Duncan Gotobed

Behaviour Affects

Duncan Gotobed — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 10:06:00 +0100

It's been almost a week since I embarked on using 'persuasive technologies' to help me lose weight. I'm delighted to say that I have beaten this week's StickK target by 2.0 kg. I've had to change my eating habits -...

Make it easy

Duncan Gotobed — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:36:20 +0100

As I'm doing more cycling, I decided to get some cycling kit and I have found it has made all the difference. It has also highlighted the importance of making things as easy/comfortable as possible, particularly if you want to...

Tracking progress

Duncan Gotobed — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:31:21 +0100

I have been tracking my weight loss progress with iFitOne, a smartphone application. "The basic concept of iFitOne is: Eat the good, stay away from the bad, and get exercise. Simple, effective, nothing fad about it. The more good and...

The power of loss

Duncan Gotobed — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:46:00 +0100

Kahneman and Tversky’s famous dictum that losses loom larger than gains implies that people perceive greater value to a given item when they give it up than when they acquire it. StickK.com uses this simple observation with powerful effect. I...

Being persuaded

Duncan Gotobed — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:45:13 +0100

I have been reading BJ Fogg's Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do (Interactive Technologies) and I have found it extremely thought provoking. He describes how technology can be used to influence other people's behaviour. For...

Healthy choices

Duncan Gotobed — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:11:43 +0100

The RSA recently held a fascinating panel discussion on influencing people’s behaviour involving Andrew Lansley MP, Paul Dolan, Theresa Marteau, Dr Ben Seymour and Matthew Taylor. Both Paul Dolan and Theresa Marteau illustrated the case for moving away from influencing...

Colossal failures

Duncan Gotobed — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:30:00 +0100

Adam Savage is an American industrial design and special effects engineer, actor, educator, and co-host of the Discovery Channel television series MythBusters. In this video he tells 'juicy stories' about his failures. Very watchable/listenable. http://fora.tv/2009/05/30/MythBuster_Adam_Savages_Colossal_Failures

On designing tools

Duncan Gotobed — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:02:00 +0100

I like this quote from Dave Snowden "Technology is a tool and like all tools it should fit your hand when you pick it up, you shouldn't have to bio-re-engineer your hand to fit the tool." It describes a key...

Look after your copywriters

Duncan Gotobed — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 07:47:00 +0100

http://consumerist.com/5295538/sausage-package-illustrates-what-happens-when-youre-a-jerk-to-the-copywriter (via PSFK)

Making use of space

Duncan Gotobed — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 07:07:00 +0100

This recent Apple advertisement on NYtimes.com shows the unique creative opportunities of three different ad units that are talking to each other…literally. Watch the video here.