January 7, 2018 at 18:45What is wrong with Telegram or 5 controversial UX / UI solutions that can be fixed in it
Using Telegram since the summer of 2017, I was generally pleased with its convenience, although there were unbridled moments. But everything has changed since the very moment I recently decided to start my telegram channel, and this will be my confession about the painful.
I want to note right away that for me the standard of convenience is VKontakte and Instagram posts. It is worth emphasizing that the latter has very poor functionality, but such a service does not need more. So let's get started.
It would seem that it could be easier than such an uncomplicated bunch as a picture + text to it. But anyway, the text description to the picture can be attached only if it is single in your message and then the text is placed under the picture, something like this:
You probably won’t believe me, but I only found out about the possibility of making a description to the picture after 3 months of using the telegram. It happened by accident when my girlfriend sent me a photo accompanied by text. In my opinion, the way to specify a picture description in a telegram is not very obvious.
If we upload together 2 or more pictures (fortunately, in one of the latest updates it became possible), then we can write a description under one of them, and leave the rest empty. This will be perceived as a description of the post and the text will be rendered under the image. But as soon as we make a description for the two pictures, how it is perceived precisely by the description of the picture, which damn badly affects the generation and design of content for channel owners. Agree, clicking on each picture and reading its description, which is limited to two hundred characters, is not very convenient. Telegraph comes to the rescue, but you still have to click on it. And then back to the tape again.
The text below the image also seems to me not a very good choice. I understand the semantic approach of a picture — its description, but we are all used to seeing the text and the picture that accompanies it. This is normal, since the image, in most cases, only hints to us about the topic of the story, and the text is the key link in the post.
How can this be fixed? It would be very cool in the future to get the opportunity to make a description specifically for the post as a whole, and not just for its individual elements. Such a simple but very useful function could simplify the life of all Telegram users and make interacting with it a little (much!) More convenient and enjoyable.
Yes, this is what we were so lacking in messengers! And I do not understand why such an opportunity was not immediately realized in Telegram and its predecessors. It’s convenient, useful, practical, especially now that when sending a message the “favorites” are always pinned on top of all chats, but something is still wrong.
Instead of 3 actions: tap on the message - forward - tap on the block "favorites" can be made 2 and much more simple.
To do this, simply click on the message in the pop-up menu to add the button “Add to favorites”. Bingo. Thus, the message we need can be saved in two quick tapas. Masthev as for me, Pasha, take note!
We have two names. A bit confusing.
What is the difference between a name and a username? And if I change the username, then the name on top will change? And if I am a user and want to change the name in the upper column, then whose name will I change? And if I change, then I am a user? Alright, that's enough. In order to avoid such confusion, you just need to change the name of the string “username” to, say, “your nickname”, “public link to your account” or “ID”, I don’t know which is the best way to convey the essence.
Any operation that occurs without the knowledge of the user is a bad tone in UX. The item about account self-destruction is buried far in the settings and is set to 6 months by default. If you do so, then at least notify the user about this during registration or the first acquaintance with the application.
Similarly with the media. By default, any materials, whether it be a picture, video or document (a full list in the screenshot) are saved to your device. Your memory is slowly filling up, and you don’t even understand why this happens. In addition to all, all this data is cached in such a way that, for example, a picture saved by telegram is not displayed in my gallery, and music is in the player. I understand that this was done with the aim of quickly loading information directly in Telegram itself, but I would prefer to fine-tune the initial setup of my account than when everyone had already decided for me.
Yes, most of the interactions of an ordinary user with them sometimes cause wild pain of the fifth point. Bots are multi-functional giants that expand Telegram's capabilities to some incredible boundaries, but are, in my opinion, the opposite of the word "convenience."
So, for example, to make clickable text, before sending, I should write my message to the bot, select the desired markup (HTML or Markdown) there, confirm the action. In case I found a mistake or something needs to be fixed in a post - it's late. You need to re-select the channel through the bot, write text, format, add a link, etc. Then again confirm the action, then again, and then again. Uuuf, I just wanted to send a short message with a link to my subscribers!
A bot to add comments to posts? You saw? Yes, 50% of users, slowly scrolling through the tape, just do not want to do such operations just to leave a comment. Another 20% are generally afraid of such manipulations. And now, we get our 30% output, an excellent feedback, what can I say.
Despite all of the above, I believe that over time the bots and Telegram itself will evolve and improve, becoming more functional and convenient. There are all prerequisites for this, and every update of it only confirms this.
It might seem to you that in some moments I am too nit-picking, perhaps this is so, but all the experience of user interaction is built, it would seem, on trifles and small details.
This was my cursory review on a UX / UI telegram. Many things are left behind the scenes, and if you like it, then next time I will tell you about them. And that’s all, don’t repeat the mistakes described above, work hard, develop and delight others with beautiful, and most importantly convenient interfaces!
