As part of a series of user test on how the sharing mechanisms of a meme based community might work, I interviewed people in the role of “meme consumer.” A meme consumer is a person who uses the site primarily to view and share memes both within the community and outside the community. These are the key takeaways from one of those interviews. The interviewee is has been anonymized for privacy purposes. You may use these notes for secondary research purposes as long as I am credited.
USER TESTING MEME CONSUMER INTERVIEWEE: DW
Login and Profile Feedback
- identified the top icons, such as profile, friends, inbox, and analytics, and liked that these were in a sticky menu for ease of access without scrolling back to the top of the page.
Sharing Process Observations
- Found the share icon confusing, as it resembled an external sharing icon seen on platforms like Medium or news sites. He suggested adding text or a clearer label to clarify the purpose of the icon.
- He frequently shares memes with both groups and individuals on other platforms and expected a seamless way to select both, similar to Instagram’s sharing flow. He suggested having a combined pop-up to select groups or individuals without having to differentiate.
- He expected to be able to create groups from a list of selected friends or search for individuals to add to a group. Mentioned Instagram’s system of group and individual sharing as a useful model.
- Appreciated the idea of cross-platform sharing and noted that including an external sharing option (like to Pinterest, Tumblr, etc.) would be useful. He also suggested that copying links to share externally should be a simple option.
UI Design Suggestions
- Felt that certain icons, particularly the share icon, were ambiguous. He recommended adding text labels or using a more familiar icon, such as the curved arrow seen on Instagram.
- He expected to see profile images of friends or groups when selecting recipients for sharing memes, especially if usernames are more playful and not immediately recognizable.
- Appreciated the sticky menu for profile and other icons, noting that it makes navigation easier.
- Mentioned that clear navigation, particularly the ability to scroll or move back and forth between pages, is essential for a good user experience.
Feedback on Group and Community Sharing
He highlighted the need for an option to share externally, noting that while most users would likely share within the app, having the flexibility to share memes across other social platforms or through direct links would be useful.
Drake suggested a system that combines both group and individual sharing into a single pop-up, similar to Instagram’s design. He preferred the option to create new groups easily, either at the beginning or the end of the list of recent groups.
He expected that frequent recipients or groups should appear at the top of the list based on his usage patterns. This would allow quick access to commonly shared contacts.
He preferred combining groups and individuals in a single interface, making it easier to select recipients without having to navigate between separate pages.