Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch

34 pointsby eli-bryanvor 14 Jahren20 comments

Hi folks, wanted to get feedback on a project before making it 'public'. It's called Notch and the idea is to create a more fun UX for personal health tracking (using data from Fitbit, Fuelband, Withings, etc).

The demo project is a first experiment with this. The 'private' signup page is at http://notch.me/start.html. Users go in, add their Fitbit, and it creates a personalized infographic based on their Fitbit steps, like this: http://notch.me/p/7Isumkw5k2P1WhyeUVwFmj

Feedback is appreciated! Feel free to email me at [email protected].

Thanks! Eli

20 comments

georgemcbayvor 14 Jahren

Seems like a nice idea but the name is confusing for gamer geeks who will immediately assume this has something to do with Markus Persson or Mojang.

hornbakervor 14 Jahren

My hunch: the intersection between gamer geeks and fitbit users is not a large one.

eli-bryanvor 14 Jahren

agreed. that was definitely a concern, but the name seems to resonate with people (and short, monosyllabic domain names are scarce). maybe we'll post as "Other Notch" in gamer contexts...

tnashvor 14 Jahren

That's very cute. I like it a lot, good work. Is the info randomized, or do you get the same info every month (i.e. is it always the panama canal or are there other things? Like walk on the moon, or around NYC, etc.)

eli-bryanvor 14 Jahren

Thanks! And yup, it changes based on how many miles you've covered.

ZanderEarth32vor 14 Jahren

Very nice, love the idea of sharing this type of graphic with friends on Twitter.

Any plans to integrate data from non-hardware based tracking devices (like Fitbit, Fuelband, etc.) but from other apps like Nike + GPS?

eli-bryanvor 14 Jahren

Definitely (down the road). And not just health-specific things. There's all kinds of data that can serve as a (proxy) signal for health. e.g. physical activity is correlated with weather: http://rd.springer.com/article/10.1186/1479-5868-3-21 and it's suggested that your diet can be affected by a bunch of different things: http://eab.sagepub.com/content/39/1/106.abstract

rahul_nihalanivor 14 Jahren

This is a great start. For me, staying motivated to be healthy and work out is all about having fun while doing it, and I think you're definitely on the right track with Notch. keep it up mate!

ecarothvor 14 Jahren

Cool idea. Unfortunately I signed up and linked my fitbit, and it didn't load any of my data. Though I did enjoy the "creating suspense.." loading animation.

eli-bryanvor 14 Jahren

Ha, glad you liked that part. Right now it's setup to only show the last month or so of data, so if you haven't tracked any steps since 3/27 it won't show you much. (if you've logged some steps since then though, please shoot me an email and we'll figure it out!)

ecarothvor 14 Jahren

I use it every day, including tracking separate workouts so it should be loaded w/ data. Now it's telling me 'something is wrong with my username' when trying to login. Where can I find your email?

FYI - on a side note, I'm the creator of fitbolt.com, which also integrates w/ FitBit. It's cool to see the different uses of their API people are coming up with!

EDIT: found your email.. must be friday ;-)

ZhannaSchonfeldvor 14 Jahren

This is cute idea. Seems like I would be more motivated to keep up my fitness with this type of breakdown.

sjs382vor 14 Jahren

Signup doesnt appear to work. Chrome Dev Tools tells me: Uncaught ReferenceError: _gat is not defined

eli-bryanvor 14 Jahren

=X good catch! will fix in the next build.

Donitovor 14 Jahren

Looks very nice... bought a Fitbit just now just to be able to try it out :/

seltzered_vor 14 Jahren

Wow. Really impressed with the design, it feels so warm!

eli-bryanvor 14 Jahren

Thanks! Bruno Barros did the original (@IlustreBOB). He's crazy talented.

lurkinggruevor 14 Jahren

Nice but please don't insult Opera users like that.

mhuntervor 14 Jahren

I like it! I emailed you, would love to chat more.

tristan_louisvor 14 Jahren

Very cool! Keep it up. This is awesome.