Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch

[eli-bryan]

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

[georgemcbay]

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.

[hornbaker]

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

[eli-bryan]

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...

[tnash]

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-bryan]

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

[ZanderEarth32]

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-bryan]

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_nihalani]

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!

[ecaroth]

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-bryan]

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!)

[ZhannaSchonfeld]

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

[sjs382]

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

[eli-bryan]

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

[Donito]

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

[seltzered_]

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

[eli-bryan]

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

[lurkinggrue]

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

[mhunter]

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

[tristan_louis]

Very cool! Keep it up. This is awesome.