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Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch

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

( 20 comments | 34 points | on HN )
Re:Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch by georgemcbay on Friday April 27, 2012 @05:11PM (#3901046)
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.
Re:Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch by hornbaker on Friday April 27, 2012 @06:44PM (#3901357)
My hunch: the intersection between gamer geeks and fitbit users is not a large one.
Re:Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch by eli-bryan on Friday April 27, 2012 @05:26PM (#3901095)
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...
Re:Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch by tnash on Friday April 27, 2012 @04:24PM (#3900874)
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.)
Re:Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch by eli-bryan on Friday April 27, 2012 @04:35PM (#3900923)
Thanks! And yup, it changes based on how many miles you've covered.
Re:Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch by ZanderEarth32 on Friday April 27, 2012 @05:35PM (#3901116)
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?

Re:Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch by eli-bryan on Friday April 27, 2012 @05:55PM (#3901180)
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
Re:Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch by rahul_nihalani on Friday April 27, 2012 @04:41PM (#3900952)
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!
Re:Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch by ecaroth on Friday April 27, 2012 @04:38PM (#3900934)
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.
Re:Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch by eli-bryan on Friday April 27, 2012 @04:59PM (#3901013)
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!)
Re:Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch by ecaroth on Friday April 27, 2012 @05:34PM (#3901111)
I use it every day, including tracking separate workouts so it should be loaded w/ data. Now it's telling me 'something is wrong with my username' when trying to login. Where can I find your email?

FYI - on a side note, I'm the creator of fitbolt.com, which also integrates w/ FitBit. It's cool to see the different uses of their API people are coming up with!

EDIT: found your email.. must be friday ;-)

Re:Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch by ZhannaSchonfeld on Friday April 27, 2012 @04:29PM (#3900899)
This is cute idea. Seems like I would be more motivated to keep up my fitness with this type of breakdown.
Re:Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch by sjs382 on Friday April 27, 2012 @04:59PM (#3901015)
Signup doesnt appear to work. Chrome Dev Tools tells me: Uncaught ReferenceError: _gat is not defined
Re:Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch by eli-bryan on Friday April 27, 2012 @05:08PM (#3901038)
=X good catch! will fix in the next build.
Re:Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch by Donito on Saturday April 28, 2012 @06:17AM (#3902573)
Looks very nice... bought a Fitbit just now just to be able to try it out :/
Re:Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch by seltzered_ on Friday April 27, 2012 @05:16PM (#3901059)
Wow. Really impressed with the design, it feels so warm!
Re:Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch by eli-bryan on Friday April 27, 2012 @05:31PM (#3901105)
Thanks! Bruno Barros did the original (@IlustreBOB). He's crazy talented.
Re:Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch by lurkinggrue on Friday April 27, 2012 @05:54PM (#3901177)
Nice but please don't insult Opera users like that.
Re:Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch by mhunter on Friday April 27, 2012 @05:01PM (#3901017)
I like it! I emailed you, would love to chat more.
Re:Show HN: Visualize Fitbit steps with Notch by tristan_louis on Friday April 27, 2012 @04:57PM (#3901008)
Very cool! Keep it up. This is awesome.