Author here. It's in some ways well and good to be sceptical of the health and wellness industry, including gyms and software companies like Lifesum. Note that they're my ex employer. I have good feelings for the place and own some shares, but I have no special need to do PR for them.
I want to agree with something you didn't quite spell out: the incentives are not really properly aligned in this kind of industry. You get paid up front, when people are at maximum motivation, but progress takes a long time and many people drop off along the way. Some kind of business model where you get a half-refund for non-usage would be a reasonable compromise for everyone, but I've never seen it in action.
Speaking for the people I know who are involved in this work, they are not cynical. They do this kind of work, instead of other work, since they genuinely want to help people. Our product worked if you stuck at it, so we spent a lot of time encourage people to come back each day and work at their goal. You can take my word about this, or not, as you like.
Something even a cynic would celebrate: there seems to be a push in some parts of the US health system to pay for outcomes (e.g. confirmed weight loss; stopping smoking) rather than processes (e.g. access to an app for losing weight; access to a quit smoking program). That's a really welcome development, it aligns everyone's incentives nicely.
Thanks for your reply! I must admit that my comment was very much a cheeky one and in no way harboured any real criticism. In a world where literally every aspect of our being and behaviour is being exploited for some corporations financial gain (social media, life insurance, hft), a health app trying to take advantage of New Year’s resolutions does not at all deserve any judgement. In fact it’s almost refreshing. It’s cool to hear about those advancements in the US health system too, and it’s nice to see that you’re genuinely behind the product. I hope this post helped you guys out :)
Comments
Mega PR hack: bring up and dismiss the question before the reader can make any assumptions
Author here. It's in some ways well and good to be sceptical of the health and wellness industry, including gyms and software companies like Lifesum. Note that they're my ex employer. I have good feelings for the place and own some shares, but I have no special need to do PR for them.
I want to agree with something you didn't quite spell out: the incentives are not really properly aligned in this kind of industry. You get paid up front, when people are at maximum motivation, but progress takes a long time and many people drop off along the way. Some kind of business model where you get a half-refund for non-usage would be a reasonable compromise for everyone, but I've never seen it in action.
Speaking for the people I know who are involved in this work, they are not cynical. They do this kind of work, instead of other work, since they genuinely want to help people. Our product worked if you stuck at it, so we spent a lot of time encourage people to come back each day and work at their goal. You can take my word about this, or not, as you like.
Something even a cynic would celebrate: there seems to be a push in some parts of the US health system to pay for outcomes (e.g. confirmed weight loss; stopping smoking) rather than processes (e.g. access to an app for losing weight; access to a quit smoking program). That's a really welcome development, it aligns everyone's incentives nicely.
Thanks for your reply! I must admit that my comment was very much a cheeky one and in no way harboured any real criticism. In a world where literally every aspect of our being and behaviour is being exploited for some corporations financial gain (social media, life insurance, hft), a health app trying to take advantage of New Year’s resolutions does not at all deserve any judgement. In fact it’s almost refreshing. It’s cool to hear about those advancements in the US health system too, and it’s nice to see that you’re genuinely behind the product. I hope this post helped you guys out :)
That’s just a classic PR maneuver