12 ms·

Show HN: A Mood Tracker on the Web

37 points by soneca 7y ago

soneca 7y ago
I am building a mood tracking/journaling site, and I would like to have some early users to give me feedback. It is something I am doing for-profit, but currently, there is only a free plan. It is on the web (rather than an app), so you don't have to worry with backups, changing phones, etc. And if you like to write, it is better to write on a desktop. If you are interested, please let me know what you think.
- DyslexicAtheist 7y ago
  why does this have to be on the in the cloud? would be nice to allow data saved only in local storage (and make the syncing optional). I understand then it's harder to monetize, but you don't need infrastructure if it runs locally and for the user it's a privacy (security) win. Consider that people are gonna use it as a diary/journal and IMO having this saved in the cloud is extremely privacy intrusive so I'd at least would expect more info about encryption of data at rest. There is no end to end encryption so I assume this is by design and people will see ads in future based on their "mood"? I think it's not ethical to extract money from users this way in 2019. There is no value-add from it being in the cloud (you wouldn't have any problem with scaling infra cost if it runs locally). Also security headers: https://securityheaders.com/?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.quidsentio.com%2F&followRedirects=on https://securityheaders.com/?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.quidsentio.... fwiw I find the idea itself quite cool but in it's current design wouldn't touch it with a stick.
  - soneca 7y ago
    No, I won't use ad based on moods. I plan to create a business model based on subscriptions (once I have more valuable features). I am thinking about the best way to secure the information, I am just not sure about the tradeoffs. edit: thanks for the security headers link, I will work on it
quickthrower2 7y ago
My main concern with this is having this sensitive information just sitting there plaintext in some DB. I'd avoid putting personal stuff like this on the web at all.
- soneca 7y ago
  Valid concern. I thought a little bit about this, but the only solution would be an e2e encryption (where the same person is both ends actually). And in this situation, you risk losing all your data if you forget your password. There is a solution that you can think with no such trade-off?
  - arman_ashrafian 7y ago
    Create a file format for the data and connect to the user's Google Drive or Dropbox.
    - mcemilg 7y ago
      That's an awesome idea for this kind of applications. Does anybody know a sample app using this feature?
      - Ghexor 7y ago
        https://stackedit.io/ https://stackedit.io/ Its open source too, I think.
  - quickthrower2 7y ago
    I guess if the user accepts this risk they can opt to do it or go for unencrypted otherwise. Saving on Dropbox etc (can be done from client) might be a middle road if one trusts them more.
  - askvictor 7y ago
    Or a local app with the data stored locally. Or even a web based app, but with the data stored in browser storage.
TranquilMarmot 7y ago
Pretty neat; reminds me of the Daylio app which I've been using daily for over a year. I do like the app because it has reminder notifications, which I suppose is something you could monetize. Really the smart thing to do would be to also release an app that uses the same data store. If you want to make it really awesome, write some tools for analysis i.e. charts, word clouds, etc. that people can look at over time.
- soneca 7y ago
  The reminder notifications and tools for analysis are definitely in my mind. These two features are must haves for an app like this. I will probably go more through a PWA route; I am the sole developer on this and I don't think I can maintain two native apps (at least not until it is a solid, profitable product). Another features I am considering applying are voice recordings and sharing with close friends. Do you have an opinion about these features?
  - Geeflow 7y ago
    You can use the same codebase to service mobile platforms with something like Cordova. It still needs some effort but gives you access to the app stores, which can be huge acquisition channels.
    - soneca 7y ago
      Agree. I built it in React. If I have some validation that the product is good, I will probably rewrite it in React Native Web, sharing one codebase for all three platforms
mettamage 7y ago
While I think this is an amazing idea. However, I have one issue with it that has been echoed here in the comments. I'm way too paranoid for other people to have my data on this as it is quite personal. Therefore, I have looked for a system for which data entry is relatively easy. I currently track my mood through a local [0] TiddlyWiki [1] combined with Noteself [2]. I have been doing it for a 6 weeks now and it seems to work fine and have learned a thing or two about myself that I otherwise wouldn't have. [0] I store it locally and back it up. [1] https://tiddlywiki.com/ https://tiddlywiki.com/ [2] https://noteself.github.io/ https://noteself.github.io/
- mromanuk 7y ago
  As user/tech guy I’m sympathetic with being paranoid, but we know that paranoid and tech people is a really tiny subset of population. Advice: don’t design for the paranoid, except is your target market
  - mettamage 7y ago
    Which is why I am sharing my workflow with HN. I didn’t build anything. TiddlyWiki exists for 10+ years and it is basically one HTML file.
- hnfan1 7y ago
  If you don't mind sharing, could you describe the types of learnings you were able to get by tracking your mood over time. I'll totally understand if it is something personal and you cannot share. Thanks so much!
yungbeto 7y ago
Nice work. There are a lot of benefits to daily mood tracking like this and I think you have an opportunity to go further in how you allow a user to track their feelings beyond 'good' or 'bad.' Yale's Center for Emotional Intelligence is a great resource for this kind of stuff - http://ei.yale.edu/mood-meter-app/ http://ei.yale.edu/mood-meter-app/ keep it up!

