Edition 44th: Insightful read for the insanely curious.
Welcome to the 200 new subscribers.
You can explore the curated top 1% reads on product, design and solopreneurship here.
And long-form essays here.
This week, I’m covering:
Design: The State of UX in 2024
Product: How to Duolingo increase retention and user engagement with product thinking
Solopreneurship: "Definitely Not Trying to Fit In" with Tobias van Schneider
The State of UX in 2024
“Much like late-stage capitalism, late-stage UX is characterized by its market saturation, heavy focus on financial growth, commoditization, automation, and increased financialization. Corporations exert significant influence over the economy and society, and designers can only push so far when advocating for user needs. How can we navigate this landscape as designers in 2024?”
How to Duolingo increase retention and user engagement with product thinking
“A lot of widgets are passive features. You might look at a widget to see what the weather is, if your stock is going up or down, or the time of your next meeting. But in Duolingo’s case, the widget needed to motivate action—we wanted our learners to see the widget, tap on it, and complete a lesson in order to extend their streak. This meant that the only relevant data point we could show learners was whether or not they had done a lesson that day, and the length of their current streak. Did these two pieces of information provide enough utility to warrant a widget?”
"Definitely Not Trying to Fit In" with Tobias van Schneider
“How do you get people to notice what you're doing and sign up in droves? If Tobias van Schneider is any indication, the last thing you should do is try to fit in. Learn how his history of counterintuitive decisions, going against the grain, and having zero expectations has led to a string of successful products, and some pretty spectacular failures as well.”
Tools and resources
AI chatbots and their Cringe problem →
What makes us feel “off” about responses we get from LLMs.Is technology harming our brains? →
How tech is limiting our critical thinking capabilities.Designer layoff stories →
Retaliation, targeted eliminations, and other horror stories.
(Thumbnail credits)