Area 120 &
Next Billion Users
At Google I led product for the internal incubator that became Area 120, then known as Adventure Labs, building brand-new products from scratch. I also ran experiments for Next Billion Users, Google's company-wide push to build for the people just coming online for the first time.
Building for people just coming online.
The next billion internet users are not a scaled-down version of existing users. They come online on low-cost phones, over patchy connections, often as first-time smartphone owners. Building for them means designing against a different set of constraints, not just translating an app. My experiments here worked those four constraints directly.
Cost
Low-cost devices with little RAM and storage. Every megabyte and megabyte of data has to earn its place.
Connectivity
Sporadic, expensive networks. Products need to work offline and sync when they can.
Digital literacy
Unfamiliar interface patterns. Defaults and affordances have to teach as you go.
General literacy
Some users cannot easily read or type. Voice, images and icons carry more of the load.
Led product on new bets
Owned products from concept inside the incubator that became Area 120, not incremental work on existing surfaces.
Ran the experiments
Framed and shipped tests for Next Billion Users, learning fast against real emerging-market constraints.
Zero-to-one at scale
Practiced the rare combination of startup-style building with the distribution and rigor of Google.
Global by default
Designed for markets and users very different from the team building the product.
Zero-to-one, at any scale.
The same instinct that builds new products inside Google, pointed at your business.