7010 Final Draft
Problem
Long gone are the days of sitting by a television, or opening up a big media app to get your fill of the news…nowadays consumers crave something different — they crave the unconventional.
The fact of the matter is, if it’s not quick, accessible, or interesting consumers stop tuning in. Unfortunately, traditional news hasn’t caught up to the pace of the generation and still relies on outdated presentation models. The result is a growing generation of uninterested, and misinformed youth.
Enter TikTok, a popularized app that has made waves from its addicting aglorthim, dancing teens, and cat videos. In all its glory, TikTok has mastered the art of capturing the viewer. In short 60 second clips the user is mesmerized by a never ending stream of low commitment, engaging videos.
Solution
News should follow the same recipe if it expects to get consumed. By merging entertainment and hard news within the app users can enjoy the news and become more news literate.
Journey Map
The journey map details a customer journey from discovery to actual use of the app. The end goal was to create an app so divergent from typical news or social media platforms that the user formulates a new news palate. In restoring some of intrigue and fascination of news I hope to invigorate the next set of eager eyes that use TikTok not for entertainment purposes, but for hard news.
Current State
In its current state the TikTok app has five navigation tabs but can be elevated by adding a sixth tab and a News Now Discover section. Despite having a news hashtag the app fails to verify the authenticity of sources, and makes searching for specific stories difficult. To alleviate some of these pain points I propose the addition of a “News Now” tab. This integration will ultimately streamline what are the top stories, breaking news, and trends to look out for.
Prototyping
Once a user indicates their interest in News Now, they will be prompted to answer a series of questions that identify their age (for appropriateness), as well as their creative intent. Through this feature users (viewers and content creators alike) will have the ability to apply to get verified and begin reporting.
Ethics and Transparency
In the effort to minimize misinformation the News Now feature will ask the user to submit their qualifications to TikTok. Once the user is approved they can begin to report and will receive a blue check mark as well as a News Now verification emblem by their username.
By implementing this small change in an already intuitive design TikTok has the opportunity to emerge as a dominant player in the market. There is no rule book for staying within the confines of traditional news, and TikTok has understood this. They encourage their content creators to be as creative as they can by offering them the tools and encouraging an informal online environment. Apart of the appeal of TikTok is that it feels low energy and low commitment, if we can replicate that same feeling and apply it to the news people might tune in a little longer.
I invite you to check out my journey map to see the process behind the inception, as well as the final prototype video that goes more into depth.
