![]() ![]() And then concentrate on designing and building features based on their needs. Whether your app solves a real-world problem like Curbwise or supplements the narrative of a story with an interesting visualization, always be aware of the people who will be using it. ![]() Curbwise sells that report for $20, and people pay for it because it solves a real problem in their lives. Pulling together that information is time-consuming and complicated – a problem Curbwise solves for its users by compiling a user-friendly report of all the information they need to challenge their property taxes to local authorities. Homeowners, for instance, might need help gathering information on nearby properties so they can argue that their taxes are unfairly high. In each of those cases, the app meets a specific need that keeps users coming back. For instance, a project called Curbwise, built by the Omaha (Nebraska) World-Herald serves homeowners who believe they are being overtaxed curious residents who are interested in nearby property values and real estate workers trying to keep track of recent sales. No matter who it is, any discussion about building a news app, like any good product, should start with the people who are going to use it.Ī single app might serve many users. Depending on the project, that user might be a dialysis patient who wants to know about the safety record of her clinic, or even a homeowner unaware of earthquake hazards near his home. News apps don’t serve the story for its own sake – they serve the user. So before you start building, it helps to ask yourself three questions: Who is my audience and what are their needs? ![]() Whether you are a developer or a manager, any discussion about how to build a great news app should start with a product development mentality: Keep a laser focus on the user, and work to get the most bang for your buck. Therein lies both the challenge and the promise of building cutting-edge news apps: creating something of lasting value. Providing such an important and relevant service creates a relationship with users that reaches far beyond what a narrative story can do alone. When journalists at ProPublica wanted to explore the safety of American kidney dialysis clinics, they built an application that helped users check whether their hometown facility was safe. They live outside the news cycle, often by helping readers solve real-world problems, or answering questions in such a useful or novel way that they become enduring resources. More than just high-tech infographics, the best news apps are durable products. But no matter what form they take, news apps encourage readers to interact with data in a context that is meaningful to them: looking up crime trends in their area, checking the safety records of their local doctor, or searching political contributions to their candidate of choice. They might be searchable databases, sleek visualizations or something else altogether. News applications are windows into the data behind a story. ![]()
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