s the deal: you get one song at a
    time and that’s all you get. That’s your
    jam. Simple. I like it”
    “This is My Jam is part of a growing, and
    overdue, movement… fucking delightful”
    

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43. It’s worked surprisingly well, but we’ve also
    grappled with mistakes along the way:
    Mobile native vs. web first?
    When is a constraint too much?
    How do you know the ‘first order’ infrastructure
    is reliable?
    ?
    

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44. 1
    2
    3
    Are you trying to solve a first or second
    order problem?
    Both are valuable but have different
    properties. How does that affect you?
    If you’re solving a second order problem,
    how does it interact with larger trends?
    

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45. And imagine the
    OPPOSITE
    You might just create something new
    that meets emerging desires.
    

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