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November 2, 2011

What would you like to discuss on the Health Graph blog?

Cross-posted from the Health Graph blog.

As part of the ongoing dialog I hope to have with you I wanted to ask you about your opinions for what I should write about on the Health Graph blog.

I’m considering a variety of topics to cover. Some of the many things I’d like to write about include:

  • How to get started with the Health Graph API, a “Health Graph 101” series
  • Partner profiles and interviews with developers on how they take advantage of the Health Graph in their apps
  • Third party libraries, bindings, wrappers, and other tools that make using the Health Graph easier
  • Application launch announcements and success stories
  • Slide decks and video presentations on using the Health Graph (hackathons, here I come!)
  • Application ideas and features requested by the RunKeeper user community
  • Tips and tricks to build apps using the Health Graph as quickly and efficiently as possible

What do you think? What would you like to see in future blog posts?

Please fill out the Google Docs form below to share your opinion. Note that if you would like me to be able to contact you, you should provide an email address in that optional field; if you want to remain anonymous, please leave it blank.

I’m also considering having office hours where I’m available to chat about whatever Health Graph issues you’re having via Skype or a Google Hangout. If you’d find either or both of those options useful, or have a suggestion for a different mechanism, please indicate that on the form, too.

Thanks for your input!

October 31, 2011

RunKeeper adds auto-pause, heart rate zones, and more!

RunKeeper with Heart Rate Zone support enabled

We’ve been hard at work adding features users have been requesting to the RunKeeper app!

Now available in both iPhone and Android versions:

  • Auto pause – RunKeeper can automatically pause tracking when you stop moving
  • Heart rate zone – RunKeeper can chart information from compatible heart rate monitors; can also provide audio cues to help you monitor which zone you’re in as you are exercising
  • Improved GPS accuracy – We’ve refined our tracking performance and stability
  • Photo and Workout Countdown Timer support – These great features are now available on Android, too (already supported for iPhone)

Please click here for iPhone or here for Android and let us know what you think!

October 30, 2011

Notes from the week of 2011-10-30

October 23, 2011

Notes from the week of 2011-10-23

October 20, 2011

Launch of the Health Graph blog

I’m excited to announce that RunKeeper has launched a new Health Graph blog!

You can access the blog at: http://blog.healthgraph.com/

There are links on the blog to subscribe via RSS and email. The blog also links to recent @healthgraphapi tweets and our Health Graph Facebook page.

Here’s the first post to give you a feel for what the new blog will cover:

Welcome! This blog helps developers learn about and use the Health Graph. There will be many more details to come in future posts, but to get things started, here’s a quick rundown of the major Health Graph resources:

You can access a technical overview of the RESTful Health Graph API by clicking here.

When you’re ready to get started building a Health Graph API application, visit the RunKeeper Partner page and click “Connect To Our API“.

Need some inspiration to get your developer juices flowing? Check out some of the applications built and deployed using the Health Graph API, available from the RunKeeper Apps page (click here).

And when you encounter issues, you can ask questions and join in the developer conversation by visiting the Health Graph discussion group.

Let’s build a healthier world together!

Click to access the Health Graph developer site

October 16, 2011

Notes from the week of 2011-10-16

October 13, 2011

Free O'Reilly ebook "Building eCommerce Applications"

I’m a contributor to an O’Reilly book, “Building eCommerce Applications“, being handed out at the X.commerce Innovate 2011 conference.

The book contains four chapters by yours truly: A three part series on using and building your own PayPal-enabled plugins in WordPress, plus one chapter on the ins and outs of Bitcoin.

In order to get a print copy, you need to be at the conference and stop by the O’Reilly booth.

But no matter where you are, you can download free epub, mobi, and/or PDF copies of the ebook from O’Reilly’s site. Click here to get a copy for yourself.

I’d love to hear any feedback you have on my contributions or other parts of the book. Thanks in advance!

