Wearable Analytics – My nike fuelband experience

 

 

I’ve been using nike fuelband for about 5 months now, and I love it. However, I am starting to loose momentum.  The goals start to be more of a stretch, and I start wondering what the purpose is to begin with?  And then I remember why I got it and what the real purpose of the fuel band is.

Self Awareness to Intention.  

I find the key to maintaining your momentum for any digital sport program is finding the right balance between rewarding mediocracy and relying too much on goals.  The beauty of the fuelband ( besides being an awesome watch ) is that is constantly makes you aware of the intention to be physical.  Not based on the numbers alone, but the fact that you have put on a badge that you are going to try and stay in shape. It becomes part of your identity.

From an analytics perspective, having your personal data is very valuable. You cant track and trend your habbits, optimize your schedule, and engage with yourself to become 2.0. Although we are all athletes in a way, the bigger question is what kind of athlete do you want to be – and do the goals and constant pings help propel you to the next level, or do they serve as a reminder for something you want to avoid. Goals can either motivate or demotivate depending on the scope. Gamification can help, but it can also serve as a distractor to the idea that people need to individually set their goals, or have the power to select what auto setting goals are appropriate for them.

Thus, as I look down at my nike fuelband, and note that I am 1/3 of my daily quota, I remember that every day I am more active then I was a year ago. I am self aware and I strive to do better.  2000 fuel points is not too far away.  Thus awareness moves to intention. 

-pd

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Social TV meets earned media dollars – The Voice Season 4

 

 

 

Many reality TV shows utilize people’s “social capital” ( shares, likes, tweets ) to raise its own level of influence and boast higher levels of engagement and earned media levels.  However “the voice” has take this to a new level.  If you have wanted to vote on these shows in the past you could pay for a text (sms) if you were on a specific carrier, or sometimes vote through on online portal.   However, this year ( Maybe last year)  they added a new element where part of the voting is dependent on how many people download (pay for ) the contestants songs on itunes. Now this changes the cost per vote from a few cents, to dollars. This is several orders to magnitudes greater, and is a really smart profitable decision. And I am not sure how I feel about it.

One one side I feel that they are double dipping on getting paid. Once with traditional ad based models on tv, and a second time with itunes. However, I actually wonder if this creates a more authentic version of how these shows should work. I like that the artists probably get a small cut per each song sole. And I also like that the people voting in this sense, are more likely endorsing their song versus someone they think is cute or a good showman – 90 more cents is a larger barrier to entry compared to a nickel.

There is one thing I still dont understand. I wish the voice was a bit more like the Jersey Shore. In the sense that everyone wins. This is still reality TV. However, with new publishing models around, there is NO reason except for entertainment value that there should be a winner.  I feel like at the end of the show, everyone should publish an album. Obviously those who were on the show longer have a higher chance of  getting more screen time and thus free advertising – but this show still runs on a hunger games type of model. There does not have to be only one winner. As far as I see it, they all have incredible talent, and I hope they all go one to use this show as a springboard.  The models they have introduced to TV really blur the lines between what is owned media, how does real time marketing change programming, and how do influencers ( hosts / cohosts ) act as curators of the crowd, and ultimately . . . who can win ?

Beyond Mobile and QR

I spent a considerable amount of my time exploring QR codes and new ways that we could rethink mobile marketing engagement over the last few years at http://www.QrArts.com . It was a passion project of mine, but QR codes are no longer my focus. I think still think they are neat, but I view them as a small tool or entry point to a larger view or ecosystem about how we think about how people interact with the media ecosystem.

I also spent some time tracking trends in creative business and innovative digital marketing at http://www.followingtomorrow.com.  I will still keep this active, but I decided I needed a new direction.  This blog will showcase how I think and what I find interesting in the digital space. So many websites track what is new or hot, but I am not interested in the race to the bottom or calling out first.  I’ve decided my new focus will be to unlock and communicate the insights behind some of the new changes in digital marketing.  Through understanding and making connections, I hope to inspire and share my findings with a bigger community. I hope that will be able to learn and share findings from many of you in the upcoming months and years.

Best,

Patrick

@pdonnelly01