2023 - 2024
Follow on Edge is an experimental project aimed at expanding Edge's web services by allowing users to follow any content on the web, focusing more effectively on their interests. This project introduces the MVP version of Follow on Edge, supporting the ability to follow creators on YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest.
Lead Product Designer
Edge browswer (Windows & MacOS)
MVP launched on Microsoft Edge 97 for experimentation
The "Follow" feature, common across social platforms, allows users to keep up with their interests. However, its scattered presence across different sites means there's no unified way to track everything in one place.
"Follow on Edge" aims to help users be more focused on their interests, thereby inspiring and entertaining them with media-rich experiences for their multi-session activities anywhere on the web.
Microsoft Edge, a gateway to the web, is ideal for surfacing creators and aggregating user-interested content. It allows users to follow creators from websites being visited, creating an engagement loop for receiving updates and consumption. The MVP initially focuses on creators from YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest.
The Edge follow experience begins in the address bar and extends to the ‘Following’ side pane, allowing users to stay updated with content aggregated from across the web, all in one place.
When Edge identifies creators from URLs (with user privacy consent as a prerequisite), a button appears in the address bar. This feature entry includes two main elements: the creator's avatar with an add icon and a call-to-action text.
When Edge identifies creators from URLs (with user privacy consent as a prerequisite), a button appears in the address bar. This feature entry includes two main elements: the creator's avatar with an add icon and a call-to-action text.
Edge sends daily notifications to re-engage users with new content. This aggressive design approach is intentional, but users are provided with control options to manage these notifications.
In the MVP phase, each creator is treated as separate across different social media platforms, meaning the same creator on various sites appears as different creators in Follow on Edge.
We plan to evolve the feature to link all channels of a creator together, making it scalable. The challenges ahead include: 1) exploring a method to combine a creator's details into a unified profile, and 2) figuring out a way to cohesively present content from various platforms within a single creator profile.
