Quantified Self Philadelphia

Meet Up May 16, 2012An Overview of Tracking Tools

Understanding the varieties of tools

• There are tools to track almost every area of our life.

• The more popular ones deal with:– Activity– Diet– Rest– Emotions/Mood– Goals

APPS AND TOOLS DO NOT ALWAYS DRIVE PERFORMANCE. THE EASE AND VALUE OF FEEDBACK DRIVES VALUE.

How tools/apps builds a following

• Ease of Use• Cost• Integration with other apps• Rewards

5 TOOLS

Activity• Pedometer: Free App• The special algorithm used in

hardware pedometers is integrated in the application and makes sure you get the most precise data about any kind of activity. It will automatically identify whether you are running, walking or jogging and save this information in progress reports.

• The app counts your steps, monitors the distance you have covered, the time you have spent jogging or walking, as well as your speed and pace at the moment, average speed and how many calories you have burnt.

Mood/Emotions• Moodscope• The mood-measuring itself is

straightforward. You’ll be shown twenty double-sided playing cards, each of which represents an emotion like ‘alert’ or ‘nervous’. The cards can flipped back to front or spun head to toe (try it below) to choose one of four degrees to which you might be feeling that emotion, on a scale from ‘Very slightly or not at all’ to ‘Extremely’.

Accountability• Gympact• GymPact’s concept centers

around time-inconsistent preferences, a situation in which something you want in the future (having gone to the gym) conflicts with something you want right now (staying home to watch TV). We realized that if people had a way to commit to exercise with real stakes and easy, fool-proof check-ins at gyms, they could actually push themselves to make the most of their gym memberships

Sleep• Sleep Time (Azumio)• Sleep Time is an alarm clock

that monitors and analyzes your sleep cycles to wake you up in the lightest sleep phase, allowing you to wake feeling rested and relaxed. Utilizing the iPhones accelerometer, Sleep Time senses your subtle movements throughout the night and graphs your sleep cycles.

Weight

• Withings:• Wifi scale that measure

weight, body fat and BMI. Tracks it over time and integrates with other apps/tools, such as Fitbit