37 points by soneca 7y ago

I am building a mood tracking/journaling site, and I would like to have some early users to give me feedback. It is something I am doing for-profit, but currently, there is only a free plan. It is on the web (rather than an app), so you don't have to worry with backups, changing phones, etc. And if you like to write, it is better to write on a desktop. If you are interested, please let me know what you think.

DyslexicAtheist 7y ago
why does this have to be on the in the cloud? would be nice to allow data saved only in local storage (and make the syncing optional). I understand then it's harder to monetize, but you don't need infrastructure if it runs locally and for the user it's a privacy (security) win. Consider that people are gonna use it as a diary/journal and IMO having this saved in the cloud is extremely privacy intrusive so I'd at least would expect more info about encryption of data at rest. There is no end to end encryption so I assume this is by design and people will see ads in future based on their "mood"? I think it's not ethical to extract money from users this way in 2019. There is no value-add from it being in the cloud (you wouldn't have any problem with scaling infra cost if it runs locally). Also security headers: https://securityheaders.com/?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.quidsentio.com%2F&followRedirects=on https://securityheaders.com/?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.quidsentio.... fwiw I find the idea itself quite cool but in it's current design wouldn't touch it with a stick.
- soneca 7y ago
  No, I won't use ad based on moods. I plan to create a business model based on subscriptions (once I have more valuable features). I am thinking about the best way to secure the information, I am just not sure about the tradeoffs. edit: thanks for the security headers link, I will work on it

quickthrower2 7y ago

My main concern with this is having this sensitive information just sitting there plaintext in some DB. I'd avoid putting personal stuff like this on the web at all.

soneca 7y ago
Valid concern. I thought a little bit about this, but the only solution would be an e2e encryption (where the same person is both ends actually). And in this situation, you risk losing all your data if you forget your password. There is a solution that you can think with no such trade-off?
- arman_ashrafian 7y ago
  Create a file format for the data and connect to the user's Google Drive or Dropbox.
  - mcemilg 7y ago
    That's an awesome idea for this kind of applications. Does anybody know a sample app using this feature?
    - Ghexor 7y ago
      https://stackedit.io/ https://stackedit.io/ Its open source too, I think.
- quickthrower2 7y ago
  I guess if the user accepts this risk they can opt to do it or go for unencrypted otherwise. Saving on Dropbox etc (can be done from client) might be a middle road if one trusts them more.
- askvictor 7y ago
  Or a local app with the data stored locally. Or even a web based app, but with the data stored in browser storage.

TranquilMarmot 7y ago

Pretty neat; reminds me of the Daylio app which I've been using daily for over a year. I do like the app because it has reminder notifications, which I suppose is something you could monetize. Really the smart thing to do would be to also release an app that uses the same data store. If you want to make it really awesome, write some tools for analysis i.e. charts, word clouds, etc. that people can look at over time.

soneca 7y ago
The reminder notifications and tools for analysis are definitely in my mind. These two features are must haves for an app like this. I will probably go more through a PWA route; I am the sole developer on this and I don't think I can maintain two native apps (at least not until it is a solid, profitable product). Another features I am considering applying are voice recordings and sharing with close friends. Do you have an opinion about these features?
- Geeflow 7y ago
  You can use the same codebase to service mobile platforms with something like Cordova. It still needs some effort but gives you access to the app stores, which can be huge acquisition channels.
  - soneca 7y ago
    Agree. I built it in React. If I have some validation that the product is good, I will probably rewrite it in React Native Web, sharing one codebase for all three platforms

mettamage 7y ago

While I think this is an amazing idea. However, I have one issue with it that has been echoed here in the comments. I'm way too paranoid for other people to have my data on this as it is quite personal. Therefore, I have looked for a system for which data entry is relatively easy. I currently track my mood through a local [0] TiddlyWiki [1] combined with Noteself [2]. I have been doing it for a 6 weeks now and it seems to work fine and have learned a thing or two about myself that I otherwise wouldn't have. [0] I store it locally and back it up. [1] https://tiddlywiki.com/ https://tiddlywiki.com/ [2] https://noteself.github.io/ https://noteself.github.io/

mromanuk 7y ago
As user/tech guy I’m sympathetic with being paranoid, but we know that paranoid and tech people is a really tiny subset of population. Advice: don’t design for the paranoid, except is your target market
- mettamage 7y ago
  Which is why I am sharing my workflow with HN. I didn’t build anything. TiddlyWiki exists for 10+ years and it is basically one HTML file.
hnfan1 7y ago
If you don't mind sharing, could you describe the types of learnings you were able to get by tracking your mood over time. I'll totally understand if it is something personal and you cannot share. Thanks so much!

yungbeto 7y ago

Nice work. There are a lot of benefits to daily mood tracking like this and I think you have an opportunity to go further in how you allow a user to track their feelings beyond 'good' or 'bad.' Yale's Center for Emotional Intelligence is a great resource for this kind of stuff - http://ei.yale.edu/mood-meter-app/ http://ei.yale.edu/mood-meter-app/ keep it up!