This deck outlined practical improvements to the product.

1. Ense
“The world will be a better place when everyone is heard.”
Iqram Magdon-Ismail, Founder
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Product Proposal
By David Kendall

2. Ense is a voice-based social platform.
To empower and connect people through audible voice.
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What is Ense?
What is its intention?

3. What are some of its current strengths?
● It’s an intimate, organically growing community.
● It’s brand is founded on humanism and forward-thinking ethos.
● The user interface has a solid framework.
● It has attracted innumerable local artists… leading to its own label, Ense Music.
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4. Alright, so what’s the beef?
● The UI needs a little rearranging.
● The UX could be smoothed out and refined.
● There are plenty of users but not a lot of engagement.
● A detailed content strategy is yet to be implemented.
● Some minor speed/performance issues could be tended to.
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5. Let’s break down each
of these problems...
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6. Disordered UI =
Disorienting UX
Hierarchy: Feed vs. World
The app lands at “World”. This suggests that we are
curating the content for the viewer. If this is the decided
course of action, that’s okay, but social apps typically
put the power in the user’s hands; their Home screen is
typically compiled of content by their selected
community. This “Feed” is usually distinct and primary
to a “World” or “Discover” section.
This may be obscuring the user’s first impression &
general interpretation of the app’s functionality.
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Nothing in this entire frame
was curated by the user

7. Disordered UI =
Disorienting UX
Disjointed dialogue = Less listenability
Original posts are not distinct from Replies in the UI.
Original posts outline the context for dialogue. Replies
can omit context entirely. If context is missing in the
audio, it should be easily found in the UI.
Moreover, replies are secondary content but still
appear in your feed. Given this inferiority and their
potential lack of context, they can make listening to
your feed confusing/uninspiring.
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Original post
Reply
They appear the
same but replies
are considerably
less important.

8. Low Engagement
Most conversations are not outwardly inviting
In order for users to start engaging by jumping into
conversations with strangers, there are two primary
requirements:
- Subject matter that motivates them.
- A clear and welcoming call to action.
Every public post should implicitly say “Hey friend, jump in
and share your thoughts!” The limited/recurring users
appearing in a new users feed may lead to presumptions of
exclusivity and intimidate them out of participating.
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9. Low Engagement
Conflict of Use
The current notification logic is sometimes counter
productive by discouraging engagement. Three specific
cases are worth reconsidering:
- Replies notify every user tagged
- Emoji responses notify every user tagged
- “First listener” notifications trigger temporal &
contextual conflict
Push notification logic can be tricky, but less is always
more. Not one of these notifications are vital yet every
one of them affects the user’s willingness to take action.
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I want to reply but...
I want to send an emoji but...
I want to listen now but...

10. Low Engagement
What’s the bait?!
There are no participation incentives. If we really
want to drive engagement--via flowing, inclusive
dialogue--there must be an obvious incentive for
the user.
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11. No Illusion of Size
The Network Effect is real
Representation & the illusion of size are
key for a social network. Size matters.
Buzzworthiness matters. That being said,
one thing we can’t do is lead users to
believe we’re not cool and growing.
The “New Users” bar, the single digit
listeners, and the recurring active users all
suggest there’s no real audience. No one
performs for an arena of empty seats.
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These features outwardly
publicize the smallness of the app

12. Content Strategy? You there? 🧐
● What? What is the content strategy? There doesn’t seem to be one yet.
● Who? Who do we rely on for content? Ourselves? Or we react to user content?
● When? Is there any recurring content? Shouldn’t there be? Something to tune into?
● How? How is the value of ‘Featured’ content measured? Is there a set of criteria for
this?
● Why? Why is Ense content worth seeking out? Why would a person be interested in our
content in a world inundated with it? What is unique? How is that uniqueness
emphasized/packaged?
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13. Chop chop!
UI Lag
Loading and processing audio is no
lightweight task. However, some of the
technical processes and navigation can be
optimized some. Even milliseconds are
precious these days.
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14. Dude.
The “Invite Friends” button doesn’t work.
Neither does “Find Friends”.
They both lead to an empty state.
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15. Let’s summarize all that
The areas that deserve some attention are...
● The UI layout and correspondingly disorienting elements of the UX.
● User engagement. It’s currently less than brag-worthy.
● Content creation. There’s no real angle yet.
● The speed/performance of the app. It’s good... just not great.
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16. Important Truths
People don’t share an app if…
… it feels disorganized or clunky
… it doesn’t engage them enough
… it doesn’t encourage them to share
… there isn’t a “Whoa, this is cool!” factor
… the Share button doesn’t work
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17. 17
Ok, so how can we fix Ense?

