Technology that helps you to monitor yourself

Communicating with ourselves is now as important as communicating with other people. Melanie Howard describes a trend called The Quantified Self

Some technologies are so transformative that they continue to facilitate profound social change over decades. Miniaturised, interactive mobile technology – largely through the Trojan horse of the smartphone – is providing the means for a radically different set of behaviours. All such trends arise from a happy coincidence of human needs and technology enablers. The spread of information (accurate or not) about the possible effects of decisions we make on our health, wellbeing and the wider environment means that much consuming now triggers some degree of conscience.

The result is a phenomenon we call The Quantified Self. In a nutshell, it is the profound shift from people being the unwitting generators of data flowing from every action in retail and virtual environments, to being collectors and users of their own information.

Few ‘real world’ businesses have got on top of capturing and managing the streams of customer data effectively, with the obvious exception of Tesco. It has been the fast-growing internet giants – Amazon and Google – that have exploited their data to analyse and predict customer needs.

But now, data will be more accessible and usable from the moment it is created by the consumer.

Technology rules

Importantly, the commercial response to this trend is quite unlike the first time that mobile adoption took off in the late 1990s – when text messaging spread like wildfire, spawning a new language structure that changed the social landscape and became the contact language of choice for a generation.

The difference today tells us much about the way in which the commercial world and technology providers have sharpened their game. The investment into how technology can meet consumer needs is now the norm. This remains so despite the recession, as Future Foundation’s forthcoming report on The Future of Insight has found through research with more than 100 businesses.

The belief in the potential of new technologies is virtually unquestioned now. The healthcare field is the leading example of companies using the ability and willingness of consumers to monitor themselves. Pru-Health provides discounts on insurance premiums in exchange for regular gym visits; iBP creates a blood-pressure record that can be sent to your doctor; and Glucose Buddy helps diabetes sufferers.

Clearly the big shift here will occur when wearable, interactive monitors become everyday items, spurred on by the success of Nike+iPod. Nike is investing heavily in creating a range of affordable body monitors that will record every vital sign and bodily function. The key issue will be making this data meaningful and available to both user and health provider.

Self monitoring

Future Foundation’s consumer research has found that nearly two-thirds of Britons say they would use a monitoring device to constantly measure cholesterol or blood pressure, for example, but only a quarter would want to keep such a close eye on their alcohol consumption – so hedonism does have a future. In reality, 14% of smartphone users have already downloaded a personal health tracking app and 17% a lifestyle management or productivity-enhancing app. Our forecast is that 50% of the population will have smartphones by 2015 and that a significant proportion of these will be using such apps.

Energy too is an early beneficiary of The Quantified Self, spurred on by the move to compulsory smart metering that is part of the Government’s response to climate change. All the major suppliers are making devices that capture and communicate consumption as it is happening, while Garmin is marketing a monitor for fuel efficiency.

While not exclusively about mobile technology, the launch of a personal data storage service, mydex.org, through a collaboration of public sector organisations – including the Department for Work and Pensions and three London boroughs – means the long-mooted benefit of citizens holding and managing their own data has taken a step closer to becoming a reality.

Inevitably, brands must devise ways in which people can put their own data to more intelligent, practical and visible use – deciding what information about themselves they want to store and use, and how much of this data they will be prepared to trade with brands and service providers in exchange for clearly articulated benefits.

Marketers who ignore the rise of The Quantified Self do so at their peril.

Melanie Howard is chair of the Future Foundation. [email protected]