If leading Facebook News, would you add more interaction features or focus on improving read time?

Introduction

The trade-off question at hand is whether to add more interaction features or focus on improving read time for Facebook News. This scenario involves balancing user engagement with content consumption depth, which is crucial for Facebook's news product strategy. I'll analyze this trade-off by examining product understanding, metrics, experimentation, and decision-making frameworks.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Context: I'm assuming Facebook News is facing engagement challenges. Is this correct, or are we proactively looking to enhance the product?

Why it matters: Helps frame the urgency and scope of our approach Expected answer: Proactive enhancement Impact: Would focus on long-term strategy rather than immediate fixes

• Business Context: How does Facebook News currently contribute to overall revenue? Are we looking at direct monetization or indirect benefits?

Why it matters: Aligns solution with business model Expected answer: Primarily indirect through increased time on platform Impact: Would prioritize user engagement over immediate monetization features

• User Impact: Can you share any insights on which user segments are most active on Facebook News?

Why it matters: Ensures we're targeting the right audience Expected answer: Diverse age groups with varying engagement levels Impact: Would tailor features to cater to different user behaviors

• Technical: Are there any significant technical constraints or ongoing infrastructure projects that might affect our ability to implement new features?

Why it matters: Determines feasibility of potential solutions Expected answer: No major constraints, but need to consider scalability Impact: Would influence the complexity of features we could consider

• Resource: What's our current team capacity for Facebook News? Are we looking at this as a major initiative or an iterative improvement?

Why it matters: Helps scope the scale of our solution Expected answer: Moderate team size, looking for impactful but manageable changes Impact: Would focus on high-impact, low-resource solutions initially