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There doesn't seem to be a way for the Roku owner to notice there is new content available in some of their channel lineup. Meaning, unless you open channel X, there is no way to know X has been totally revamped, new features and media have been added etc. There is no way to notify users that there is new content, since there are no push notifications.
This is not a problem for the big and often used channels like Netflix, YouTube, Hulu-, Amazon Instant - within a week, they'll get opened "anyway" and can display some kind of notification. Not so for the others though.
Let's take for example two classic mobile games - "Plants v Zombies" and "Angry Birds" - and the pattern of their use. After initial binge, the interest lessens - perhaps all levels have been completed. But every few months, there are updates deployed - new levels, maybe new plants or worlds. How does the user know? Baring push notifications (which may be disabled due to app chattiness), the most direct way of noticing an update in iOS is there is a cyan dot next to the title/icon of the app. See here for example:
Two out of the nine apps on screen have "the dot". One of them recently been updated, the other one is just newly installed. Regardless, both are flagged because neither one has been started since last install. When i start one of them, that dot will get removed by the OS. (It's also when the app will take the opportunity to show the new levels inside.)
So, my proposal to Roku: do the same for Roku channels, earmark* in the channel list the ones that have not been started since install/last update. It will be a kind of gentle reminder there is something new waiting. It will improve viewers engagement and benefit the app publisher and RokuCo too.
Anyone else in support of the idea? Raise your hands, pls 🙂
My personal interest here: I published a game with a starter pack of 16 levels, planning to expand with packs of levels and bonus features. But now i realize the future releases will remain unnoticed by the pool of people who had downloaded the first version. They won't learn there is new levels coming, since app won't pop in "New" category nor anywhere else**. Which is a waste. Demotivating, too.
(*) tastefully and non-obtrusively, of course. Maybe add a "new" or a sparkle in the thumbnail corner, or just bend a corner
(**) Which brings another idea: how about - in addition - show summary on channel updates under "My Feed"? This will require more work though: adding "what's new" field for the developers to fill, deciding whether to show the news only for currently-installed or all-time channels etc
This is not a problem for the big and often used channels like Netflix, YouTube, Hulu-, Amazon Instant - within a week, they'll get opened "anyway" and can display some kind of notification. Not so for the others though.
Let's take for example two classic mobile games - "Plants v Zombies" and "Angry Birds" - and the pattern of their use. After initial binge, the interest lessens - perhaps all levels have been completed. But every few months, there are updates deployed - new levels, maybe new plants or worlds. How does the user know? Baring push notifications (which may be disabled due to app chattiness), the most direct way of noticing an update in iOS is there is a cyan dot next to the title/icon of the app. See here for example:
Two out of the nine apps on screen have "the dot". One of them recently been updated, the other one is just newly installed. Regardless, both are flagged because neither one has been started since last install. When i start one of them, that dot will get removed by the OS. (It's also when the app will take the opportunity to show the new levels inside.)
So, my proposal to Roku: do the same for Roku channels, earmark* in the channel list the ones that have not been started since install/last update. It will be a kind of gentle reminder there is something new waiting. It will improve viewers engagement and benefit the app publisher and RokuCo too.
Anyone else in support of the idea? Raise your hands, pls 🙂
My personal interest here: I published a game with a starter pack of 16 levels, planning to expand with packs of levels and bonus features. But now i realize the future releases will remain unnoticed by the pool of people who had downloaded the first version. They won't learn there is new levels coming, since app won't pop in "New" category nor anywhere else**. Which is a waste. Demotivating, too.
(*) tastefully and non-obtrusively, of course. Maybe add a "new" or a sparkle in the thumbnail corner, or just bend a corner
(**) Which brings another idea: how about - in addition - show summary on channel updates under "My Feed"? This will require more work though: adding "what's new" field for the developers to fill, deciding whether to show the news only for currently-installed or all-time channels etc
