Tell me if this surprises you: people who commit to working out with a friend are 35% more likely to make it to the gym than those who work out alone. This is a real stat from a recent study in management science. It makes total sense to me that this is true. I know I'm much more likely to follow through on anything, whether it's a New Year's resolution or a weekend plan, if I'm committed to doing it with my friends. Two years ago, in January, I teamed up with my friend Tyler, who's our Chief Product Designer here at Duolingo, for my New Year's workout resolution. Our goal was to work out together three times a week in the mornings, and we actually achieved our goal. And we succeeded because we were accountable to each other, and we worked out together. Doing things is much easier when you can team up with a friend, and of course, this is true of Duolingo too.

I'm Cem Kansu, Duolingo's Head of Product, and it's my great pleasure to talk to you today about all the new ways we're making Duolingo more motivating by giving you new ways to learn with your friends. Now, if you've added friends on Duolingo, then you've probably noticed their accomplishments in your feed. Maybe you've congratulated them on a long streak, or maybe you've commented on their promotion to the Diamond League. And hopefully, at least, you've embarked on one Friend Quest, which is a way to accomplish a shared goal with your friends on Duolingo. But today, I want to highlight two new social features. First up, a brand-new way to collaborate with your friends. Introducing the Friend Streak. Now you can share streaks with up to five friends and motivate each other to keep learning every day. Once you and your friend start a Friend Streak together,

you both have to do a lesson every day to keep the streak flame alive. If it's getting late in the day and your friend hasn't done their lesson, you can give them a little nudge so you don't lose your streak together. Just like with your personal streak, the longer your Friend Streak gets, the more invested you are going to be in keeping it. It's just like having that workout buddy push that keeps you going every day. Well, maybe now you're thinking, What if I want to meet new people in the app and not just collaborate with the people I already know? Well, that's what the Leaderboards are for, the more competitive side of Duolingo, where we group you with learners from around the world and challenge you to up your ranking against them. On the leaderboard, you're grouped with people based on your XP and level of activity, so you're competing with people who are literally in your league.

But other than that, the selection is random. You're competing against people from anywhere learning anything. Now, I'm excited to show you a glimpse of the future of the Leaderboard. Soon, you may find yourself on a Leaderboard that is themed. So, for example, if you're learning French, you may be placed on a Leaderboard with 30 other French learners, or if you live in Japan, you may soon find yourself with 30 other people in Japan. You may soon find yourself on a Leaderboard with people like you who live in Turkey and are learning Spanish. The Leaderboard has always been about competition, but it's also about connecting with other learners like you. And with themed Leaderboards, we're bringing that experience closer to home. Now, it's time for you to also take advantage of the help that having friends gives you on your learning journey. Before the end of Duocon, I would like you to identify that one friend

or family member who can be your learning buddy on Duolingo and invite them to start a Friend Streak together. And I'm actually going to be doing this, myself, too. I'm going to send a Friend Streak invite to my Mom. So Mom, here comes your invite. Our Friend Streak starts today. If you remember one thing from today, let it be this: learning something new can be a huge challenge, but it gets much easier and a whole lot more fun when you can team up with a friend. If you remember two things from today, the second one should obviously be to do your Duolingo lesson. Your friends are counting on you. Thank you.

Making Duolingo More Social

Making Duolingo More Social