I want to note right away that for me the standard of convenience is VKontakte and Instagram posts. It is worth emphasizing that the latter has very poor functionality, but such a service does not need more. So let's get started.
Picture and text
It would seem that it could be easier than such an uncomplicated bunch as a picture + text to it. But anyway, the text description to the picture can be attached only if it is single in your message and then the text is placed under the picture, something like this:
You probably won’t believe me, but I only found out about the possibility of making a description to the picture after 3 months of using the telegram. It happened by accident when my girlfriend sent me a photo accompanied by text. In my opinion, the way to specify a picture description in a telegram is not very obvious.
If we upload together 2 or more pictures (fortunately, in one of the latest updates it became possible), then we can write a description under one of them, and leave the rest empty. This will be perceived as a description of the post and the text will be rendered under the image. But as soon as we make a description for the two pictures, how it is perceived precisely by the description of the picture, which damn badly affects the generation and design of content for channel owners. Agree, clicking on each picture and reading its description, which is limited to two hundred characters, is not very convenient. Telegraph comes to the rescue, but you still have to click on it. And then back to the tape again.
The text below the image also seems to me not a very good choice. I understand the semantic approach of a picture — its description, but we are all used to seeing the text and the picture that accompanies it. This is normal, since the image, in most cases, only hints to us about the topic of the story, and the text is the key link in the post.
How can this be fixed? It would be very cool in the future to get the opportunity to make a description specifically for the post as a whole, and not just for its individual elements. Such a simple but very useful function could simplify the life of all Telegram users and make interacting with it a little (much!) More convenient and enjoyable.
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Yes, this is what we were so lacking in messengers! And I do not understand why such an opportunity was not immediately realized in Telegram and its predecessors. It’s convenient, useful, practical, especially now that when sending a message the “favorites” are always pinned on top of all chats, but something is still wrong.
Instead of 3 actions: tap on the message - forward - tap on the block "favorites" can be made 2 and much more simple.
To do this, simply click on the message in the pop-up menu to add the button “Add to favorites”. Bingo. Thus, the message we need can be saved in two quick tapas. Masthev as for me, Pasha, take note!
Username
We have two names. A bit confusing.
What is the difference between a name and a username? And if I change the username, then the name on top will change? And if I am a user and want to change the name in the upper column, then whose name will I change? And if I change, then I am a user? Alright, that's enough. In order to avoid such confusion, you just need to change the name of the string “username” to, say, “your nickname”, “public link to your account” or “ID”, I don’t know which is the best way to convey the essence.
Account self-destruction and media startup
Any operation that occurs without the knowledge of the user is a bad tone in UX. The item about account self-destruction is buried far in the settings and is set to 6 months by default. If you do so, then at least notify the user about this during registration or the first acquaintance with the application.
Similarly with the media. By default, any materials, whether it be a picture, video or document (a full list in the screenshot) are saved to your device. Your memory is slowly filling up, and you don’t even understand why this happens. In addition to all, all this data is cached in such a way that, for example, a picture saved by telegram is not displayed in my gallery, and music is in the player. I understand that this was done with the aim of quickly loading information directly in Telegram itself, but I would prefer to fine-tune the initial setup of my account than when everyone had already decided for me.
Bots
Yes, most of the interactions of an ordinary user with them sometimes cause wild pain of the fifth point. Bots are multi-functional giants that expand Telegram's capabilities to some incredible boundaries, but are, in my opinion, the opposite of the word "convenience."
So, for example, to make clickable text, before sending, I should write my message to the bot, select the desired markup (HTML or Markdown) there, confirm the action. In case I found a mistake or something needs to be fixed in a post - it's late. You need to re-select the channel through the bot, write text, format, add a link, etc. Then again confirm the action, then again, and then again. Uuuf, I just wanted to send a short message with a link to my subscribers!
A bot to add comments to posts? You saw? Yes, 50% of users, slowly scrolling through the tape, just do not want to do such operations just to leave a comment. Another 20% are generally afraid of such manipulations. And now, we get our 30% output, an excellent feedback, what can I say.
Total
Despite all of the above, I believe that over time the bots and Telegram itself will evolve and improve, becoming more functional and convenient. There are all prerequisites for this, and every update of it only confirms this.
It might seem to you that in some moments I am too nit-picking, perhaps this is so, but all the experience of user interaction is built, it would seem, on trifles and small details.
This was my cursory review on a UX / UI telegram. Many things are left behind the scenes, and if you like it, then next time I will tell you about them. And that’s all, don’t repeat the mistakes described above, work hard, develop and delight others with beautiful, and most importantly convenient interfaces!