Welcome to Day 2! Quick couple of notes to add from Day 1, then on to highlights from our keynote speaker, Eric Boyd. A common problem for QS-ers is knowing which tools, products and methods to use in their self-tracking. Finding the answers would requires hours to months of online research and/or testing. Recognizing the…
Highlights from Day 1 of Quantified Self Conference 2011
Seth Roberts describes the single experience in grad school that sparked the decades long self tracking/experimentation that led him to be one of the faces of Quantified Self and today’s keynote speaker. It started with acne. Personal experimentation proved more effective at getting rid of it than a doctor’s protocol. Eureka! Seth goes on to…
The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA is abuzz with life. For the first time, self-trackers from around the world are gathering in one spot to share insights, tips, and to simply meet each other. First impression of the conference: 31 posters 17 exhibition tables 400+ attendees And the schedule: 45 talks 26 break-out…
Yes, it’s finally here. After months of preparation, and with an amazing list of people stepping up to give talks and lead sessions, the QS conference is ready to go. Join and follow the excitement here on the blog and on Twitter with the hashtag #qs2011. Let the fun begin!
Two weeks ago, several researchers and I organized a workshop at CHI 2011 on the intersection of human-computer interaction (HCI) and personal informatics. HCI is a field that studies the interaction between people and computers and develops tools and applications to improve that interaction. Self-tracking and reflecting on one’s personal data can be time-consuming and…
In this video, Laurie Frick presents her amazing work on daily activity charts and sleep charts translated to art at the NY Quantified Self Show&Tell #11 at Parsons The New School for Design.
Here’s a quick note from Xaq Rothman for all of you who live in DC: HacDC, DC’s hackerspace, will be hosting a QS Show & Tell this coming Sunday at 6pm. If you’re in the area, come see self-tracking presentations on topics including quitting cigarettes, GPS logging, and songwriting. For more about the presentations: http://www.hacdc.org/content/meet-quantified-self-presenters…
Here’s your chance to demonstrate your knowledge of self-tracking hardware and win a free ticket to the QS conference in 2 weeks. Kevin Kelly’s site Cool Tools is running a contest: — In particular, we are looking for the best self-tracking hardware (we will still accept reviews of software but you are going to have…
We experiment on ourselves and track the results to improve the way we work, our health, and our personal lives. This rational approach is essential because there are few guarantees that what works for others will work for us. Take the category of sleep, for example. Of the hundreds of tinctures and techniques available, clearly…
Bruno Aziza from Microsoft recently caught up with Gary in San Francisco to talk about Quantified Self and our upcoming conference. Listen to Gary’s keen insights on the variety of things people are tracking, what they are learning from the process, and where this is all going.
While I don’t think a local QS meetup would normally warrant the attention on the main blog, we’re having a bit of a special event at the local Vancouver group next week, that I wanted to share with a larger audience than I might otherwise be able to reach. I know this one comes hot…
T minus 25 days until the Quantified Self Conference, and we have another exciting announcement. Seth Roberts will be giving a keynote on “Why Personal Science Really Matters.” Seth Roberts’ pioneering work in self-tracking and self-experimentation has led to discoveries about diet, cognition, mood, and sleep. His use of daily measurements of basic activities as a…
In January, after talking with Matthew Cornell, I decided to measure my work habits. I typically work for a while (10-100 minutes), take a break (10-100 minutes), resume work, take another break, and so on. The breaks had many functions: lunch, dinner, walk, exercise, nap. I wanted to do experiments related to quasi-reinforcement. I wrote R programs…
A guest post from Ted Vickey comparing the data collected from FitBit versus Body Media.
In the talk below, Ben Blench shares his experience tracking his infant, including a discussion of the different tools he has used. He makes an interesting comparison between digital and analog, noticing that digital tools often have too many features and lack flexibility. (Filmed at the Quantified Self Show&Tell meetup in Amsterdam at Mediamatic) Ben…
This is a guest post by Chloe Fan: — Hi! I’m a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon in Human-Computer Interaction, and I’m interested in learning about the barriers that you may encounter while collecting or reflecting on your personal information (e.g., too tedious to collect, information not useful, forgetting to collect). I’m also interested in learning…
In this video, Rajiv Mehta talks about the importance of remembering for good experimentation — carrying out the experiment as planned and capturing the results properly — and the difficulty of doing this well. He described a new app, Tonic, that helps people remember and keep track of their health activities, and shared examples of people…
With the first QS conference 32 days away, we’re excited to announce that Eric Boyd will give a keynote on “New Sensors and the Frontiers of Self Tracking.” Eric is an inspiring hacker who constantly pushes the boundaries of what is possible using the latest sensors and tools. A long time member of the Bay…
Michael Doherty talks about the Open Source Real Time Mobile Sensor Platform he is developing, which flexibly connects a wide variety of sensors to online databases. He wants to make mobile tracking more accessible, and imagines people using it with their own sensors, as well as kids using it to collect environmental data on class…
