A side project that I am carrying out with Fabio San Juan, lector is a platform for those who believe that understanding the world begins with reading.
Our proposal is to offer a space for the active reading of books and texts, where readers can discover, save, comment on and interconnect the best of their reading.
In early 2024, we were selected for the InHabit program of the Bridge for Billions.
At the time, we decided to explore the focus on reading, with the hypothesis that overcoming digital dependency is achieved through smarter use, not by abandoning devices.
While book sales in the US have grown in recent years, reading is on the decline.
An app that promotes quality reading could be a concrete answer to this dilemma.
The process of signing a cycle, from the explanatory summary to the first text.
Our analysis of the competition revealed many initiatives aimed at recovering concentration in reading, but few that address shared and inspiring reading.
With this in mind, we created a prototype that regularly offers short, high-quality excerpts, promoting enriching interactions between users in both educational and informal contexts.
We began by identifying the essential characteristics of Lector users, regardless of demographic profile. We then mapped out how these characteristics influence the market niche, selecting three segments to make up the business model.
They would be the bridge in the process of forming new readers.
Potential readers, numbed by the use of new technologies but thirsty for new knowledge.
Life-Long-Learning is the term used in the education vertical for all training activity outside the school program.
With the prototype in hand, we conducted interviews that combined an evaluation of the interface with an exploration of reading habits, while also asking how much and for what users would be willing to pay.
From the results we decided to define the characteristics of a Minimum Viable Product, with features and characteristics based on a few topics:
The adoption of a cultural product usually happens first in a free range, so we would start without charging a subscription.
The promotion of the product as well as its uptake could be successful if key players in the reading world (writers, influencers) used the lector to indicate their readings.
Enhancing the possibility of sharing excerpts and saving common comments would breathe life into the app and increase its use.
The persona that emerged from the research is a reader tired of being treated like a child. The development focused on the minimalism of the interface and the rejection of dopamine-based rewards, looking for an alternative to the infinite scroll.
Facilitate access to the text, but reduce the tension of too much information with a moderate scarcity that encourages constancy: read little at a time, but read the best and, above all, read every day.
The simplicity sought in navigation aims to give the user agility, cutting out everything that is superfluous.
Although writers and intellectuals avoid reading lists, research has confirmed that reading is learned by imitating models.
However, this imitation must be creative and based on great conversation, as Mortimer Adler claimed.
The excess of information in the digital age generates distress and forgetfulness. Thus, one of the most valued features has been the ability to save favorite passages.
Currently in development, the app is expected to be launched soon. Among the next steps are:
Use the cycles as a base for book clubs, giving users the chance to create groups, monitor and lead readings.
Create intelligent bookmarks that allow readers to scan and save excerpts from physical books.
Transforming the reading cycles into modern pamphlets, introducing a new model of self-publishing.