Making Wearables More Actionable and Valuable

Many of us have been drawn to Apple Watch, Fitbit, and other wearables for their health monitoring capabilities. However, health metrics provided by these devices are often presented without context, which can lead to a misunderstanding of what is being read.

One real-life example that comes to mind regarding wearables is when I was on a flight the first week that I owned an Apple Watch. My heartbeat reading showed 94 and a fellow passenger with more of a medical background than me commented on the significantly high number. Through a discussion, we discovered that the 94 was the result of the activity boarding the flight and lifting luggage. Apple Watch retook the heartbeat about a minute later and I was in the low 60s.

That episode reminded me of the time several Christmases ago when my new Fitbit Force showed that I had burned 861 calories when the most strenuous thing I had done was to push the button on my computer.

I considered it a Christmas miracle.

Or a sham.

Only later, after writing up my experience, did a friend call me out for not realizing that we burn calories even when we sleep. And we’re supposed to know this how?

This brings me to what I recently learned about WHOOP, which is a scientifically-grounded performance optimization system worn by the many elite athletes to positively change behavior and unlock peak performance. WHOOP provides individuals, teams, and their coaches and trainers with a continuous understanding of strain and recovery to balance training, reduce injuries, and predict performance.

The WHOOP Strap 2.0 is a lightweight, waterproof and screenless device that’s worn on the wrist, forearm or upper arm. The Strap’s five sensors measure data 100 times per second and automatically transmit the data to the WHOOP mobile and web apps for analysis and actionable recommendations. WHOOP data has been shown to optimize training and recovery, correlate with improved in-game performance, and reduce injuries.

Speaking at the Geekwire Sports Tech Summit, nine-time WNBA All-Star and Olympian Sue Bird said that technology, and especially WHOOP, has helped her stay at peak performance 14 years into her pro career.

“If it’s going to help you, if it’s going to elongate your career, you are an idiot if you don’t use it, why wouldn’t you use it?” Bird said regarding technology.

WHOOP measures physiological markers to indicate your personal readiness to perform each day. Recovery determines one’s strain and WHOOP calculates exertion based on workouts and daily lifestyle to make sure you’re training optimally. After assessing strain, WHOOP tells you how much sleep you need to recover and then calculates a detailed breakdown of time spent in each wave of sleep. The consumer version, which is currently sold out, costs $500 and comes with analysis and recommendations, precisely what many of the earlier wearables lack.

Bird, who like her WNBA teammates has eliminated gameday shoot-arounds in favor of additional sleep, appreciates the simplicity as many of us would. “Just tell us what we need to do,” she said. “Don’t give us the algebra.”

Where do we as consumers go from here? Look for more than readouts from products that will be introduced to rival WHOOP and from iterations of successful but limited products like Apple Watch and Fitbit. We may never be able to shoot a basketball like Bird, but we will be able to learn more about our bodies and be in position to maximize our own performance.

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This article first appeared here - https://possiblemobile.com/2017/06/making-wearables-actionable-valuable/

Life With An Apple Watch - Too Personal and Lacking Benefits

To continue to call the mobile phone my most personal device is to ignore the You Did It notification that I received on my new Apple Watch while I was in front of a urinal.

Whoa, even double whoa, I thought at that moment, before I silently thanked the Apple developers in Cupertino for the positive reinforcement.

I now know that particular notification conveyed the fact that I had reached a stand-up goal set by my Apple Watch. But for the newbie, it did seem random and ill-timed.

And there has been more where that came from.

To sum up my first 10 days with Apple Watch, it has been about making time rather than saving it.

Simply and unequivocally, the user experience isn’t intuitive. That forces you to either seek out and read a long user guide or muddle through wondering when is the moment for the ballyhooed Force Touch, a swipe to the left, or a click or two or three of the newly-introduced-to-us Digital Crown.

Out of the box, my Apple Watch failed to tap my wrist and mirror my iPhone when a text message or email arrived. Ninety minutes and two Geniuses from the Apple Store later, a supposed software problem had been identified and solved and I was sent on my way with Mickey Mouse tapping a big foot on the watch face.

As I wrote in this space last month after ordering the device, one of the supposed benefits of receiving notifications on your wrist is the unmatched ability to inconspicuously sneak a look at information without having to pull out a smartphone.

But unless you want a push every time something in a game changes – heck, teams typically combine for more than 200 points in an NBA game – you are left to grab the info off of a Glance. It isn’t unnoticed by your companions when you have to stroke a finger up the watch to get to Glances, then move from one “snack” of information (say, a flight arrival) to another to see if the Clippers have blown another lead.

Many of us have been drawn to Apple Watch for its health monitoring capabilities. But context is absent and what is necessary.

On a cross-country flight last week, my heartbeat reading showed 94 and a fellow passenger with more of a medical background than me – that group is 98 percent of the population – went quiet when he saw the number. Through a discussion, we discovered that the 94 was the result of the activity boarding the flight and lifting luggage. Apple Watch retook the heartbeat and I was in the low 60s.

That episode reminded me of the time two Christmases ago when my new Fitbit Force showed that I had burned 861 calories when the most strenuous thing I had done was to push the button on my computer.

I considered it a Christmas miracle.

Or a sham.

Only later, after writing up my experience, did a friend call me out for not realizing that we burn calories even when we sleep.

And we’re supposed to know this how?

I’ve read more than my share of Apple Watch reviews. In many cases, users have experienced “light bulb” moments where the benefits of the wearable become apparent.

