App Icon or App Avatar?

It is interesting to me that this symbol doesn't really have a formal name other than app store icon. At first I thought is was called an app avatar but apparently that is not true. What do you think it should be called?


Anyhow, the EndoGoddess app icon or avatar widget will be available soon with a direct link to the App Store on this page.

Ready For Download!!

Yay!!

Go to the Apple App Store and search EndoGoddess where you'll find the app.

Start collecting points when you enter your daily blood glucoses and you will be able to eventually cash those points in within the iTunes store for a song download (this transaction isn't quite finished in the programming but will be soon).

In a few days, there will also be a place for you to enter your comments and YOUR ideas for inspiring quotes which help YOU get through a hard day with diabetes.

New features will automatically be updated through the App Store but check back here for the latest.

Android version will be here soon... :)

Columbus Ohio vs. Silicon Valley

I just returned from an inspiring trip to Silicon Valley to discuss advances in mobile health at Stanford Medicine 2.0 . It was wonderful to be surrounded by the positive Valley vibe which radiates that anything is possible.

However, upon return to the 'real world' here in Columbus Ohio, I feel that being surrounded by the challenge of implementation of these tools is actually an advantage and more likely to produce a product that works for most people. A post that I read recently summarizes it best:

• People Still Don’t Know What Craigslist Is – While people in the Valley are talking about how Yelp.com is already passe, keep in mind that most people still don’t even realize what Craigslist is.  I ask people all the time how often they use Craigslist and 9 out of 10 respond “What’s Craigslist?  Is it like Angie’s List?”
• People Don’t “Need” Venture Capital – Because the costs of operations are a fraction of the costs in the Valley and frankly because there is so little of it outside the Valley.  What happens when capital is so scarce is that companies are forced to figure it out without capital – and they do.  Companies are run for customers/patients/users and profits, not for VC’s.
• No One Throws Launch Parties - We’re all too busy in Columbus actually building companies to take the time to wallow in our own manufactured successes.  We’re also likely spending our own money, which no one would waste away on launch parties.
• Most Users Live in Columbus, Ohio – Sure, people in the Valley think a new Web app is sweet.  But getting a bunch of other nerds to use an app only buys a small initial audience.  Critical mass comes when you get the everyman to use your app, and the everyman lives in Columbus, Ohio.
• Our Businesses Need to Earn a Profit – Maybe people in the Valley can afford to squander $20 million on a product that has no revenue model in hopes it’ll get bought.  The rest of the world has to build real companies that make real money to sustain themselves.

I am in agreement with these points. Your thoughts?

APPROVED...(but a few graphic problems, ready on Friday)

So excited to report that the EndoGoddess app has been approved!! It was temporarily available for download today but we took it down because of a few graphic problems. But, no worries because it will be ready for sure for download on Friday September 23rd. YAY!!! :)

Waiting Game

Waiting, waiting, waiting on the Apple App Store after submitting the EndoGoddess app on Saturday. Luckily, work on the android version will be finished this week, too. The wait for the android store is only 24hrs. Feels like watching paint dry for an impatient person like myself. But, 7-10 days and 24hrs will be here soon enough so I am learning to try to live in the 'now' moment. :)

Style and Mobile Health

New York Fashion Week started several days ago where innovations in style are celebrated within the fashion world.

Style has an important function in the mobile health world, too. App design and style translate to the user experience. Without a good user experience, there are no users and thus there are no influences on health outcomes. On the EndoGoddess app, I have worked closely with Eproximiti's resident artist to develop an inviting and of course fashionable style to the app so that the user experience is one that is inviting and beautiful.

Another great example of style in mobile health is AgaMatrix' nugget which is a glucometer that works with the iPhone as well as independently and is pending FDA approval soon. The sleek design did not happen by accident. In fact, the chairman and co-founder, Sonny Vu (who is also a friend of mine from Oklahoma), started out college as an art major!

So, what is the future stylish direction for the EndoGoddess app? Integration with a sleek mobile phone glucometer would be ideal so as to eliminate self-entry of glucoses within the app and to make life even easier for those living with diabetes. Just a dream right now.

