Rhoneisms

Let me state, up front, that I am not really sure where I am going with this post. This is just a general observation I have noticed lately. Something that peaks my interest. I am sure that this is, in large part, driven by my recent attempts to actively exercise my visual thinking.
As we continue to share information about ourselves on the web, the things we can do with that data and the cool ways we can visualize it, becomes really compelling. Here are just a few examples I have come across:
FitBit

FitBit is a product and service that is not yet released but I am really looking forward to it. The product is a wearable Tracker with a motion sensor that senses your motion in three dimensions, converts this into information about your daily activities, wirelessly transmits it to a base station attached to your computer and then uploads it to a web app which tracks and visualizes this data. It can measure the intensity and duration of your physical activities, calories burned, steps taken, distance traveled, how long it took you to fall asleep, the number of times you woke up throughout the night and how long you were actually asleep vs just lying in bed. This is not to be confused with a simple step counter or a more advanced tracker for runners. This is designed for regular people with regular activity levels to be more conscious of your health.
Daytum

If you are seeking a bit more of a manual and ad-hoc way to quantify your life data, give Daytum a try. Inspired by the Feltron Annual Report, Daytum is a way to take all of the mundane data sets of your life – How many pizzas your have eaten, length in miles of hot dogs consumed, plants watered vs. plants killed – you can create virtually any type of data set you can think of and easily track and quantify it.
Dopplr

Dopplr is a social network for travelers. Not only does it allow you to keep details about your own past and upcoming trips, it also allows you to share this information with friends and followers. This year, they introduced the Personal Annual Report which visualizes your travel data. You can see what your personal velocity was compared to a giant tortoise, compare the miles you traveled to the distance to the moon, even see what your carbon footprint is in “Hummers”.
You. Visualized.
What does this all mean? I’m not really sure. I just think it is cool. I do think that the information age continues to give us ways to quantify, share and visualize vast amounts of personal data about ourselves. The possibilities of this are as compelling as the privacy concerns are frightening.
With that said, I think that simple knowledge often gives you all the tools you need to make modest changes. How will knowing that you are not that active cause you to be conscious of being more so? Will a tool that allows you to quantify how much Diet Coke you consume cause you to drink less? How will knowing that the trip you want to take will increase your carbon footprint by two Hummers affect your travel plans? Perhaps it wont but at least you will have the data at your disposal to help with the decision.

I am making a resolution not to make any new years resolutions. There is enough going on in everyone’s lives right now, mine included, to take on any major commitments or promises that even to oneself are difficult to keep. Who really needs that kind of self induced stress anyway?
Instead, I am committing to some modest goals. Small, achievable, meaningful goals that will add just a small bit of personal satisfaction to my life. I will not stress about them nor beat myself up should I not achieve them. That being said, some will be things I normally do anyway (this is partly to remind myself and partly to ensure success) Here are a few I am setting forth on. It is my hope that those who know me will keep me accountable to them.
* I will learn and use keyboard shortcuts more and use the mouse and/or trackpad less. I have downloaded a little program called KeyCue to help with this. This also means getting in a little deeper with Quicksilver.
* I plan to be much more mindful of the signal to noise ratio of my online life. This means I will be doing some trimming of my Twitter follows, my RSS feeds, etc. Basically, if the signal is not adding real tangible value to my life, then it is simply noise and I do not need it. I also hope to increase the quality by seeking new signals that I should be listening to. For Twitter, Mr. Tweet will help with this.
* Of course, the signal and noise argument cuts both ways. For this reason I will continue to post here according to the following criteria and schedule – Only when I think I have something of real and original value to add to the greater internet conversation. My personal promise to you, the reader, is that I will not fill your eyes, head, or RSS feed with anything that I consider to be repetitive, noisy or otherwise less than useful.
* In addition, I will be adding regular and more reliably scheduled content over at my other project, work.life.creativity. Myself and the other founders recently got together on a conference call and recommitted ourselves to making this project into something really great. The past few weeks has seen a virtual explosion of new activity in the forums and fantastic new content added to the blog. I am very proud of the things happening over there.
* I will continue to seek ways to grow my consulting business into something that can reliably sustain me and mine. This includes finding new ways to get the word of mouth spreading as that is where the vast majority of my business comes from.
* As is the case with many a couple, Princess Bethany’s resolutions and goals are, by proxy, mine as well. Towards that end, I also will work towards a better appreciation for our home. We have started the renovation work on what will become our new bedroom and also on a library/den area. Our vision may be a bit ahead of our grasp and means but I am sure once it is all finished it will provide an even deeper love for our beautiful house.