Napkin State of the App - May '23

Napkin
5 May 202303:56

TLDRIn the May '23 update of the Napkin app, improvements focus on enhancing the user experience for idea collection and organization. New features include an improved OCR scan function for text extraction, editable tags for better organization, and an updated stack system for rearranging and renaming. The app also introduces a 'Daily Mix' for curated idea suggestions. The team is actively developing the iOS app, with more updates expected soon.

Takeaways

  • 📝 Napkin's core idea remains the same, focusing on collecting and organizing ideas through cards with automatic topic detection.
  • 📲 iOS app improvements include easier access to the OCR scan function for text extraction from books or other sources.
  • 🔍 Enhanced search functionality allows users to quickly find and organize thoughts into stacks.
  • 🏷️ Tag management has been updated, enabling users to view, edit, and delete tags, as well as change their order.
  • 🔄 Stacks can now be rearranged, renamed, and created on-the-fly, making the organization process smoother.
  • 🖥️ Full-screen stack view and improved in-stack actions for a more seamless experience.
  • 📚 Users can group cards for articles or discussions, and easily copy selected content to other writing tools.
  • 🌞 The 'Daily Mix' feature curates a selection of ideas to start the user's day, keeping important thoughts at the forefront of their mind.
  • 🛠️ The development team is currently focusing on further enhancing the iOS app, with new versions expected soon.
  • 💡 Napkin aims to inspire creativity but is not intended to be a full-fledged writing tool, encouraging users to utilize their preferred writing applications.
  • 📈 Continuous updates and improvements are being made to the app to enhance user experience and functionality.

Q & A

  • What is the core idea behind the app 'Napkin'?

    -The core idea of 'Napkin' is to collect ideas that resonate with the user on cards, automatically detect topics within them, and make it easy and inspiring to navigate between topics or view all cards related to a specific topic.

  • What improvements have been made to the OCR scan function in the iOS app?

    -The OCR scan function has been made more accessible, allowing users to scan a book and select specific text to insert into their cards directly from the OCR interface.

  • How can users now interact with tags in the app?

    -Users can now view all tags in their account, edit tag names, delete certain tags, and change the sequence of tags, providing more control over how they organize their ideas.

  • What new features have been added to the 'Stacks' functionality?

    -Stacks can now be owned in the sidebar, rearranged easily, renamed, and new stacks can be created immediately when dropping thoughts into them. Users can also search and drag items onto a stack and open the stack in full screen for a smoother experience.

  • How does the 'Daily Mix' feature work in the app?

    -The 'Daily Mix' feature curates a selection of ideas for the user each morning, including recently collected ideas and some that the user hasn't seen in a while, helping them to focus on what's important.

  • What is the primary focus of the current development phase for 'Napkin'?

    -The main focus of the current development phase is the iOS app, with the aim to present the first versions of the updated app soon.

  • How does 'Napkin' support users in their writing process?

    -'Napkin' supports users by providing a tool for creativity and inspiration, allowing them to group cards for articles or discussions, and then copy the sorted material to their preferred writing tool.

  • What is the user's personal approach to using tags in 'Napkin'?

    -The user personally does not focus much on tags while browsing 'Napkin', preferring to discover new associations and often hiding tags.

  • How does the app ensure that users can collect thoughts on the go?

    -The app allows users to type or paste text directly into it, which then gets sent to 'Napkin' and ends up in the user's account, making it easy to collect thoughts anytime, anywhere.

  • What is the process for users to add a new stack in the updated version of 'Napkin'?

    -In the updated version, users can drag thoughts to a new stack immediately when dropping them, and the app allows for the creation of a new stack in this manner.

  • How does the app help users stay inspired and organized?

    -The app helps users stay inspired by automatically detecting topics in their collected ideas and connecting them to existing cards. It also keeps users organized by allowing them to rearrange, rename, and manage stacks and tags efficiently.

Outlines

00:00

📝 Napkin App Update Overview

The speaker introduces improvements made to the Napkin app over the last few weeks, focusing on its core functionality of collecting and organizing ideas on cards. The app automatically detects topics and facilitates easy navigation between related ideas. Changes in the iOS app include enhanced accessibility of the OCR scan function, which allows users to scan and select text from books to be added to their cards. The interface now also displays tag counts, and users can view, edit, and manage tags more efficiently. The speaker highlights the personal preference for discovering new associations rather than focusing on tags.

