Re: Quantified Self -- Amsterdam -- November 26-27

Folks expressed interest in the "Quantified Self Movement" today on the 
Scientific Discourse call and I thought that the a brief summary of the 
group (below) might be of interest. Much of the data donated by 
"quantified selfers" is available on Twitter, Facebook, and other social 
websites. So, there is sure to be some creative ways to involved these 
folks in research.
The write up was done by a student in my lab over the summer, so some 
information has likely changed.

kind regards,
-Rich Boyce

-----

"Quantified Self Movement"


The Quantified Self Movement is a generation of people who are 
dedicating their lives to using technology when dealing with their 
health. Various tracking devices allow them to share their results with 
the other group members. This in turn motivates them to keep on track 
with their own health plans and support others with their plans. This 
niche group of people, in their 20s and 30s and mostly male, believe 
that tracking details about their everyday health patterns can help them 
make better health choices [1]. Some are fitness buffs, some are simply 
techno-geeks, and others are plagued by chronic conditions. They all 
have a similar interest however, in using numerous technological devices 
to track and map out their health all in the hopes of improving their 
well-being.

This group of people tend to be educated, middle-class citizens who can 
both afford and understand these devices. They have the curiosity and 
drive to take control of their own health without doctors and insurance 
co-pays, They are researchers, programmers, engineers and health 
professionals. Many got interested in the movement because they 
themselves were using a device to track some component about their 
health [1]. They are not embarressed to share health information with 
others as a potential long-term goal of the movement is to sync data 
with larger, centralized databases that may be used for research. The 
movement has its own website and set of followers who may go to meetings 
and blog as a way to keep in touch with others [2]. It is a growing 
movement with followers from many different backgrounds who are each 
looking to get something different out of tracking their health. In the 
end, this is what will improve their health and their lifestyle.

There are many devices which members follow. There are currently 446 
tools listed on the Quantified Self movement's guide [3]. These range 
from free website tools to those costing upward of $100. They all have 
reviews from members which is an important part of the movement, what 
worked for some might not work for others. For example, FitBit tracks 
all physical activity during the day or night and then syncs up with a 
computer to upload the various data. It's price is $99.95 and users can 
blog about various uses on the website itself [4]. Another example of a 
device is MoodScope, a free app available for your smart phone. It 
tracks your mood using a card game and updates can be sent to friends 
through emails which can help ones mood in itself [5].

1. http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/37784/

2. http://quantifiedself.com

3. http://quantifiedself.com/guide/

4. http://www.fitbit.com/

5. _http://www.moodscope.com_



On 10/10/2011 11:01 AM, Jodi Schneider wrote:
> Patient advocacy/self-surveillance came up on the call today, so I 
> wanted to point out that the first Quantified Self Europe will be held 
> in Amsterdam this November 26-27 (the Saturday & Sunday of 
> Thanksgiving). Here are the topics they're interested in:
> http://quantifiedself.com/conference/Amsterdam-2011/program
>
> In case anyone is interested in collaborating on a talk but can't 
> present, let me know in the next day or two: I will be attending.
>
> -Jodi
> http://jodischneider.com/jodi.html
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: *Gary Wolf* <gary@aether.com <mailto:gary@aether.com>>
> Date: Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 1:59 AM
> Subject: Re: Invitation to present at Quantified Self Conference, 
> Europe 2011
> To: Quantified Self Conference <qsconference@aether.com 
> <mailto:qsconference@aether.com>>
>
>
> Dear QS friends,
>
> I'm very glad you are coming to the Quantified Self conference in 
> Amsterdam next month. The conference is a community-driven event. All 
> the talks and presentation come from regular registered attendees; our 
> job is to build a wonderful atmosphere and a format that makes it easy 
> for you to share your knowledge and learn from others.
>
> In this spirit, I would like to invite you like to give a short 
> Show&Tell talk. If you have a self-tracking project or story, data 
> visualization, design idea, or tool, we want to hear about it. If you 
> have something you'd like to show, but are unsure about how to 
> structure your talk, use this format:
>
> */What did you do?
>
> How did you do it?
>
> What did you learn?
> /*/
> /(For more on what makes a good Quantified Self talk, see this post: 
> Our Three Prime Questions 
> <http://quantifiedself.com/2011/09/our-three-prime-questions/>)*/
> /*
> We are deeply committed to helping QS folks find each other for 
> helpful conversation and collaboration. To get on the list, just send 
> me a short note about your topic. I'll do my best to get everybody who 
> has something valuable to share onto the program.
>
> If you want to talk, please reply to both Ernesto Ramirez and myself, 
> including your name, topic, and any web links that might be useful. 
> Ernesto and I will follow up with some practical information about 
> slides, speaking time, etc.
>
> Thank you!
>
> Best,
> Gary
>


-- 
Richard Boyce, PhD
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Informatics
Scholar, Comparative Effectiveness Research Program
University of Pittsburgh
rdb20@pitt.edu
412-648-6768