What happens when Facebook takes on the mobile experience head first? Paper. With over 3,000 reviews and a 4+ rating on the app store, it’s clear that Paper is quickly becoming an app to be reckoned with. To explore the success of the app, we ran a study with 105 of our mobile testers. Here is what we learned: • People love guided tutorials they can control. • People appreciate the lack of navigational elements. • People really want to curate their news feed. • People are delighted with subtle animation. • People want to browse their content distraction free. • People still want to share what they love with their friends. I’m really looking forward to watching the Facebook Creative Labs team as they continue to explore new mobile experiences. Any thoughts? Opinions on your experience with the app? Questions on the study? Feel free to leave a comment!

1. 6 UX Lessons Learned
From the New
Facebook App, Paper

2. INTRODUCTION
LESSON #1: People Love Guided Tutorials They Can Control.
LESSON #2: People Appreciate the Lack of Navigational Elements.
LESSON #3: People Really Want to Curate Their News Feed.
LESSON #4: People Are Delighted with Subtle Animation.
LESSON #5: People Want to Browse Their Content Distraction Free.
LESSON #6: People Want to Share What They Love with Their Friends.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
IN THIS PRESENTATION

3. What happens when Facebook takes on the mobile
experience head first? Paper. With over 3,000
reviews and a 4+ rating on the app store within
just a couple of days, it was clear that the Paper
experience was quickly becoming an app to be
reckoned with. To explore the success of the app,
we ran a study with 105 of our mobile testers.
INTRODUCTION

4. Lesson #1
People love guided
tutorials they can toggle.

5. We asked study participants to download the new Paper
app and give it a go. Right off the bat, people praised
the intuitive tutorial that started up on first launch.
• The guided tour is a much-needed part of the app
• Most of our mobile testers wanted to check their
progress on the tutorial
• Many people wanted to find a way to toggle it on/off
• A lot of folks didn’t care for the auto-play tour
LESSON 1

6. “I found the tutorial extremely helpful (I would
have been very lost without it) and I think
that’s a great feature. It’s nice how it just pops
up when you’re doing something new for the
first time on the app, so it’s kind of always
there as a guide.”
Ponysyd, Tester

7. People appreciate
the lack of
navigational elements.
Lesson #2

8. There is a story-first approach to the design of Paper.
No buttons, no drop-down menus, no flashing, no
blinking. Just the user and their feed.
• Relies solely on natural mobile gestures
• Gets rid of distractions and focuses on the content
• Most users got used to the new navigation quickly
LESSON 2

9. “This is a lot easier to read than the regular
app and easier than the mobile site. It’s
easier to navigate through stories and I like
the ability to go into different types of stories
(headlines, LOL, etc).”
Chemohill, Tester

10. v
People really want to
curate their news feed.
Lesson #3

11. As more and more content permeates the social
space, it makes sense that Facebook has turned
their attention to supporting publishers. In its first
iteration of this newspaper-esque app, Facebook
introduced Sections. These interest-based
news collections feature stories by major news
publications and well-recognized brands.
LESSON 3

12. LESSON 3
While still in its infancy, it was clear to us that users:
• Were optimistic about the addition of news
stories within their Facebook experience.
• Loved that they could drag and drop the Sections
that most appealed to them into their feed.

13. Ideas ran rampant when it came to how this feature
could be improved. If this becomes yet another
way for Facebook to promote ‘pay to play’ amongst
publishers, these feeds may become less relevant to
the end-user, but for now they are a hit.
LESSON 3

14. “I also really enjoyed being able to stay
in 1 app and view news, sports, tech,
photography, etc all in one place along with
my Facebook feed. It’s really everything you
need to read all located in one place.”
Audracasey, Tester

15. v
People are delighted
with subtle animation.
Lesson #4

16. With just a flip of the finger users are able to drill-
down into content, ‘unfolding’ news stories into a
full-screen experience. A simple down-swipe and they
were taken back to their feed.
Easy, effective, and slightly entertaining.
Just the way reading the news should be.
LESSON 4

17. “I liked the seamless, smooth feel. It really felt
like I was in a sci-fi movie.”
Benetherington, Tester

18. v
People want to
browse their content
distraction-free.
Lesson #5

19. As with the original Facebook app experience, brand-
related content and news stories appear with a name
and logo. The recognition is there, but it isn’t in your
face. Users really connected with the clean design and
simplified interface.
LESSON 5

20. “This will transform the way I consume
news on Facebook. It’s so much easier to
read articles, and it feels like it’s one fluid
experience rather than segments of content.”
Andrea8090, Tester

21. v
People still want to
share what they love
with their friends.
Lesson #6

22. With the development of Likes and +1’s and RT’s, our
social experience is still that; social. Seeing friends’
status updates, photos and comments was still an
expected part of the new experience.
LESSON 6

23. While Paper missed the mark on some key sharing
elements, (no way to mention friends in status
updates or easily share favorite content with one
specific friend) it’s obvious that we have become
co-conspirators of content consumption.
LESSON 6

24. “I like that you can still get to friends’ profiles,
see your notifications, news feed and then
you have all these other things to see that you
are interested in as well that can be shared. It
makes the FB experience more entertaining
and interesting.”
Krs10813, Tester

25. Download the study results!
We compiled all of the results
from the 105-person study into
a one-page PDF.
Get the report here

26. www.usertesting.com