This is the first part of a series in which I will review several self-tracking tools. For each tool, I will highlight the features of the tool to help you track and explore data about yourself. There are two goals for these reviews: 1) we want to help users find the right tools for them;…
Given that the United States eats more average daily calories per person than any other country, it’s probably a good idea for us to track what we eat a little more closely. QS Amsterdam folks can sit this one out if you like! This week’s roundup is for food tracking tools. It’s part of our…
Tracking location is a relatively new phenomenon, thanks to the ubiquity of cheap, embedded GPS receivers. When I was a kid, my parents had no idea where I was. Today, my daughter wants to see exactly where I am if I’m not in the same room as she is. As you might have guessed, this…
How do you measure your fitness? (image by byam) Do you track your running, cycling, steps, weight, or calories? What’s your favorite tool? This week’s roundup is focused on fitness. It’s part of our regular weekly tool roundup for the complete catalog we’re putting together of all the self-tracking tools out there. Please help us…
How do you feel today? (Image by toby) Thanks to everyone who participated in last week’s energy tool roundup. This week we’re looking for tools to help track happiness, emotions, and other mood-related things. It’s for the complete catalog we’re putting together of all the self-tracking tools out there. Please help us to make sure…
At Quantified Self, we’re starting to put together a complete catalog of all the self-tracking tools out there. We’d love your help to make sure we include your favorite tool, your company, or your project. Self-promotion is allowed! This week’s tool roundup is on Energy. Here are all the energy tools we’ve found so far,…
Choosing a new platform for self-tracking is a big decision. Tracking takes a lot of time and using tools that are not meant for tracking and or have weak development or ineffective development can be a major time suck. That is why I am excited about finding Tallyzoo. More truthfully, Tallyzoo found me on Twitter….
We are starting to get lots of email about new QS products, trackers, businesses, and web sites: way more than I can intelligently discuss. I am going to start posting links to more or less everything I hear about, so that QS readers can take a glance if they are interested. If you like something…
We are trying a new approach to cataloging the many tips we’ve received about valuable resources related to the Quantified Self. We’re going to be using Delicious to tag the links. Self-quantifier extraordinaire Mark Carranza has volunteered to to take the tag stream and munge it into into a better, more useful resource list. But…
We have posted a page of self-tracking resources and links. You can find it right here. It’s pretty basic. If you know of a resource that is missing, let the list-makers know. This list would be 100 times better if there were a line or two annotation for each link, and maybe even a catagorized…
David Pogue’s column in the New York Times today reviews two fitness self-tracking tools, the Fitbit and the DirectLIfe. Both are small monitors you carry that measure your physical activity — sort of like a digital pedometer. As he explains: The coolest Fitbit bit is the way it sends your collected activity data to its…
We’ve been working on a page that contains links to all the resources mentioned on the blog, presented at the QS Show&Tell meetups, or sent in as tips by members of our group. Special thanks to Alexandra Carmichael of CureTogether for helping to put this list together! Please visit the page and add your suggestions…
As a break from working through some of the heavy papers on mood metrics that I asked for and received, I started playing with Daytum, the place to make pretty, web-based charts from your data. Daytum is in an invite-only beta right now, but they are issuing invitations to all who ask as their capacity…
“Nike +” is the monitoring system embedded into specific Nike shoes which allow you to record data about your runs. In one version (not the Sports Band) the system transmits this information to your iPod, and soon to your iPhone. Apple has filed patents for improving the system. According to Engadget which publicized the filed…
This week I set out to buy a scale. My requirements were simple: I wanted a home scale accurate to within .25 pounds that had Bluetooth or a USB port so that I could transmit data to my computer. It didn’t turn out to be so easy. Here is a brief report about my quest….
The Quantified Self is primarily about self-monitoring, and not about monitoring others. But your baby is close to the self, so there may be some technology in baby monitoring to be of use to adults. Trixie Tracker tracks and displays the activity patterns of babies. As they claim on their website: “Uncover patterns in your…
A post discussing the role of home monitoring systems in the future of long term care for the elderly.
Ann Turner, co-author of the best book on DNA-based genealogy: Trace Your Roots With DNA, wrote me to say that she too has been comparing results from the two big genetic test companies, 23andMe and deCode. She wrote in response to my earlier posting comparing results between the two vendors. The big news is that…
I’m fascinated by the BodyBugg. Not convinced, but fascinated. This is the most complete self-monitoring system I’ve yet seen. With an accelerometer, a skin-temperature sensor, a sensor to measure the electrical conductivity of the skin (known as GSR, for Galvanic Skin Response), and a sensor to measure “heat flux” (the rate of heat transfer from…
Review of the LENA Baby Monitor: a voice recorder that tucks into a child’s clothing and evaluates their “language environment” throughout the day.
