Think I Was Kidding About Augmented Reality Taking Off ? [VIDEO]

I've been talking and writing about the impact of Augmented Reality on all industries, but particularly the health club industry and the fitness business in general, for some time now. In fact, over the past few years I've referenced Layar as one of THE up and coming technology platforms that could be harnessed to create some impressive new consumer interfaces. Its all about the merger of the physical and digital worlds in the health club industry, the fitness industry and others; with smartphones connected to the Internet in increasing numbers the possibilities to connect, engage and market to members and customers is incredible.

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What Does Google Health's Failure Have To Do With Watergate ?

I like good movies for a lot of reasons but often for the memorable quotes you get from time to time. I enjoy sharing a line from an iconic film at a cocktail party when referencing the latest topic Du jour. In All The President's Men, Deep Throat, the government informant who spoke in riddles and metaphors in response to Woodward and Bernstein's questions recounted, "follow the money". Following the money is often good advice and is one of those quotes that I love to use. It explains a lot of things.

So what does Google's recent announcement that it is discontinuing Google Health have to do with Watergate ? Just "Follow The Money".

I a March 2011 post "Where Is Google Health In The Evolution Of Wellness ?" I talked about the promise of technology in evolving health care and fitness into wellness. Interestingly I received a number of communications following the post from people who seemed to know Google Health was being shuttered. But why would this promising idea get the shaft ? In a recent Technology Review article , How A Broken Medical System Killed Google Health , correspondent David Talbot wrote:

At the end of this year, Google Health will flat line. The service couldn't encourage many people to import or analyze their health data, and experts say its untimely death is, in many ways, an extension of U.S. health-care providers' failure to share data across institutions, or make it easy for patients to obtain it.

David's tag line to the article said it best, "Google would have had to fix a balkanized U.S. health-care system to make the service catch on." He's right and I know it first hand.

I recall my treatment for colon cancer and repeated and unsuccessful attempts to get my group of five physicians to utilize Google Health. Despite Quest Diagnostics providing access to my diagnostic records electronically for free on Google Health, not one my physicians knew about it or cared to use it. Instead I would have to suffer duplicate tests, hauling records around and harassing people to fax results. Even more interesting was a strategic session with leaders in the Medical Fitness field. Not one of the participants knew what Google Health was. Amazing but why ? Why would a system that offered real solutions to a broken system be so unfamiliar to so many ? Follow the Money.

The failing of and lack of awareness of solutions like Google Health in either the "Sick Care" system or the "Wellness" prevention system highlights the obvious: there is NO money in improving health outcomes. As Bryce William's recent article in Fast Company "There Is No Such Thing As A Health Care Consumer" points out about the failure of Google Health:

...the underlying cause is that there is no such thing as a consumer in the American health care system today. A consumer is someone who uses personal dollars to buy goods and services for his or her own use. In our health care system, the users of medical services are, of course, individuals. But users don’t pay the largest share of costs for these services. Employers, the government, and health insurance companies do. So while people may be highly concerned about quality medical care, most are not motivated to manage costs.
 With that fundamental understanding, it’s easy to see why Google Health failed.

And that is the problem, its up to consumers, who have no real incentive to improve their health, and its up to delivery systems that have no incentive to deliver it. So when I ask What does Google Health's Failure Have To Do With Watergate, you might just "follow the money".

So tell me, Bryan O'Rourke, why do you think Google Health failed ? Why has the U.S. and world's populations become less healthy while the cost of care sky-rockets amid a push for healthier lifestyles by the fitness industry. Is it a broken system ?

To The Fitness Industry - Technology Is What You Make It

I'm lucky. I've have 3 very unique wonderful children who've taught me great lessons.

My friend Jim McPartland commented during our recent interview on his "Unopened Gifts" show something to the effect of, "you take the exam before getting the text book." He was referring to life in general and its also true of being a parent. You are not always sure of what to do but you do your best and if you're lucky and keep an optimistic open mind to the future, things might turn out ok.

Working in an industry like fitness and wellness, a young industry with a lot of promise and a long way to go to reach it, I think about how we get there. That is where my kids come to mind along with Jim's quote and a recent commerical.

The future for health clubs, and fitness and wellness in general will entail a lot of change and technology will be a big part of it. It has for every industry. While we can't know the outcome for sure, I think its important we as an industry become more open to what technology represents, for both its great potential and sometimes problematic consequences. We must embrace change to reach our promise. This is even more important because of the relatively young stage the fitness industry is in.

In light of this I wanted to share Google's most recent Chrome commercial about a father and his daughter (see below) and technology. Tell me, Bryan O'Rourke, what do you think about technology in light of this commercial and in light of your life ? Is Technology, like your life, what you make it ? Should the fitness industry be more open to the future and technology that will be a big part of its development ? I think so.

Being Ahead Of Your Time - Apple's Newton & iPad

The term "PDA" (personal digital assistant) was coined around Apple's Newton. Launched in 1993 at a price of $699, the Newton project was thought by many to be an abject failure (Jobs cancelled it shortly after terminating John Sculley) - but was it ? Reflecting on its history, the device was ahead of its time and technology. Consider that in September 2009, Michael Tchao, one of the Newton's marketing product champions, returned to Apple to join the iPad team and two ex-Apple Newton developers founded Pixo, the company that created the operating system for the original iPod. in fact, the nexus for iPad was Newton. (Kim Arnold shares this view here).

When writing or speaking about the future and the rapid pace of technological change that is and will increasingly impact everyone (particularly in the fitness and wellness arena) ; its often good to reflect on past "failures", seeing where they ultimately end up. The tablet market is now the 4th largest consumer electronics category in the world at nearly $9 billion annually.What does that say about Newton ?

So what do you think ? Please let me, Bryan O'Rourke, here from you. Was Newton a failure ? Watch the iPad and Newton commercials below. I think there are some similarities don't you ?

Think Mobile Trends & Social Media Are Related - You Bet They Are

The infographic above shows the current size of major social networks as well as the other well-known online services used on a daily basis relative to their peers. It also overlays the size of each company’s mobile user base. You’ll see Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, MySpace, LinkedIn, and more (wonder why Microsoft paid what they did for Skype?). Check out the agency’s infographic from last year to see the relative changes. Notable differences include: The rise of Chinese Qzone and Twitter, the fall of Myspace, and the stasis of Friendster.

Below are stats from JESS3 to consider. Please tell me, Bryan O'Rourke, what are your thoughts about these trends ? Is your business, your fitness or wellness business or any business or organization for that matter, planning, thinking or preparing for the revolution tied to these technologies ? I look forward to hearing your thoughts about what is happening and what is next.

Some other notable trends in the geosocial universe, courtesy of JESS3:

• Mobile: 5.3 billion mobile devices are used worldwide — that’s 77 percent of the world’s population
• Smartphones: 21.8 percent of all mobile devices are smartphones. Despite what one might think, Apple does not top the list in sales—Nokia does
• Skype: Mobile usage continues to increase thanks to Skype’s wise investment in apps and its mobile platform
• Facebook: Now tops 629 million registered users with almost 250 million people accessing the site via mobile
• Qzone: China’s version of Facebook, Qzone, is experiencing supernova-like growth with 480 million registered users
• Twitter: Broke the 200 million registered user mark with nearly 40 percent of people tweeting via mobile
• Email: Hotmail still dominates email, but Gmail is gaining fast
• Yelp: Yelp is topping 50 million unique visitors per month. Its move to team up with OpenTable earlier this year will only increase its relevancy
• Foursquare and Gowalla: These geosocial specialists are still growing, but growth seems to be slowing down a bit