18. Solutions
1. Refine the UX/UI
2. Encourage engagement
3. Build content strategy
4. Enhance speed/performance
Well, yeah. But how?
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19. That’s the exciting part!
Let’s start by looking at the UI...
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20. A new feed...
built 💯 by the user
Your feed. Your voice. Your community.
A new home screen curated solely by the
user means them being greeted by familiar
voices every time they open the app.
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21. UI designed for
better listening
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A new, more organized layout
Replies now get stored neatly inside their
corresponding posts. No more disjointed
conversations. No more disorienting feed.
Know where the conversation started and
where its going.

22. Fresh content in
the new Explore tab
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Everything trending in one place!
See what people are talking about. Jump into
the most popular topics and conversations.

23. Get plugged into
the Ense community
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Introducing Channels!
The best part about Ense is the real
community it’s creating. Channels help
subcommunities organize their content to
be easily shared and discovered.

24. Become part of the
Ense community
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New onboarding & humanizing
touchpoints!
A charming set of onboarding screens and a
little love from the Ense Team set the tone
for our brand and make each person feel
special… and only then will they feel heard.

25. Now that the UI is 👌…
let’s get users engaged!
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26. 26
Notifications,
Activate!
Pinging only when it matters...
Functional in purpose. Thoughtful in design.
Never spammy.

27. Clear Calls to Action
Buttons that speak...
So that users will too!
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28. Daily Discussions
Stories & Prompts
Want to know the reason every social app uses
stories?
They work! Instagram saw an increase of 100
million DAU in 6 months after implementing
stories!
Daily prompts could be great general and topical
triggers to drive user activity.
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Add a “Like” Button
Another thing that “just works”
It’s a simple, ambiguous affirmation that
drives engagement.
We could keep the emoji responses too…
but let’s move the thumbs up.

30. Word, now let’s talk content...
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31. What content can be unique to Ense?
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Unique content--whether in form and/or function--can widen our appeal to creators as
well as listeners. A few basic questions will help our discovery...
1. What space are we in? Vocal audio.
2. How is content mainly being used in it? Podcasts.
3. What’s missing? This is the tricky one.

32. Let’s explore the nature/UX of podcasts...
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They’re one-way… Good. We don’t really need/want to talk back, right?
Various content… Great. Informative, entertaining, educational, etc.
Various creators… Excellent. Even more layers of variety!
Variable (often extended) length… Hmm… 🤔

33. Pain Point Discovered!
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The variable/extended length of
podcasts conflict with hurried use cases
Most podcasts aren’t built for speed. If you’re
trying to get a variety of informative,
entertaining, and/or educational vocal audio in
a hurry, podcasts aren’t a great fit.

34. We want audio and we want it now!
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Think about when you’re getting ready in the morning, you can’t get a little of everything
you’re subscribed to from podcasts. You kind of have to commit to one or two content
forms and hope you make it all the way through. Choosing which shows/episodes can be
consuming and queueing them up for variety’s sake can even be a bit cumbersome.
But in a culture of shrinking attention spans where there’s never enough time in a day, is
this really optimal? Can’t vocal audio content be various, curated, and concise?

35. Problem
There is nothing in the vocal audio space that offers
diverse and queueable minute-or-less content.
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Well, until now...

36. Introducing…
Bites
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Bites are minute-or-less audio clips featured by
select content creators. Whether it’s local
weather, crypto updates, or daily jokes by your
favorite comedian, Bites offer a stream of easily
ingestible audio content to queue up!
Short on time?
So are Bites!

37. Content with
the quickness!
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A daily queue that fits your to-do
Bites give you all the quality and variety of
content from your podcasts and Twitter feed
in a curated and concise audio sequence.
All your favorites... right to the point and
hands free!

38. A Strategy Shared...
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The Bites approach creates a new format…
- For existing creators and the content they’re already creating… while also meeting
a unique need for their listeners
- For new creators to find inspiration
This empowers our users to generate the content... in a cool new way!

39. Alright, let’s summarize
everything...
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40. Targeting Our Focus
The user’s impression of Ense is determined by two things:
- Functionality
- Content
Which, in turn, will both be based on…
- How effectively we communicate the breadth of each
- The inherent quality of each
If we don’t win them with our content, we must with our functionality, and vice versa. Therefore, it’s vital
we invest equal effort in refining both. This proposal has posited some direction to consider.
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41. Time to Level Up
We have proof of concept. There are consistent users. It has proven to help people communicate and connect.
And, perhaps most importantly, it brings something unique and refreshing to the social media space.
However, truth is, it is not a scalable product in its current form. The lack of user engagement is clear evidence.
User feedback and analytics mainly point at stunted usability--stemming from organizational and flow
impediments in the UI.
The good part is that we’re only a few tweaks away from drastically enhancing the UX. Only at that point will
the product enable users to consistently seek and share content… and thus authorize exponential growth.
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