Missions of NLP, measurement, shared measurement, and philosophy

As an entrepreneur, computer scientist, and human, data helps motivate me to complete things.  Data allows me to know where we are on a specific task or activity.  The type of activity can be wide-ranging.  For example, someone's weight, blood pressure, glucose levels, grades, grandmas pill count or more indirect, scores of someone's favorite team, or abstract, the national debt.  They are important measurements people are interested in knowing and personal to them.  People have come up with various ways to remind themselves of these pieces of data.  They may have favorites on browsers, specific apps, post-it notes to remember things, values, etc..  Or just pieces of paper on the fridge.  There are many ways to see this data all with valid reasons for each.

We have at work (and home) found many times having data/messages visibly displayed made the biggest difference in terms of getting something done or acknowledged.  Why? Data then takes up “spatial area” and exist physically, raising their importance to people.  Alternatively, when they are embedded on the phone or computer, the data tends to lose its importance or is lost in the blob of everything, seemingly hidden from people.  Being visibly displayed in public area adds a community effect and accountability. 

This public/community effect is something we want our product, a type of LED marquee/ticker display, to help people with.  By allowing people to display messages or important pieces of data will help them achieve their goals.  Even if the data is not in their control, it’s important to them so that it improves their life.  When to show data is important as not everything is important all the time.  Some items, like what to bring to school, are important in the morning but not at night.  The same is true in reverse.  We also want to be able to allow people to share their data/messages with other groups of people or the public in general.

Someone might want to publicly show their weight for example because they have a goal to lose weight.  Having and knowing it’s publicly visible and on display in their home will highly motivate them to change.  What they want to show can be anything, not just weight.  Their kids’ grades, chores completed, blood pressure, favorite team scores, development status, server status, sales quotas/achieved, etc… or simple messages that are important.  

For this to work and be successful the creation, update, and review of their data/message must be done with voice/NLP.  It should be VERY easy to change or update.  It has to be SO easy as not to provide a reason it’s not updated.  Too many times applications and programs are too complicated due to user interface elements that they prevent people from using them.  Too complicated doesn’t necessarily mean hard to use.  For many people having to use an app is just too much friction.

We believe our LED marquee/ticker display with voice interaction will really help people achieve their goals whether they are doing something privately or shared with others.  

What gets measured gets done.