On May 17th we released one of the biggest updates in our app's history, which included more robust tracking and rating across all items and categories. This update was based on years of talking with Likewise users and capturing direct feedback via our website and the app. The three biggest feedback areas were around the following:

• Getting more granular rating options
• Expanding tracking capabilities
• Improving the algorithm

Our 20.0 release aimed to address the first two pieces of feedback and we are working on improvements to the algorithm that will be arriving this summer.

As with many updates, there have been some rough edges that we have worked through over the last week and a half. We appreciate our loyal users who are raising their hands when they see things that aren’t working the way they had hoped or expected. There were a few things that were having an immediate and detrimental impact on people’s experience with the app, so we wanted to provide an update on those issues and fixes.

Accidental rating

When we deployed the new 5-star rating system, we wanted it to be as easy and seamless as possible for our users. This drove our initial interaction design for how an item got rated, however, it also created a challenge for users when trying to scroll. The star selection was tuned up to be a little too responsive.

Fix – with 20.2 we released a fix that reduced the responsiveness without making it any harder to quickly scroll and rate the items you have seen, read, or listened to.

List tips

With the new release and the adjusted method of tracking via master lists, we had inadvertently suppressed the tips that people had added to lists over the years. All of the tips/notes were still in the system and just weren’t getting displayed.

Fix – with 20.2 we updated the lists to display any existing list tips and comments.

Comments

One of our richest areas of content is in the comments users leave throughout the app. With the release, we inadvertently suppressed the comments displayed and changed how users previously engaged with it. This caused confusion as well as concern that comments had been lost. However, no comments were lost in this update.

Fix – with 20.2 we returned comment display and interaction to how it was offered previously, and all users should see the full comments across all lists and items.

“Liked by” displays

The biggest change when moving to the 5-star rating system was how to handle “Likes” which had been the driving data point up until now. When making the shift, we were looking at how we could bubble up more robust information such as full ratings and reviews from those you follow. In the process of launching, some of those more robust features weren’t ready yet, so we didn’t include them. However, that left an unplanned gap on item cards and on the item detail page as it related to “liked by” information which is very valuable to our users.

Fix – with 20.2 we updated the item card and item detail pages to show how many people have liked that item, and how many people you follow have liked an item respectively.

Upcoming Improvements

There are a handful of items coming in the next couple of weeks and months that will continue to build on the improvements and updates of the 20.0 release. Here are the big ones that we have in the queue:

• Sharing your master list: This will give users the ability to share their master lists with other users and will generate a shared location to view the list online.
• Quick list selection: We want list selection to be quick and easy, and with most list selections being the “Want to…” master lists, this update will turn that action into a single-click process. There will be a drop-down arrow to allow you to add the items to other lists as well.
• Reading details: We will be adding the ability to track when an item was read. We are also looking into providing capabilities for tracking Now Reading progress, rereading totals, and whether a book is owned.

This update is part of a larger effort to respond to feedback and input from our users and give everyone the ability to discover new options, track their items of interest, and engage with the Likewise community in the easiest and most enjoyable way possible.

Our mission is to be your personal entertainment companion and we will continue to make updates and improvements to the app so that we are living up to that promise. Thank you for your interest in our app, participation in our community, and all of your valuable feedback.