1.
LESSON 7
lean back
and lean forward

2.
Introduction
How is the way we use information changing due
to new devices such as tablets and smartphones?
How should the content be designed considering
new media and ways to read information?
In this lesson we look at these changes and the impact
they have on how to produce content today.
2

3.
the difference between lean back and lean forward
When people started using the iPad, it was
speculated that the iPad seemed to be a ‘lean
back’ medium, like print, as opposed to the
‘lean forward’ medium of the web on a
personal computer.
3

4.
the difference between lean back and lean forward
The idea behind lean-forward media is that people are
engaged when they use the Web.
They are in scanning mode, actively looking for content – and their
attention span is much shorter. People use the Internet with purpose.
Articles should be shorter and quick to the point, videos should be
snippets or separated into clips of only a few minutes long.
Lean-back media on the other hand are used when we
sit down and veg out watching TV, reading a book or
flipping through a magazine.
Our attention span is much longer because these types of media are
passive and we are in consumption mode,hence why most long-form
doesn’t function on the Web.
4

5.
eye activity on a website and its corresponding app
READING ON THE WEB
Jakob Nielsen, in studies of reading via
print versus the web, found major
differences between the two. To the
question of “How readers read on the
web,” Nielsen answers: “They don’t.”
READING ON A TABLET
According to Nielsen, “People rarely read Web
pages word by word; instead, they scan the page,
picking out individual words and sentences. In
research on how people read websites we found that
79 percent of our test users always scanned any
new page they came across; only 16 percent read
word-by-word.”
5

6.
LEAN BACK 2.0
THE FIRST AGE:
LEAN-BACK PRINT
THE SECOND AGE:
LEAN-FORWARD WEB
THE THIRD AGE:
LEAN-BACK DIGITAL
}
}
}
RITUAL PLEASURE
OF READING
SNACKING AND RESEARCH,
COMMUNITY, SHARING
LEAN-BACK,
ONLY BETTER
In recent years we are witnessing a return to the
"Lean back" mode thanks to the great diffusion of the tablet.
6

7.
the engagement style
When we use the terms ‘lean forward’ and ‘lean
back’ we are referring to the ‘engagement style.’
Readers that are actually reading a story have a
different engagement style than readers that are
browsing the Web.
0%
READING A PRINTED
NEWSPAPER
READING AN E-BOOK
WITHOUT INTERNET
absorption
BROWSING
THE INTERNET
A user reading a print newspaper, in contrast, is
regarded as having a high absorption engagement
style, one of a concentrated and long-term sustained
attention span.
absorption
READING AN E-BOOK
WITH INTERNET.
A user browsing the Web on a PC is regarded as
having a high activity engagement style. A high
activity style is one of switching tasks frequently.
This style is associated with relatively low sustained
attention span.
absorption
absorption
activity
activity
activity
activity
An example of the balance between activity and absorption
7
100%

8.
LEAN BACK 2.0
}
“
PRINT READERS SPEND ABOUT 45 MINUTES
WITH AN ISSUE EACH MONTH. READERS
USING THEIR iPHONE AND iPAD SPEND AN
AVERAGE ON 160 MINUTES.
“
( Go, Vanity Fair, Wired and Glamour app reader survey, Conde Nast 2010 )
“
65% OF PEOPLE HAVE INCREASED THE AMOUNT
THEY READ DUE TO E-BOOKS, WITH 80%
ATTRIBUTING THIS TO THE “CONVENIENCE
FACTOR” OF READING A BOOK DIGITALLY.
“
The new trend is a
greater consumption
of books, articles and
content in general,
thanks to the ease of
access offered by the
new devices.
LEAN BACK 2.0
IS DIFFERENT AGAIN:
READING DURING “DEAD” TIME WAS A KEY TREND
WITH TRAVELLING (72%) AND WAITING FOR AN
APPOINTEMENT (72%) PROVING MOST POPULAR.
( iModerate research technologies, digital world book conference 2011 )
8

9.
LEAN BACK 2.0
9

10.
LEAN BACK 2.0
See this infographic
in full here:
http://goo.gl/eTAow
10

11.
Where do you use your tablet?
LEAN BACK 2.0:
}
% OF RESPONDENTS USING TABLETS WHILE...
WATCHING TV
absorption
LYING IN BED
WITH FRIENDS/FAMILY
WAITING FOR SOMEONE
OTHER
IN THE BATHROOM
IN A MEETING/CLASS
RUNNING ERRANDS
COMMUTING
0%
20%
40%
11
60%
80%

12.
In depth readers
42% of tablet news readers regularly
read in-depth news articles. another
40% sometimes do this.
They are three times as likely
to regularly read in-depth articles
as to watch news videos.
( Pew research (US) in association with the economist group, octobetr 2011 )
12

13.
IMMERSED BUT SOLIDARY
Tablet news users read in-depth articles but share news less.
Participatory news is a part of the mix but even among the
young (19-25) less than 1 in 5 share news on the tablet regularly.
42%
OF TABLET NEWS
USERS READ
IN-DEPTH ARTCILES
16%
OF TABLET NEWS
USERS SHARE NEWS ON
SOCIAL NETWORKS
( Pew research (US) in association with the economist group, october 2011.
Tablet news users are defined here as those who consume news on their tablets at least weekly )
13

14.
tablet sales forecast
SALES OF TABLETS, SMARTPHONES AND
E-READERS ARE SET TO GROW FAST:
TABLET SALES FORECAST, 2010-2015
18m 64m
104m
2010 2011
2012
178m
252m
2014
2013
326m
2015
By 2015, the smartphone market will have grown from around 450m
devices today to 1.1bn (android, windows, ios, rim).
By next year, 12% of us adults (28.9m people) will own an e-reader.
14

15.
THE TABLET EFFECT: on paper
BECAUSE OF
[of
“ and e-readers],THE GROWTHprinttablets
paper use for
media
including magazines, newspaper, and books
will have declined by as much as 21%,
compared to their 2010 production rates.
additionally, over the next 15 years,
production could fall by 40-50%
“
( Risi Global Study [2011] )
15

16.
second screen
The boom of the tablet and smartphone have
triggered a second important trend:
now people do not just watch TV, but they are
increasingly using another device, called
"second screen", to interact with their friends,
share, and deepen content.
16

17.
second screen
Several studies show a clear tendency of the user
to use a device while watching television. They
also show a greater frequency of use of a tablet
or a smartphone while watching television,
and other studies distinguish a higher percentage
of comments or posts on social networks, about
the content that's being watched.
Co-viewing. Back channeling. Checking in.
Double- or triple-screening. Layered content. The
increasing symbiosis between good old traditional
TV and the social world will be one of the most
interesting media trends to watch this year.
17

18.
second screen - example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09KDK3t9c38
18

19.
second screen - example
Second Screen - Super Bowl
This year’s Super Bowl didn’t break any viewer records but
they came in close with an audience of 108.4 million
people. (Last year’s game broke the record with 111.3
million)
This year’s game did break social media records as fans
posted more than 47.7 million updates to Twitter, Facebook
and other social networks. According to Trendrr, this is
three times what we saw during last year’s Super Bowl.
Download the infographic in full here:
http://goo.gl/9gaMh
19

20.
Thank you!
Hot topic in our next lesson:
how is the digital revolution
changing consumer behaviour?
Stay tuned!
20