To date, I deem the information on my wrist to either be redundant or at most in the “nice to know” category. We’ve repeatedly said that our smartphones are within four feet of us nearly 24 hours a day. So it’s not like the Apple Watch has opened up a view on the world that has been missing or inaccessible.

Apple may very well have my back. At some point, I might see that and salute the company with my own version of “You Did It”. But now isn’t the time.

(article first appeared on iMediaconnection.com - http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2015/05/19/life-with-an-apple-watch-too-personal-and-lacking-benefits/)

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - Are Wearables For Pets Barking Up The Wrong Tree?

You can now put a wearable on your pets and track activity or perceived laziness. If I tell my wife that our dogs are chubby, she will say, “Takes one to know one”.  I’m staying mum.

That reminds me of my favorite tweet of the week. From @BillMurray: “The problem with diets is nachos”.

Speaking of eating, Taco Bell's order-ahead app has seen purchases 20% higher on average compared to in-store, per Business Insider.

24% of teens go online “almost constantly”, facilitated by widespread availability of smartphones – Pew.

Also, 71% of teens are Facebook users. Boys and girls are equally likely to partake.

My kind better half brought me home a visor and killer shirt from The Masters. Pictures? None. No smartphones are allowed on course, much less selfie sticks.

64% of mobile game revenue is from 0.23% of players, Swrve says.

Leading to pre-order day, Apple spent $38 million advertising the Apple Watch. Was it money well spent? Many of us bought one without touching it or even eyeballing one.

Later on pre-order day, I did a hands-on with the model of Apple Watch that I purchased that comes with a sport band. I had thoughts of my Fitbit often slipping off, but in the case of Apple’s version, there is a tuck-in feature. We’ll see.

Ready for a concert of simultaneous notification sounds via iPhone, MacBook Air, and Apple Watch? How long before we say, "Yeah, I got it".

The other day, I was 35 folks in before recognizing anyone on People You May Know feature in the Facebook app. It seemed as random as pointing in phone book.

Major League Baseball says that it delivered 60 million live and on-demand video streams across digital platforms on Opening Day, up 60% from last year.

It was a great week. I was just added to a list of fun people. Unfortunately, it’s not my wife's list.

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - A Smartphone and a Flying Machine?

Since some supposedly have the iPhone 6 nailed, iPhone 7 rumors anyone? I heard that the phone will enable us to fly without planes.

Orbitz lets users resume searches across devices. That is so 2014.

The majority of Americans download zero smartphone apps every month, comScore says. This report is everywhere on the Internet.

Digital time spent on mobile is all additive, not substitutional to desktop, according to eMarketer.

I had no issues with mine (before it was recalled) - 10-20% of people are allergic to nickel, a material unregulated in the U.S. that's found in devices like Fitbits .

1.6% of app developers make more than the other 98.4% combined, a review by Vision Mobile shows.

Google’s 2013 mobile search revenues were approximately $8 billion.

The value I put on Twitter is high, but it doesn't get me to believe 79% of marketers used Promoted Tweets this year.

Half of American adults now own either a tablet or an e-reader, Pew tells us.

Younger millennials spend a majority of their "TV" time watching TV on another device, according to eMarketer.

The mobile spend by marketers is slowing , the CMO Council tells us.  It’s maddening but points to need to work harder and smarter to show ROI.

I've been doing this all wrong. I see an "offer" to get me 100-200 retweets per tweet for 30 days. You know that my stuff is not that compelling (but you did read to the end, so thanks).

The most secure version of BBM is coming to iOS and Android this year. That’s at least 4 years too late.

173 million people in the U.S. now own a smartphone per comScore.

50% of Walmart web traffic comes from mobile.

75% of HR managers say mobile HR improves worker satisfaction, ADP reports. More education needs to be done there since it isn’t a no-brainer apparently.

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - Of WhatsAppitis and More Pictures of Little Jimmy

Can tapping out mobile messages damage your health? A Granada doctor diagnosed sore wrists as WhatsAppitis. The treatment was "complete abstinence from using the phone to send messages," along with anti-inflammatory drugs.

Twitter now allows picture tagging, up to 4 photos per tweet. Did you see my kid in his hat. And with his sister?

50 percent of users say mobile is the first and last thing they touch when awake. There are punchlines galore. Just not going there.

By 2015, 43 percent of business tablet users will print from mobile devices, HP says. What’s taking so long?

Mobile advertising and search investments by marketers are forecast to increase an average 55 percent annually in 2014, according to Jack Myers.

Millennial Media ‏says that mobile rich media can increase click-through rates by as much as 350 percent over standard banners.

Nineteen percent of Google’s ad revenue came from mobile search ads in 2013 with eMarketer projecting that it will rise to 30 percent over the next three years.

Rankings are subjective by nature but Amazon is only No. 18 on Fast Company’s most innovative list?

My Fitbit Force is being returned due to recall. Actually, that’s great news since innovation is happening fast in the wearables category. Will get more for less.

BlackBerry beat quarterly expectations and made progress on its turnaround. Who expected that?

LinkedIn profiles with images are 11 times more likely to be viewed than those without. I would’ve guessed 50-1.

Headline asked if sales of high-end smartphones have peaked. You get more today for less. That’s not hard to understand.

Report: Sprint to launch HD Voice nationwide by July. Voice is the killer app? In 2014?

Instagram now has 200 million users, including 50 million in the last six months.