From Comments to Conversations
From Comments to Conversations
Role: Lead designer
In collaboration with: Design, Product, Engineering, Analytics and the Newsroom
Role: Lead designer
In collaboration with: Design, Product, Engineering, Analytics and the Newsroom
To transform the Post's passionate but limited comment engagement into a broader community, I led the design for the initial "Conversations" launch, collaborating across teams to introduce key features like discussion prompts, summaries, nuanced reactions, and highlighted journalist participation.
To transform the Post's passionate but limited comment engagement into a broader community, I led the design for the initial "Conversations" launch, collaborating across teams to introduce key features like discussion prompts, summaries, nuanced reactions, and highlighted journalist participation.
The Washington Post deeply values the passion our readers bring to our stories, often expressed within the comments section. However, this highly engaged core group represents only a small fraction of the Post's total readership.
How do we encourage a broader audience, transforming passive readers into active commenters and cultivating a community around our journalism?
The Washington Post deeply values the passion our readers bring to our stories, often expressed within the comments section. However, this highly engaged core group represents only a small fraction of the Post's total readership.
How do we encourage a broader audience, transforming passive readers into active commenters and cultivating a community around our journalism?
Kicking off the Conversation (aka the MVP)
As the Lead Designer for community engagement, I collaborated closely with product, engineering, AI team,research, and the newsroom to introduce the following key features in the first iteration of the new Conversations experience, launched end of 2024:
Engaging Conversation Prompts: To foster better discussions, we start the conversation with a thoughtful prompt that provides a clear starting point and makes it easier for users to share their perspectives.
Conversation Highlights & Summary: To help readers quickly engage, “Highlights” provides a curated summary and highlights of top comments, allowing readers to quickly understand the main points and participate easily.
Nuanced Sentiment Reactions: Moving beyond a simple "like," we introduced new sentiment options allowing readers to offer more specific reactions, acknowledging thoughtful contributions and fostering a more expressive community environment.
Visible Journalist Participation: To better connect reporters and readers, journalist comments are now highlighted for visibility and impact.
Kicking off the Conversation (aka the MVP)
As the Lead Designer for community engagement, I collaborated closely with product, engineering, AI team,research, and the newsroom to introduce the following key features in the first iteration of the new Conversations experience, launched end of 2024:
Engaging Conversation Prompts: To foster better discussions, we start the conversation with a thoughtful prompt that provides a clear starting point and makes it easier for users to share their perspectives.
Conversation Highlights & Summary: To help readers quickly engage, “Highlights” provides a curated summary and highlights of top comments, allowing readers to quickly understand the main points and participate easily.
Nuanced Sentiment Reactions: Moving beyond a simple "like," we introduced new sentiment options allowing readers to offer more specific reactions, acknowledging thoughtful contributions and fostering a more expressive community environment.
Visible Journalist Participation: To better connect reporters and readers, journalist comments are now highlighted for visibility and impact.
We are continuously iterating on the Conversations experience and thinking of ways to scale the experience across the Post. Want to learn more about how we got to the MVP? Reach out for a full case study.
We are continuously iterating on the Conversations experience and thinking of ways to scale the experience across the Post. Want to learn more about how we got to the MVP? Reach out for a full case study.
Case studies
Case studies
Case studies