RE: The #DailyRambleFit: May 9 2019
Thanks for this great write up @fknmayhem!
I'm guessing being a slave to a good habit (being active) is a good thing lol, and yes we do try to leverage the competitive side among people, that is a big and positive drive when put to good use.
Indeed Actifit is a POC, MVP, ... you name it, and we certainly do not plan on keeping it that way. We did have several iterations in the past to improve the app, the last of which was for the iOS version couple of months back.
We have been doing tons of effort on other fronts, that we did not have the time to work on releasing new app versions recently. Funding is one aspect we have been working to secure that would help speed things up massively.
In terms of those functionalities you highlighted, we had actually decided recently to move ahead with the "yesterday post" feature, and make the option of posting your yesterday's activity as part of the app. Meaning users can post the second day. Although we want this to be an option not the norm, especially for people who are missing posting on time, and to keep the challenge going, the rewards associated will be decreased when posting the second day.
We should be including this functionality as part of our upcoming app updates.
You are more than welcome to always come up with feedback, ideas and suggestions. Thanks again!
Peer pressure is generally a main factor of keeping people going. Apps like Argus and Runkeeper thrive on comparison among peers. With advanced stats mostly for people who take exercise more serious. Same with Strava and Endomondo.
I am definitely looking forward to the badge evolution and also "feed activities" at some point.
This seems counter-intuitive to me for an app which targets the health/activity market. Any fitness and wealth app worth its salt will recommend people a solid night's sleep and going to bed to around 10pm. I'm not a slave to activity, I'm doing rather well there. I'm a slave to having to submit my proof of activity.
Admitted, this is driven by personal bias but I can live healthierly [sic] when I can mentally disconnect, pun intended, latest around 9PM. That doesn't mean I'm not active anymore, being the night owl I am. But in the world of Actifit that would mean that I am always the sucker on duty: whether I opt for a healthy dopamine and obligarion free evening and submit 10-15% activity less each day or I am penalized because I submit a full cycle within xx after the cycle is completed.
All while that should actually be automated but that's a different can of worms so let's not open that one. Apple Health, Google Fit, your preferred manufacturer app... they all run 24/7 and record 24/7. Which is why they work so well for people, because no interaction is required. Same applies to last.fm and Dropbox for example. They are holy shit tools because they work without required effort.
So a minority of people are indeed slave of their Actifit posting obligation if they happen to have a different biorhythm. Despite that being counter to general health advice. A penalty by an activity app for a healthier life seems quite the contradiction. That's absolute poor design.
Rather than adding a feature for the sake of adding the (demanded) option, it feels to me that there could be a need to challenge the core focus and spirit of Actifit.
Rewards "penalties" shouldn't happen because they are for the activity. Submitting proof of activity should not become a burden and possibly carry a penalty with it. The activity is the main factor here, not the proof. The manual proof submission is IMHO a MVP workaround. Just my 2sat.
As always, appreciate your thoughts on this.
I agree with apps running 24/7, which we do for tracking. At this stage, Actifit losing interaction with its users defies the purpose of growth and proving to the world that it has a serious and active community.
The interaction we get from the community, the manual posts, is something we believe provides more proof that ppl want to earn rewards. We are continuously fighting abuse, and that is one aspect we want to keep away, as automation opens more doors for abuse. Actifit was attacked several times for being an abuse factory, and i haven't seen such attacks for a long time now as we have moved away from that category with all the efforts in place.
Another way to think of manual posting, as a sort of gamification (yes many other features are being aimed towards this), games do not normally automate your interaction with them, at least thats not how we perceive it. And the rewards are really for the proof of activity, again at least for now.
Again, long term approach can change as the platform grows, and i do like your thoughts about this.
Oh the abuse, heck yeah. That was what I referred to with Steem specific issues. All too aware of that. Steemhunt has had its fair share and I can but imagine how things are for Actifit.
Also the "funding" topic, or let's rather call it bootstrapped team. I do have a startup background. :)
Actifit now has one new major asset already. Badges. They will allow you to progress to best of gamification and also the topic discussed here IMHO.
BTW I missed yesterday's report because I was at 3.5k only at 9.30PM and thought will go for a late evening run after the Premier League games end... instead of going for a run I crashed. 😂
PS: Sweatcoin is automated. And I bet a device nightmare for the devs. Also, their GPS - sweatcoin's solution against abuse and thus limited to outdoor steps for now - did register running on track but then the steps were scrubbed out upon submission and I bet that was due to GPS tracking thinking too close. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