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Fitbit, the creators of the small device that measures your daily steps, sleep, and flights of stairs climbed, is expanding their product offering to include a wireless scale. The scale, known as the Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scale was actually developed as a product based on feedback from the Fitbit user community who asked for an easier [...]

I am so excited, the latest in personal fitness tracking tools has arrived! This week Nike announced the NIKE+ FuelBand, a wristband that measures the number of steps you take along with calories burned and then calculates a proprietary metric, NikeFuel to help you gauge your overall activity. The NIKE+ FuelBand is one of many [...]

Let’s face it. In our heads, we know we need to change our behavior in order to see positive results in our metrics. But changing our habits and creating new ones is just plain hard. There comes a point when you’ve gathered all the data, you’ve internalized it and truly understand the meaning of your metrics, [...]

Back in July, I wrote about the Jawbone Up announcement at TED Global. I’ve been anxiously waiting for the device to launch for months, but after using it for 4 days, I have to say I was really underwhelmed and disappointed. I think the product could be really great. But as a first release, it [...]

I have a growing concern that we’re innovating like crazy to develop devices, platforms, and systems to track data about our lives, but not doing enough about interpreting that data. What’s the value of data without context? What’s the use of information with action? What’s the purpose of aggregating metrics without assessing their impact? We [...]

After studying Personal Metrics for a while, I’ve realized that creating products or services that are rooted in Personal Metrics is very similar to designing games. I should note that I am not a game designer, however, I am fascinated with the psychology and neuropsychology of how game mechanics affect us as emotionally responsive beings. [...]

The idea that measuring behavior can drive behavior is central to game mechanics. By providing players with performance cues, the player alters their behavior to get to the next reward. But can this concept that has been adopted by verticals such as health, fitness, and finance thrive in the workplace to motivate employees and drive [...]

If you’ve been following this discovery of Personal Metrics, you know that I’m fascinated with the power of data to change our behavior. Understanding the impact of our actions is critical to behavior modification. Today at TED Global, the team at Jawbone a new hardware and software system that I am very excited about. We [...]

The rise in personal fitness devices has created an entire culture in the fitness community who is addicted to feedback about their progress. Digital tracking devices have enable people to get instant feedback that allows them to change course in order to receive specific results. If you’re training to get a personal best time on [...]

We all know that stress is a contributor to many health problems we have. But, managing the stress in our lives is a lot more difficult than we’d like to admit. What if there was a device you could wear that measures stress and alerts you to when you need to chill out? Meet the [...]