🔄 Enhanced Stacks and Interface Features

This section discusses the significant updates to the stacks feature in the Napkin app. Users can now own snacks in their sidebar, rearrange stacks more easily, and create new stacks instantly. The app allows for full-screen viewing of stacks and smoother actions such as dragging and dropping thoughts into specific positions within a stack. The speaker also mentions the use of stacks for grouping cards for articles or discussions, and the transition from the app to a preferred writing tool once the creative process is complete.

🌞 Introducing Daily Mix for Creative Inspiration

The speaker introduces the 'Daily Mix' feature, which curates a selection of ideas for users each morning. This feature includes recently collected ideas and those that haven't been viewed for a while, serving as a tool to keep important thoughts at the forefront of the user's mind. The speaker emphasizes the app's role in creativity and inspiration, rather than being a comprehensive writing tool, and mentions ongoing work on further improving the iOS app, with the expectation of presenting new versions soon.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Napkin

Napkin in the context of the video refers to a digital tool designed for idea collection and organization. It allows users to input thoughts and automatically detects topics within them, facilitating the process of idea generation and connection. The script mentions that the core idea of Napkin remains the same, emphasizing its role in the creative process.

💡OCR scan function

The OCR (Optical Character Recognition) scan function is a feature within the iOS app of Napkin that enables users to scan text from physical sources like books and convert it into digital text. This function is highlighted as being more accessible, allowing users to select specific sentences and insert them into their digital cards within the app.

💡Tags

Tags in the video script are used to categorize and organize ideas within the Napkin app. The script mentions the addition of a feature that shows the counts of tags and allows users to edit, delete, and reorder them, enhancing the app's organizational capabilities.

💡Stacks

Stacks in the context of the video are a way to group related cards within the Napkin app. The script describes an update that allows users to rearrange, rename, and quickly create new stacks, as well as search and drag content into them, making the organization of thoughts more fluid and intuitive.

💡Inbox

The Inbox in the video is a part of the Napkin app interface where newly scanned or input ideas are initially placed. It serves as a temporary holding area before ideas are sorted into topics or stacks, as described in the script.

💡Daily Mix

Daily Mix is a feature of the Napkin app that curates a selection of ideas for the user at the start of the day. It includes recently collected ideas and some that the user may not have viewed for a while, aiming to keep important thoughts at the forefront of the user's mind.

💡iOS app

The iOS app mentioned in the script refers to the version of Napkin designed for Apple mobile devices. The speaker indicates that improvements have been made to this app, and it is the main focus of current development efforts.

💡Creativity

Creativity is a central theme of the video, with the Napkin app positioned as a tool to inspire and facilitate creative thought. The script emphasizes that while Napkin aids in the creative process, it is not intended to be a writing tool itself.

💡Inspiration

Inspiration is closely linked to creativity in the video, with the Napkin app described as a means to inspire users by helping them discover new associations and connections between ideas.

💡Co-founder

The term co-founder in the script refers to a business partner with whom the speaker sometimes uses Napkin to collect and organize material for discussion. This illustrates the app's utility in collaborative contexts.

💡Writing tool

A writing tool in the video is any application or platform that the user prefers for composing text. The script clarifies that while Napkin is great for idea generation and organization, it is not designed to replace dedicated writing tools.

Highlights

Napkin has improved its features in recent weeks, offering a tour of updates.

The core idea of collecting resonating ideas on cards remains the same.

Napkin automatically detects topics in cards, facilitating idea organization.

Minor changes in the iOS app make it simpler for on-the-go thought collection.

OCR scan function is now more accessible for text selection and insertion.

Scanned texts are automatically detected for topics and connected to existing cards.

Users can now add and see counts of tags associated with cards.

An account-wide tag management feature allows editing, deleting, and reordering tags.

Stacks have been updated for easier rearrangement and renaming.

Creating new stacks is now more intuitive when dragging thoughts.

In-stack actions and full-screen viewing are smoother for better user experience.

Stacks can be used to group cards for articles or discussions.

Napkin is a tool for creativity and inspiration, not a writing tool.

The Daily Mix feature curates ideas to keep important thoughts at the forefront.

Development focus is currently on the iOS app with new versions expected soon.

The presentation of the first versions of the updated iOS app is anticipated.

The speaker encourages users to stay inspired with the updated app.

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