INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Authors: Super UserWe live in the age of the needy notification
Are you enjoying this app Rate it in the App Store! What do you think of our website We'd love to hear from you
How was your stayThere's a seemingly endless stream of requests for our opinions, mostly from the makers of apps and websites, that could
easily fill your day if you responded to them all. It can be exhausting and off-putting, which raises the question: why is the tech world
so darned needyMany websites ask for instant reviews from first-time visitors
Credit: Virgin AtlanticThe instant reviewNew users are the tech industry's lifeblood
So when you visit a website for the first time, it treats you like royalty by trying to engage you."This one drives me up the wall," says
Gary Van Broekhoven, Head of customer experience at DMI, which has worked with Virgin, Addison Lee and Fitness First."They could do the
world a favor by building something their customers really value and, guess what, those customers will go and tell all their friends about
it." Trouble is, tech people don't like word of mouth because it can't be quantified.So instead, it's a simple ratings war
There are 2.2 million apps in Apple's App Store and 2.8 million on Google Play, so getting noticed is a really big problem for apps."They
ask for a review within the first few seconds to ensure that they take advantage of the window of opportunity before the likely event that
the user decides the app is not relevant to them, or simply fails to use it again," says Alex Lee, user experience designer at Impression,
which has worked with BP, Telefónica, Experian and Coffee Central.It's a problem of collective 'cry wolf'
"Standing out above the waves requires waving your arms around a lot, but the problem is that if you're someone who's always waving their
arms then people just ignore you," says Adam Alton, Senior Developer at app development company Potato."Apps are trying to find [the space]
between getting our attention and getting on our nerves, but often, getting it wrong."Booking.com relies on reviews, but the system inflates
Credit: Booking.comThe recommendation economyThe internet has become a popularity contest
We live in a world where random 'citizen reviewers' pass judgment on everything, and that makes or breaks everything
So there is little choice for the app-maker; you must gain reviews, or the app fails."App developers are all heavily incentivized to make
things that generate recommendations, and to solicit those recommendations in order to be successful," says Jordan Harper, head of
innovation at Iris Worldwide, which works with Domino’s, Adidas and Shell."It may seem silly for a site you've never been to before to ask
for a thumbs up before you've spent more than a few seconds on there, but it's likely an effective tactic as it costs nothing for someone to
give a snap judgement on something, with a significant potential upside for the site/app."Harper thinks that apps and sites that do this
probably do spread more quickly
"Perhaps they sacrifice a deeper engagement with the customer as a result – it's difficult to be good friends with someone who constantly
needs to be told they're doing well," he says.A constant need for reviews has created a needy culture among app developers, but don't forget
that there is a sound reason for reviews. "With so many potential scams, having crowd-sourced reviews collected by a trusted source such as
Google is actually a pretty good way to know whether or not you're going to have your card details stolen," says Alton.However, there are
plenty of examples of the whole recommendation economy being disingenuous.Take Booking.com, which asks its users to review hotels they're
stayed in, but makes it impossible to give a hotel a really bad score
If you give a hotel a 'sad face' review in six categories – surely the visual equivalent of a zero – the hotels gets 2.5 stars out of
10. Apps that don’t get reviews sink without trace
Credit: WeVideoThe language barrierPerhaps the most annoying habit of late is the pop-up that asks you to enter your email address to join a
It's not the request itself, but the language used to get rid of it. 'Sign-up for our free newsletter!' The choices 'Yes, please' and 'No,
I want to remain uninformed.' That's passive aggressive language and weird
Nice work, website developer.How about the trusty error page When was the last time you experienced a page timeout or a page-not-found that
wasn't accompanied by the cringe-worthy 'oops, wrong URL!' and a cutesy image, but rather 'error 404’Why The internet is staffed by
machines, bots and algorithms
That's the obvious truth, but it needs to be hidden from view because people are scared of robots."People can become disillusioned if they
are reminded that they’re interacting with a machine rather than a person," says Lee
"Using humanistic language in this way aids the user experience as it builds on a trust element, prompting the user to return to a site or
app that they feel comfortable with."Oops! is used by many websites
Credit: AirbnbThe Kickstarter cringeIt's a similar story with Kickstarter, though with music rather than words
Hey what's this new gadget in this short video It seems fun and friendly! How do I know that The music in the background is just so cheery
and… insipid."It shows a lack of creativity, or the reality that they are building things quickly and cheaply, and it can be easier to go
with what appears to work," says Van Broekhoven
These startups are short on staff and time
But a bland video with non-descript music is surely a waste of everyone's time.Trouble is, established norms now exist
"There are now lots of production companies who specialize in making videos to help your campaign succeed, so there's a 'house style' that
works," says Harper.He likens it to why so many prices end in 99p/$0.99 and why skincare adverts always have people in white coats in
It's human psychology."Music has many powerful psychological attributes, and tapping into a positive vibe is an easy way to ensure the mood
is heightened and keeps the user on page," says Lee, though he admits that using ‘happy’ music may have a similar effect on some users
as dark or heavy metal music has on others.Might apps and websites one day access our Spotify accounts Credit: SpotifyIs it time for a
changeWhile modern sites are often rather bland and corporate, things could be about to change to make us enjoy our web experience in a way
that will make us want to leave a positive review:"I think we are set for a big step-change, not so much in tech language, but tech
experiences," says Van Broekhoven, who is looking forward to an era where there's a more humanising way of experiencing the digital arena
although it'll need a bit of buy-in from users. "[Imagine] devices that adapt to us, understand our preferences and change over time," he
says."With the level of detail that apps and websites can gather from users today, the user journey will become increasingly tailored
towards the individual users’ tastes, interests and whether or not they are tech savvy," says Lee.For example, if a website or app wants
to play some music and the users’ Spotify details can be gathered, it could just delve into your playlists. Sure, that's a more personal
experience that would get over some of the issues with blandness, but do you really want an app/insurance company/Chinese gadget startup
playing your favorite song at you constantlyAs for the bland language, that's here to stay
"If the last couple of years has taught us anything, it's that tech language needs to be be more sympathetic to non-experts and better at
explaining itself without confusing people," says Harper. "Otherwise there'll be more tech CEOs in court answering difficult questions from
Senate."So perhaps the one lesson in all this is that app and web developers copy each other's bad habits, and rarely do anything unique or
interesting. Another is a basic lesson for the entire tech industry; just because you can, it doesn't mean you should (to anyone wanting to
access our Spotify playlist to sell us gadgets, this means you).But most of the annoying things about apps and websites are because all
humans are obsessed by what other humans think of them
All the internet does is reflect that
It's us.Y9vu7NZmuvMSaa7XkJmx79.jpg#
