Music Tech & Anthropology

From the AnthroTech meetup, July 22, 2013

http://www.meetup.com/AnthroTech-Anthropology-in-Technology/events/129091562/

Transcript

1. peter@swarm.fm 1
2. peter@swarm.fm 2 • User Research • Hacks • Insights • Music & Technology • Reality Check • Identity • Learnings Topics
3. peter@swarm.fm 3 Hacking User Research Techniques
4. peter@swarm.fm 4 Every conversation is an interview • Use every opportunity to learn about people’s habits • Contributes to your overall understanding
5. peter@swarm.fm 5 One man’s app is another man’s beta • Use similar apps in your space to test • Learn from what they do right / wrong
6. peter@swarm.fm 6 Let users pull features out of you • If users aren’t screaming for it, it’s probably not critical • User workarounds point to features they really want
7. peter@swarm.fm 7 Track everything, but stay focused. • Metrics: Use AARRR, and avoid vanity metrics • Macro learning: Look for strong patterns across all users • Micro learning: Recreate individual user flows
8. peter@swarm.fm 8 Document your learning • Demonstrate progress to stakeholders and employees • Get new people up to speed quality
9. peter@swarm.fm 9 Hacking User Research Insights
10. peter@swarm.fm 10 Nobody likes surveys. Nobody. • Hard to get statistically reliable results. • Better insight from in depth interviews • Critical to avoid leading questions
11. peter@swarm.fm 11 Great on paper, bad in reality • Hard to know if something truly works until you try it • Get a prototype in people’s hands ASAP
12. peter@swarm.fm 12 Launching is fun, maintenance is not • Iterate as much as can within a small, forgiving group • Aiming the gun is easier than steering the bullet mid-flight
13. peter@swarm.fm 13 Less people, deeper involvement • Managing a large beta can be hard and ineffective • Focus on people who will put the time and effort in
14. peter@swarm.fm 14 Trust your gut • Research should inform decisions, not dictate them • You’re going to need to take leaps of faith • Just make sure you are aware of your biases
15. peter@swarm.fm 15 Music & Technology Reality Check
16. peter@swarm.fm 16 Progress is slower than you think • Radio is still the largest form of discovery • People still buy CDs (seriously!)
17. peter@swarm.fm 17 Market is evolving in unexpected ways • Youtube is the biggest music service amongst teenagers • Vinyl sales are increasing year after year
18. peter@swarm.fm 18 Music is competing with new forms of entertainment • The internet offers new ways to kill time • The greatest threat to musicians are cat GIFs
19. peter@swarm.fm 19 Current engagement is just the tip of the iceberg • Pandora says that 80% of listening is lean back • Yet musicians are the most actively followed on Twitter • Opportunity to change the ratio
20. peter@swarm.fm 20 Music & Technology Identity
21. peter@swarm.fm 21 Fitting in vs Fitting out • Punks and Beliebers have a lot in common • Identifying with an obscure artist reflects rebellion
22. peter@swarm.fm 22 Open vs Closed • Some love to show off taste, while others recoil in horror • Influenced by level of security amongst peers
23. peter@swarm.fm 23 Narrow vs Wide • Music dentity can be highly localised or broad • Tied to an artist, a genre, or music as a whole
24. peter@swarm.fm 24 EMI Music Fan Segments • Gadgeteer • Nighthawk • Pop Idol • Collector • Orphan • Casual • Disenchanted • Post-Music • Pre-Cash • Cutting Edge • Tastemaker
25. peter@swarm.fm 25 In summary, it’s complicated! • Know who you’re targeting, and involve a mix in testing • Build products with flexibility. One size does not fit all
26. peter@swarm.fm 26 Music & Technology Learnings
27. peter@swarm.fm 27 Music is social, so lets show friends’ activity! • Overlap between friendship and taste is very small • Listening != Enjoying
28. peter@swarm.fm 28 We need a new social graph, based on music taste! • No two people are exactly alike • We can’t resist following everyone we know • Item relevance is more important than who they picked
29. peter@swarm.fm 29 Music fans need more control over their collection & identity! • Any well-meaning attempt to organise will descend into chaos • Expect chaos and make the most of it
30. peter@swarm.fm 30 Fans love getting new music recommendations! • Bigget challenge is what to listen to next, new or old • Users will balk at unfamiliar recommendations, despite relevance
31. peter@swarm.fm 31 Everything should be personalised to your taste! • Taste doesn’t get an opportunity to evolve (filter bubble) • Cultural importance of knowing the same songs
32. peter@swarm.fm 32 Wrapup • Building a social music product is a complex problem • Barely scratching the surface of what can be done • The future is exciting!