Community Mobilization

Fitness on your Cellphone

Computational power continues to shrink and the eventual reality is that  our computing devices will follow suit. To a point we will be able to cram a movie theater, a home stereo a camera and a telephone into one ... But even more important is when we begin to include our health monitoring devices into the cellphone / smart phone package. The Micoach is a all in one device in conjunction with Adidas that incorporates fitness training programs into a fully loaded cell phone. The brains of the system is a Samsung phone that gets linked to a pair of shoes through rfid or blue tooth for tracking exercise. Available only in Europe at this point, look for Micoach and other integrated devices to help keep us healthier longer.

Washington Post Covers Frozen Pea Fund

I will say that I am very impressed with the article in yesterday's Washington Post about the Frozen Pea Fund (login is required but you can use bug-me-not with Fire Fox for access). The article looks at why the Twitter viral event for the Frozen Pea Fund worked and helps to shine some light onto the nature of technology mediated human connectivity. I particularly like the quote from Susan at the end of the article, it is telling about the importance of support throughout the cancer experience. Reality is that support is support no mater who gives it and in what form and this is a great study in support of that assertion. "There's nothing good about getting cancer," Reynolds wrote on her blog. "It helps [to] start conversations, though."

Web Playgrounds of the Very Young

It is no shock to me that youth wordlwide are being drawn into graphically based virtual world environments. The medium captures attention like no other as it engages us in sight, sound, hearing, and touch (keyboard). As parents encourage their children to stay inside more often then venture outdoors for unstructured fun and free time, kids are making semi-structured play online.

The article in the New York Times captures the exuberances of the youth entertainment community but it fails to represent the potential for outside marketers to engage participants. Will these spaces be breeding grounds for the next wave of consumerists who are cultured to 'purchasing' as the only means to enhance their avatar? I applaud the CDC's efforts in engaging the community of Whyville, where avatars are catching the flu ... that is unless they get their vaccination. Rez Nation recorded a session given by Erin Edgerton and John Anderton from CDC on their engagement in virtual worlds.

Frozen Peas Fun - Why It Is Working

The concepts surrounding the flash that is Frozen Peas Friday are rooted in the intricate interpersonal web of connectivity and communication. The question I have been asked a number of times in the last week is, "So why is it that this groups of people care so much about frozen peas and cancer?" The answer has many facets and I will try my best to break them down as I see them.

#1. They may 'care' about cancer but they do not CARE about cancer. They care about Susan Reynolds and her personal situation and want to help and support her. As a fund raiser we know the fundamental truth is that people give money to support the causes important to those they care about. I care deeply about cancer, but if my mother asked me to take up a fund raising drive for AIDS awareness I would do so quickly.
#2. The rapid adoption of the project is two fold - one the communication web between the first adopters is dense and fast. Communication today is multi layered via social network spaces blog posts, twitter feeds, profile updates, direct messages, instant messages ... chances are we all got at least three contacts about this project from the same person. Viral word of mouth information distribution followed.
#3. We like to try new things, and trying to raise money and awareness on a micro blogging site like Twitter is a challenge. We like Twitter, and this was a chance to show some real value in the system beyond letting the world know what I am doing right now.
#4. It is fun and it feels good. People spent real time photo-shopping their Pea-based avatars and it required a bit of creativity. It was fun coming up with an image and making it as good as the next guy's or girl's. And it feels good to do good things. Each donation to support the fund deals good to us and we are happy to give and participate.
#5. The American Cancer Society was sharp enough to pick up on the project and support it. Often technological memes such as these are overlooked by other organizations but in this case the positive energy had a place to be focused - the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer program.

So in the spirit of fun here is a frozen pea video from the Social Media Club in Florida here is a very nice video in support of the Frozen Pea Fund.

Disaboom - Web Community for people with Disabilites

There are numerous niche communities springing up on the internet for good reason. These communities are the marketplaces for special interests. Disaboom is a web community for those with disabilities. The needs of those who grew up with physical disabilities or who have become disabled are unique and are really only felt by those who share a similar experience. Te site provides resources, a discussion space, articles, and even a career center. The space is a key demonstration of how a web space is facilitating a conversation amongst individuals.

Virtual World Therapy

Duke University is developing therapeutic experiences in virtual world settings. The experiences are designed to address addition in particular but may be used to also treat phobias in minimal exposure settings. When temptation arises in certain situations, the patient rates his or her own craving level. But the magic moment comes when a high craving subsides, which it does, because the patient won't be taking drugs in the virtual world. Thanks to Masively and ABC!

Exergaming Goes International

Earlier this year, I reported on NexGym—a youth fitness franchise that keeps youngsters moving through video game-inspired workouts. It turns out they're not the only players capitalizing on kids' fitness by incorporating video games. Canadian Bulldog Interactive Fitness and Colorado's XRKade are getting in on exergaming, too.

It is clear tha tht egaming generation needs to have exercise put into terms it understands and that is a avideo game I uess whatever will get them to burn calories is what counts. The innovation in all of this is that games by nature are entertaining and engaging and that is really the defining criteria ... no one ever said you need to or don't need to sweat. Seems like a case of years of pigeonholing the Game.

Consumer Reviews of Meds now on WebMD

Web Md has opened up a comments section on its site under each of the medicines that it categories. It is allowing consumers of the medicines to comment on how they felt the drug worked, how easy it was to use, as well as if they found any specific side effects. Although a bit cumbersome to use the site is allowing people to really make extended comments on their experience with the drug.

Some would think that the drug companies would have conniptions that their drug is being negatively reviewed, while others would take the opportunity to look into the concerns of the users and view this as an open product review session. If there are side effects that did not show up in the clinical trials, but are emerging for certain populations here is a great way to find out. Patients tell doctors, who tell drug reps, who send the message up the chain. Lots of chances to get that message lost in translation. Here on this site you get (hopefully) honest feedback straight and unfiltered which in my book is the best thing you can do.

Wii to add physical fitness games

I directly quote Dan Sloan of Reuters on the launch of the Wii Fit;

Oct. 11 - Nintendo's Wii handheld console is adding a home fitness game to its arsenal before the key year end season, another leg up in its rivalry with Sony's PlayStation 3.

 

"Wii Fit" goes on sale in Japan December 1 for about $75, using a pressure-sensing "balance board" that looks like a bathroom scale and reads movement.

The intersection of childhood obesity and gaming ti is very refreshing to see Nintendo trying to provide the consuming public an interactive and physically engaging application of the wii platform. I will be curious as to when we can see exergaming titles likes DDR available o nth wii console.

US Navy to Implement Netwrok Analysis in Kidney Transplating

The US Navy Academy mathematicians have derived a network analysis formula to help surgeons determine the best probability matches for any given set of donors and recipients. The aim it  to increase the percentage of kidney transplants that succeed seeing that currently 1/3 of transplants are rejected by the body. The formula crunches a number of numbers and aligns the most critical patients with the best suited donors all with the aim to reduce rejection rates and provide over 1,000 more successful transplants per year.

The numbers in the circles represent the degree of importance that a particular patient receives a kidney. The numbers on the lines connecting the circles denote the quality of each match.