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Hooked – How to Build Habit-Forming Products

hookmodel.com

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Re: Hooked – How to Build Habit-Forming Products

#12

Hi guys. Quick question: would you say that building a product around an already established habit (such as watching TV or a particular series) improves the chances of building a successful habit-forming product?

I think so. An internal trigger can also be a routine (such as sitting down to watch TV at the end of the work day.) Connecting to an already established routines is a great place to add new habits assuming that you can effectively cue the user to do the new behavior.

Re: Hooked – How to Build Habit-Forming Products

#13
I Have been reading this book and almost completed it. I can say this is a great book and help us focus on right area.

I am been working on a consumer facing product(Social Polling app) and we recently had a initial launch of our mobile android app. When we started on this product we thought of giving out many features at once. But after reading your book the thoughts have become more clearer on how to approach this problem. We started referencing my thoughts with the product related to the core idea. I found voting on questions is a general behaviour of people, when they are provided with some set of options. But creating a Poll and asking a question was not a general behaviour. this has to have some sort of external trigger to make this happen. So We can leverage voting habit and gradually have external triggers so that user starts taking his own polls and asking opinions. Do you this we are moving in right direction?

Re: Hooked – How to Build Habit-Forming Products

#14

I Have been reading this book and almost completed it. I can say this is a great book and help us focus on right area. I am been working on a consumer facing product(Social Polling app) and we recently had a initial launch of our mobile android app. When we started on this product we thought of giving out many features at once. But after reading your book the thoughts have become more clearer on how to approach this…

My guess is that it's not the trigger that's the problem, it's the fact that creating a poll is very hard to do - especially in comparison to just voting. I would find ways to reduce the effort and "cognitive load" of doing the behavior.

Re: Hooked – How to Build Habit-Forming Products

#15
South Park did an episode last night about some of the HOOK model aspects like triggers, rewards and how addictive the new model game developers are using. Found it quite funny and timing is impeccable with your bookrelease. Do you think the hook model should and could be applied more to school? Mostly thinking short term, since alot of students dont see (or believe) the long term rewards.

Re: Hooked – How to Build Habit-Forming Products

#16

Hey Nir, you mentioned at startup grind the promise of wearable devices. Where do you feel the internal/external trigger gap will change greatest once traditional smartphones are eclipsed by different channels of interaction (vibration, physical movement, sounds, etc.)?

It may be a bit counterintuitive but I think the smart watch will help reduce unwanted distraction. I think the buzzes and beeps coming from our watches will be better placed in our lives and since the screen real estate is so much smaller, there will be less room for distracting triggers we don't want. For example, ever look at your phone to check the time only to find yourself pecking at email or Facebook 30 minutes later? That will happen less on our watches now that looking at the time will just be a mater of looking at your watch. Imagine that! Looking at your wrist to check the time! What a novel idea.

Re: Hooked – How to Build Habit-Forming Products

#17
post #14

I Have been reading this book and almost completed it. I can say this is a great book and help us focus on right area. I am been working on a consumer facing product(Social Polling app) and we recently had a initial launch of our mobile android app. When we started on this product we thought of giving out many features at once. But after reading your book the thoughts have become more clearer on how to approach this…

My guess is that it's not the trigger that's the problem, it's the fact that creating a poll is very hard to do - especially in comparison to just voting. I would find ways to reduce the effort and "cognitive load" of doing the behavior.

Thanks. and yes that is a good point that you make "especially in comparison to just voting it is hard." and the solution for it. I will take this advice and work on it.

Re: Hooked – How to Build Habit-Forming Products

#18
post #12

Hi guys. Quick question: would you say that building a product around an already established habit (such as watching TV or a particular series) improves the chances of building a successful habit-forming product?

I think so. An internal trigger can also be a routine (such as sitting down to watch TV at the end of the work day.) Connecting to an already established routines is a great place to add new habits assuming that you can effectively cue the user to do the new behavior.

Thanks for the insight. Looking forward to finishing your book.

Re: Hooked – How to Build Habit-Forming Products

#19

South Park did an episode last night about some of the HOOK model aspects like triggers, rewards and how addictive the new model game developers are using. Found it quite funny and timing is impeccable with your bookrelease. Do you think the hook model should and could be applied more to school? Mostly thinking short term, since alot of students dont see (or believe) the long term rewards.

I wonder if the South Park guys read HOOKED? Wonderful coincidence.

To answer your question, absolutely! Education should be a naturally enjoyable experience but unfortunately institutionalized learning generally squeezes every last drop of pleasure out of it. I'm looking for technology to bring back the hooks that make learning for its own sake fun again.

Re: Hooked – How to Build Habit-Forming Products

#20
post #4
post #2

I wrote Hooked along with Ryan Hoover (founder of Product Hunt) to help companies build better products. It's been wonderful seeing how companies have benefited from using the Hook model to create healthy habits. The book was just named one of the best business books of 2014 by Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-business-books-2... There's a video of a talk I gave at The Next Web conference on the…

Hi Nir, since I read the first self-published version I've been seeing applications of the 'Hooked' pattern everywhere - from Meetup groups to college dating to rideshare apps. Did you see this as a universal pattern, or did you develop it from a specific case and then find that it applied very broadly?

True for me too. now that whatever task I do or See around I see this 'Hooked' pattern everywhere. Not just tech apps but in real life or non tech products, online offline market.
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