1. WATCH LECTURE
VIDEOS, EFFORTLESSLY
Nishant Jacob
nishantj@stanford.edu
@nishantjacob

2. EXPERT FOCUS AREA
 My Expert Focus Area:
 Reducing stress on online courses caused by
procrastination, by getting people to watch a video now

3. BRAINSTORM
 All the ways
we can get
Joe to watch a
video
 Arranged by
whether we
can get Joe to
do it and how
effective it will
be

4. TOP IDEAS
 Joe clicks on a video link in an email
 Joe clicks on a video link he gets in a text message
 Joe schedules a reminder to watch the video on his gcal
 Joe watches a 30 sec intro clip and clinks on a link in his email

5. PSYCHOLOGICAL RECIPES TO
TEST
 Email vs text for video links
 Scheduling system
 30 sec intro video clip in the email

6. CRUMMY TRIALS INSIGHTS
 Email VS Text V
S
 People were more likely to click on the video link when it was
delivered via text
 People did not always watch the full video on their phones (self
reported)
 Though the text message was a stronger trigger, people prefer to
watch lecture videos on their laptops

7. CRUMMY TRIALS INSIGHTS
 Email with a 30 sec intro video clip along with a link to the full video
 The intro video helped people set up video watching space (find
headphones, setup laptop, charger etc)
 Intro video served as low barrier to entry first step (people found it
very easy to do)
 People didn’t always transition to the full video after watching the
intro video (not a foolproof system)
 Having people watch an unrelated 30 sec video clip was less
effective than an intro clip to the lecture video

8. CRUMMY TRIALS INSIGHTS
 Schedule Video watching on Google calendar
 People were most likely to schedule a video just after they had
finished watching one, because they were high on motivation
 Giving people scheduling suggestions helped them schedule
videos quicker (ex. Try scheduling video watching just after
dinner)
 Scheduling was more effective when people also set alarms or
alerts on their phones
 There was no social accountability when people scheduled their
own videos

9. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR
YOU?
 1. Schedule your next video watching session immediately after
watching a video (try scheduling it after something you commonly
do i.e. Dinner)
 2. Set a reminder on your phone to watch the video at that time
 3. Get a friend to keep you accountable (ask you whether you
watched your video or not)
 4. Use/demand a lecture video service that sends you an email
trigger to watch the video with a 30 sec relevant intro clip to the
video

10. MOVING FORWARD
 Look at longer term trends
 When do the triggers (email/text) start to get boring ?
 How can we vary the triggers ?
 How can we build in more social accountability ?
 Exploring new triggers
 What time of day should the triggers be delivered ?