Lip Service is an audio-first social media platform designed to lower barriers to participation for Baby Boomers. Camera-shy users share their stories and connect with others online through bite-sized audio recordings. This initiative was a pitch concept developed in partnership with Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins.

BOOMERS ARE AN ACTIVE & INFLUENTIAL GENERATION WITH MASSIVE SPENDING POWER.

PROJECT CONTEXT

Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins approached Rockwell Group to translate our consultancy’s expertise designing social spaces into a digital experience. I led a team of two designers and a strategist in Rockwell’s innovation lab to take on this wide-open challenge as a speculative side project. We committed to developing a concept, prototype, and investor pitch within 6 months.

We identified Baby Boomers as a customer segment largely untapped by social media products, and decided to focus on a social networking or matchmaking platform meeting the needs of this audience.

OUR IDEA WAS THAT A PRODUCT DESIGNED TO BE MORE INCLUSIVE OF AN UNDERSERVED POPULATION WOULD RESULT IN A BETTER EXPERIENCE FOR ALL USERS.

DISCOVERY

CONTEXTUAL RESEARCH

Research revealed that Boomers spend two more hrs/wk online than Millennials, and are almost 20% more likely to share online content than any other generation.

Although Boomers are open to new, online experiences, they felt existing social media platforms catered primarily to younger generations.

GENERATIVE RESEARCH

Based on live user interviews with people born from 1946 to 1964, we synthesized insights about what aspects of social media appealed to them, and what turned them off. We looked to uncover unmet needs that might be design opportunities.

HOW MIGHT A DIGITAL PLATFORM HELP BOOMERS EXPLORE NEW INTERESTS AND MAKE MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS—WHILE RESPECTING THEIR COMFORT LEVEL WITH SHARING & PRIVACY?

IDEATION & CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

After iterative synthesis and concept exploration, our team narrowed in on an audio platform concept that lets users connect by sharing stories.

Storytelling is a universal and time-tested way to engage people. The audio format not only would sidestep Boomers’ reluctance to share personal photos & video, it also showed proven success in radio, audiobooks, and podcasts.

THE CONCEPT GIVES USERS A TOOL TO SHARE STORIES, DISCUSS THEM, AND MEET LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE VIA AUDIO. WE COMBINED THE ANCIENT PRACTICE OF STORYTELLING WITH NEW FORMATS LIKE SOCIAL MEDIA AND ONLINE MATCHMAKING.

LIPSERVICE IS AN INTERACTIVE AUDIO SHARING PLATFORM WHERE PEOPLE CAN HEAR OR POST MINI PODCASTS, AND ENGAGE VIA TEXT AND VOICE.

HOW IT WORKS

1. Each week, Lipservice posts a TOPIC OF THE WEEK, with audio stories from noteworthy featured guests.

2. Users listen and can browse other themes from past weeks (10 free stories/wk).

3. Users respond to stories by posting comments via text.

4. Users can direct message with other users via text or audio recordings.

5. Users record, edit, & upload their own stories (1 free upload/wk).

   
   
   

WE DEFINED 3 CATEGORIES OF USERS—SPECTATORS, COMMENTATORS, & CREATORS—WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF ENGAGEMENT.

EARLY ITERATION

HIGH-FIDELITY PROTOTYPES

AFTERWORD

Once we finalized our interactive prototypes, we developed our pitch deck to walk through the concept, business opportunity, and growth strategy. Our partner at Kleiner Perkins began to drum up interest and set up meetings as we geared up to begin early seed-stage conversations.

In many ways, this project served as an early rehearsal for the kinds of interaction challenges I would later encounter in conversational and AI-driven systems. We were designing for users who were hesitant, uncertain, and highly sensitive about privacy—requiring thoughtful consideration of trust, comfort, and participation in an unfamiliar interaction model.