October 10, 2011

O'Reilly Android Open conference app and live stream

O’Reilly Media has posted a link to download the Android Open conference app to your smartphone or tablet. Click here to grab the app.

O’Reilly is also live streaming keynotes, interviews, and more from the Android Open conference today and tomorrow in San Francisco.

Watch it here:
http://cdn.livestream.com/embed/oreillyconfs?layout=1&autoPlay=true

October 9, 2011

Notes from the week of 2011-10-09

October 4, 2011

RunKeeper rocks!

I am pumped to announce that I’ve joined RunKeeper as Platform Evangelist for the Health Graph API.

Here’s an excerpt from the announcement on the RunKeeper blog discussing how and why I’m so excited to join the team:

Click to access my RunKeeper user page

My personal journey into running, and thereby to RunKeeper, started a couple of years ago. I decided to join some family on a Colorado hunting and hiking trip in early fall 2009. As part of getting ready for that trip, I took a hard look at my fitness. I didn’t like what I saw.

I was fifty pounds overweight. I knew I needed to make some changes to both my diet and my level of physical activity. For diet, that led to colorful veggies and Greek yogurt, along with fewer desserts and seconds. For exercise, I settled on running.

Prior to this, I’d always hated running. Well, distance running, anyway. I loved baseball, but that only involved short sprints. And I’d had a long term on-again, off-again love affair with cycling, but never far or fast enough to give me any serious aches and pains. For me, running was the punishment given out by other sports.

But then I came across a plan from a gentleman named Cameron Hanes that helped me ease into running thirty minutes at a time, three or four times per week. Cameron outlined walking ten minutes, running five, then repeating both each outing for the first two weeks. Then his plan built up gradually over eight weeks to one hour per run, most of it running instead of walking.

Having a plan with specific, measurable “baby steps” made fitness achievable for me. I followed the Hanes plan, ran my first 5k race, and actually enjoyed it. I ran another, and shaved off a pretty good chunk of time. Then I went on the Colorado trip and found myself much fitter and happier hiking at altitude than I’d ever been before. I felt the benefits of the last couple of months of running. That’s when I made the decision to train for a 10k trail race, and from that came several half marathons and now a full marathon later this fall.

I’ve lost the fifty pounds and kept it off through running and eating right. Now I can’t imagine going more than a day or two without running. And I want to share my passion for fitness with everyone I can.

Enter RunKeeper. I tried several fitness apps as I got deeper into running and wanted to record and analyze my runs. RunKeeper stood out as the best for my purposes. I followed @runkeeper as a user, and was pleasantly surprised when RunKeeper CEO, Jason Jacobs (@jjacobs22), responded to some things I posted. I started following him on Twitter, and it was from that follow that I first saw the post for a Health Graph Platform Evangelist position. I immediately knew I had to apply–the role combines both my personal passion for fitness and running with my professional passion for developer advocacy and working with partners to solve real world problems.

When I spoke with Jason and the rest of the RunKeeper team, I found this same enthusiasm for fitness and improving the world’s health in the RunKeeper team. I was hooked! A couple months later and here I am, getting to spread the good word about the Health Graph API. I can’t wait to work with you!

A little bit more about me professionally: My background is in aerospace and software engineering. I leveraged that, along with passions for writing and speaking, to become a developer advocate and evangelist. I’ve been blessed to evangelize mobile, web, and OS technologies for the likes of Sun, Nokia, and Digital Reasoning Systems over the last twelve years. Most recently I’ve been working with O’Reilly Media to help developers understand and take advantage of the PayPal X payments platform.

I’d like to hear about your involvement with RunKeeper and the Health Graph API. I’m especially interested in your suggestions for making the API easier to use and more profitable for you. If there’s anything I can do for you, please let me know. You can contact me via email to bill@runkeeper.com or Twitter @billday. You can also find me on RunKeeper, and LinkedIn.

Looking forward to helping you succeed with the Health Graph!
Bill

More about my path into running from my Ignite talk “Run for Your Life!” recorded early last year, when I was about eight months into my journey:

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