Herald

Problem Statement  

How can we improve the process of obtaining information about one’s favourite topics so that it is easier, centralised, and time efficient?

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Problem Background  

Nowadays, information is available anywhere, anytime for anyone who has access to a smartphone and internet connectivity. The Ipsos MORI US Mobile app research report states that users spend, on average, at least 31 minutes daily on mobile news applications. These news apps grew in popularity over the past decades, to the detriment of more traditional media channels such as Television, Newspapers, and Radio programs. 

Information is everywhere and finding a news app is easy. However, many of the existing news apps come with their own set of constraints: not enough or too much content, not enough personalization, geographically constrained, subscription-mandatory, too distracting because of pop-up ads, etc. 

As a result, most people keep switching from one platform to another and sometimes get distracted or lost in the process. In this context, finding the most relevant content can be frustrating, overwhelming, and time-consuming. It can be especially difficult to filter the content you want, while still finding diverse and curated information about your favourite topics and potential new topics of interest as well. 

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Research Insights

Finding news content

• 100% of the participants use online platforms as their main source of information
  

• 80% of the participants are interested in finding information on global news and topics
  

• 80% of online news readers usually start with a basic Google search, before moving to other news platforms where they hope to find more specific information about the topic they are interested in

• 50% of the participants have ever felt like their news feed was geographically constrained

Habits & preferences

• 70% of the participants would prefer receiving news about their favourite topics anytime throughout the day rather than wasting time looking for it themselves

• 50% of the participants spend a few minutes to a few hours per day reading the news

• 70% of the participants would love to find information in the language of their choosing (as opposed to English)

• Only 20% of the participants save article for online reading

• 70% of the participants find it useful to receive suggestions based on their search history

• 80% of the participants find ads distractive and invasive

Engagement

• 30% of the participants are currently paying for subscription to a news app or magazine

• 80% of the participants would consider paying for a news service if it satisfies their needs/requirements

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Landing on the Solution

Based on the results of our survey, we identified 5 main opportunities: 

1. Reduce the time spent by users looking online for information & news
2. Centralize the information on one single platform to make it easy and convenient for the users to find the information they need/want
3. Offer diverse and curated content without any geographic constraint
4. Personalize users' news feed to support individual discovery
5. Inspire users to find possible new topics of interest and learning

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Proposed Solution

A mobile app that will work as a news aggregator to offer diverse but curated content to all users.

This app will allow users to easily and quickly find relevant information on the topics of their choice, with no geographic constraint, as well as help them personalize their news feed.

By offering a large amount of content, the app will also allow users to find potential new topics of interest.

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Mock-ups