Information Architecture for Entrepreneurs 2.6: Constraints
This blog is part of a larger class called Information Architecture for Entrepreneurs to help entrepreneurs effectively build their ventures.
This blog will be about how constraints also act as a specific set of indirect incentivizers to increase the energy input that users want to put in their system.
Scarcity (Once, Shapr) — — limited number of people you can see in a day. It makes each person in the stack feel more valauble.
Time — Mimo — — you do not simply have a record, you have a Daily record. If you do not do an exercise within the time frame, you lose your streak. This forces people to put continual effort into the system.
Attention — — Tinder — — the design of Tinder makes it so you can only look at one person at a time. It constrains your attention to just one person (albeit briefly).
Interaction — — Linkedin— — you can only interact once, like send one message, and then the other person must send a message before you can continue the conversation. This incentivizes higher quality interaction because you only have one message to get across your importance.
Next Steps
- For each constraint of time, scarcity, attention, and interaction, name another online or physical system that utilizes each kind of constraint.
- Name another five different kinds of constraints that are not spoken about here (and feel free to share in the comments!)
- For your own venture, how can you constrain interactions to increase the energy users want to exert on your system, and shape the intention of your system?
