Have you heard of Pinterest? The most likely answer is yes! Pinterest is the new network that has exploded into the social sphere in the past few months and already counts more than 10 million subscribers of all ages!
It is really easy to use: subscribers can create their visual bulletin boards and then “pin” images of stuff they like. Those images can come from a computer or from all around the web thanks to the “pin it” button, that allows you to pin a picture from any site you are viewing. What is interesting is that you can browse pinboards created by other users and thus be inspired in a simple and fun way!
Quantified Self and mobile health on Pinterest
How could you transform this new platform into a quantified self tool or use it to improve your health? Here are some ideas we hope that you will find useful and inspirational!
1) A wide repository of information
You can choose to follow people that are always exploring new technologies or simply share the same passion for quantified self and mobile health as you do. For example, user Andrew Cheeseman has created a very comprehensive board with pictures of most of the mHealth devices you can find in the market at the moment and a small description of each one of them. This board can help you find the device that best suits your needs! Also, as users are able to post comments and “like” each pin, you can see what other people think about the product that you find interesting and which product is most recommended.
There are also boards dedicated to the Quantified Self, such as this one that user Daniel Pardi has created, where you can find devices that help you track your body functions and various physical activities. After a quick search you will find many more!
2) An excellent source of inspiration
On Pinterest, you can also find boards with different types of charts and graphs and interesting ideas that you can use to visualize your personal data in innovative ways. Whether it is tracking your weight loss progress or monitoring a chronic disease such as diabetes, a graphic representation might help you identify patterns that are related to your results and also make a hard situation a little bit more fun and easier to understand. For example, on this board you can find a variety of personal projects, from analyzing dream patterns to tracking emotions or measuring random everyday activities!
So what do you think? What would you pin on your board to stay healthy and motivated?
