The past few years publications have been pointing towards the decline of the human attention span, being shorter than that of a goldfish, just 8 seconds long. However this ‘fact’ seems to be fabricated with more and more time being spent playing video games and consuming media from streaming services YouTube or Netflix. With this being said there is the issue with users losing interest in a service or app if too much is thrown at them or not enough is made available.
Interactive media seems to be the favourite among internet users with higher engagement rates and more social media shares of content like 360-degree videos and gifs, making visual content 40% more likely to be shared. This is something that marketing and advertising has recognised with online content and this has created the implementation of more interactive media as a way to engage and attract consumers. With the amount of time spent online on the rise, with one study indicating that its actually more time than we sleep, consumers still want a human element to their online interactive experience.
Communication and sharing of experiences is a large part of how people interact with each other online this aspect can be found in streaming services like Spotify with shared listening sessions, finding other peoples playlist, even enabling songs or podcasts being shared via link.
This aspect is something that I have found is lost in TV and Streaming services like Netflix and Prime Video. On social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, I have noticed my friends posting asking for recommendations on Netflix.
With this in mind, I decided that I wanted to create an interactive element that would help keep the users attention for longer as well as adding a social media aspect to the streaming service that would allow users to connect with one another and exchange likes, dislikes and the latest trends.
Ideas
NetflixHive
My first idea was something that could be added to Netflix to create a community of users that could exchange personal lists or recently watched movies. The recommendations from friends you have connected with would then generate new lists for you to browse. Something I have noticed on Social Media is people posting asking about what things to watch on Netflix, what others would recommend and this made me think if there was a section localised within the app itself that it would be an attractive aspect for users to enjoy. In doing this, the lists wouldn’t be created from an algorithm that’s trying to push you watch certain titles, but instead from human experience and friends that have similar tastes to you.
Tinder-style Mechanics
This part of my idea generation was with the interactive element in mind. Tinders swipe left for someone you like or right to dismiss is an appealing ‘game’ mechanic that could be implemented into Netflix to match with shows or movies you like. This would be a fun way to find the things you might like to watch instead of being faced with mass lists or if you just don’t have a particular type of show in mind. It is something that could keep the user engaged with the app because it is a rewarding mechanic with the potential to make a large watch list from the shows you have swiped left to match with.
On the same idea of a game mechanic, I drew up a screen consisting of bubbles, which are movies and shows, and a circle in the centre to drop the shows you like into your watch lists, just as another way to make selecting something to watch now or in the future, a more rewarding experience.
Grab and Drop Titles / Mini Game
My final idea was more of a redesign of netflix, experimenting with layouts and different buttons that could be used with more a more rounded, circular theme.