EndoGoddess App Version 1: Apple App Store Submission!

I am excited to report that version 1 of the EndoGoddess app is ready for submission to the Apple app store! After submission, you should be able to download the app in 7-10 days so watch for it in late September.


The rewards points are alot like foursquare. However, cashing in points for iTunes download rewards is not yet available on this first version. The ability to submit feedback within the app is also not yet available. But, updates will be frequent and often with the feedback function being ready next week.


Feedback will be an important feature. Many future versions of the app will be in response to your feedback because listening is a priority with the EndoGoddess app.

The Diabetes Online Community (DOC)

The Diabetes Online Community (DOC) has a large presence on the internet - one of the largest chronic disease communities online. This community provides a place for people with diabetes to communicate with others that understand the mental, physical and emotional side of diabetes and how to embrace it and spread diabetes awareness.

Every Wednesday evening at 9pm EST, there is a moderated hour-long Twitter chat (Diabetes Social Media Advocacy or #DSMA) dedicated to diabetes themed discussions. Varied members of the diabetes online community come together to share their thoughts and opinions on issues important to them. Topics have included: juggling diabetes at work or school, online privacy, regulatory agencies, advocating for diabetes, and many more. The conversation is taken a step further on Thursdays via a live interview known as DSMA Live. Each week, Cherise Shockley along with co-hosts George Simmons and Scott Johnson, speak about the current week’s topic with a different guest every week.  People participate by calling in or chatting on the message board. You can continue the conversation from twitter by joining Cherise, George and Scott every Thursday, 9 PM EST on DSMA Live (blog talk radio).

I am honored to be part of the conversation this week on #dsma and #dsamlive discussing the meshing of the awesome diabetes online community (DOC) and mobile health with the EndoGoddess app. Tune in and be a part of the conversation too! You can link directly here: http://dsmalive.com/2011/09/06/dsma-live-with-dr-jen-dyer-md-mph-on-982011/ 

Evidence-Based App Design

The EndoGoddess app has a scientific evidence-based design derived from BJ Fogg's Health Behavior Model (http://www.behaviormodel.org/). The model confirms that three elements must converge at the same moment for a health behavior or outcome to occur: Motivation, Education, and Trigger. When a behavior does not occur, at least one of those three elements is missing.

The EndoGoddess app supplies all three elements for targeting the behavior of checking glucoses 4 times per day:

• Motivation comes from iTunes rewards on a weekly basis so that the user can download a song
• Education comes from the multimedia content within the app related to diabetes
• Triggers come from the app's daily inspiring messages taken from the diabetes online community as well as medication reminders or alarms that each user designates

We all know diabetes is hard work so it's about time that someone rewarded us for it!! The EndoGoddess app rewards, educates, and triggers or inspires people with diabetes to check their glucoses 4 times per day.

Picking My Partner: Eproximiti Duet Health

When I began programming a simple app to automate the SMS texting protocol that I designed and used in a small pilot study with my patients, I did not intend on making it commercially available. In fact, I intended the app to be used only by myself for research. My original app is pictured on the left.

However, several mobile health startup companies approached me over the past year with ideas to expand the app. I ended up partnering with Eproximiti after they introduced themselves to me. Their software platform is called Duet Health as it involves both the patient and the doctor in development. When we met earlier this year, I was instantly impressed with their patient-centered mission, their local location in Columbus Ohio, and their swift ability to produce beautiful and functional app products. Together, we designed the EndoGoddess app with many more features than the app that I originally programmed on my own. I highly recommend collaborating with Eproximiti to any physicians out there who have a mobile health app idea that they would like to see come to life.

In The Beginning...

I am starting a new blog. I have decided to chronicle the adventures that I am having upon the release of my new EndoGoddess app. Health app development feels a little bit like writing a book that 'does something'. So, I thought I'd actually write about what it feels like to share my app, aka my baby, with you and let it do what it was born to do...help motivate and celebrate the hard work it takes to live well with diabetes!