Pro tip for Fitbit users that want a great alternative:
Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google
61–70 of 241 posts
Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google
#62Classic example of an article in search of a movement. Take a handful of tweets that share an opinion and write an article that makes it seem like there's a mass exodus. It's ok, you don't need anything more than a handful of tweets to back your claim. Yes, some people are privacy conscious and are going to stop using Fitbit but how many are actually doing it? A lot? A few? Who knows. I'm sure author has no clue but…
And now people who want to convince others to leave behind their fitbits need only point them to this article to lend legitimacy to the claim that "everyone is doing it!". Stuff like this is part of why people don't trust the media anymore.
This type of reporting is as old as the field; it's today's equivalent of "street reporting", where a reporter fields questions to people walking to work downtown their opinions on things. This isn't a scientific study, they don't have to have a complete consensus to report on what some Fitbit users are doing. Grow up.
Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google
#63Classic example of an article in search of a movement. Take a handful of tweets that share an opinion and write an article that makes it seem like there's a mass exodus. It's ok, you don't need anything more than a handful of tweets to back your claim. Yes, some people are privacy conscious and are going to stop using Fitbit but how many are actually doing it? A lot? A few? Who knows. I'm sure author has no clue but…
Yes, some people are privacy conscious and are going to stop using Fitbit but how many are actually doing it? A lot? A few? There's nothing wrong with reporting that a small number of people are publicly announcing that they're binning their Fitbit devices. They are, and they weren't before, so that's news. Are you suggesting there should be threshold an event should have to pass before it becomes newsworthy? Who wou…
Yes, there should be a threshold. Otherwise the newspaper is gonna be full of articles which are not interesting at all to the general population.
Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google
#64Classic example of an article in search of a movement. Take a handful of tweets that share an opinion and write an article that makes it seem like there's a mass exodus. It's ok, you don't need anything more than a handful of tweets to back your claim. Yes, some people are privacy conscious and are going to stop using Fitbit but how many are actually doing it? A lot? A few? Who knows. I'm sure author has no clue but…
The original title actually has “Some Fitbit users ...” instead of the much broader “Fitbit users ...” HN shows, which is less click-baity.
Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I just got rid of my Fitbit and never spoke of it on social media. My guess is it’s limited a few thousand to low tens of thousands of people which is not economically meaningful on it’s own. But, it does show another side of the privacy debate. Many companies are selling data not because it’s significant revenue, but rather because they have no reason to leave money on the table.…
I have never felt harmed or threatened by the idea that my anonymized data (health or otherwise) is being used by large organizations... assuming it is anonymized. As far as I can see, there are many good uses of this data (some potentially profitable, such as selling to health insurance companies so they can better price their products and evaluate risks) and very few bad uses of this data. Can someone please clarif…
Just because YOU haven't felt harmed or threatened doesn't mean that others feel that way. I generally agree with you but with some caveats. For example, users should have the ability to opt-in/out of data collection. Additionally there are some actors I would choose NOT to share this data with. Google is one of them.
Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, some people are privacy conscious and are going to stop using Fitbit but how many are actually doing it? A lot? A few? There's nothing wrong with reporting that a small number of people are publicly announcing that they're binning their Fitbit devices. They are, and they weren't before, so that's news. Are you suggesting there should be threshold an event should have to pass before it becomes newsworthy? Who wou…
Yes, there should be a threshold. Otherwise the newspaper is gonna be full of articles which are not interesting at all to the general population.
There should be editorial judgement about whether or not something is worth publishing. That is not, and shouldn't be, a quantitative threshold.
Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google
#67Classic example of an article in search of a movement. Take a handful of tweets that share an opinion and write an article that makes it seem like there's a mass exodus. It's ok, you don't need anything more than a handful of tweets to back your claim. Yes, some people are privacy conscious and are going to stop using Fitbit but how many are actually doing it? A lot? A few? Who knows. I'm sure author has no clue but…
A better question is how many people do you think trust Google and is that number growing? Google feels like a spouse who cheated on you. You don’t trust them but you haven’t found a better option yet. I can’t imagine that helps them competitively in the long run.
I search on Bing.
I still have a Google account (in fact several) but I hardly ever log in. I use it when I have to for work, but if I have any choice I use Microsoft Office instead of Google docs. Mainly I use JIRA, Slack, and tools from other vendors.
I use Fastmail and EM Client for my personal mail. You get what you (do or don't) pay for.
I have a Fitbit Alta HR, mainly because it is smaller than a conventional watch. I am not going to get rid of it, but I am certainly not going to replace it with a Google product. I probably won't be able to anyway since Google will probably kill it in a fit of mindlessness soon.
Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I just got rid of my Fitbit and never spoke of it on social media. My guess is it’s limited a few thousand to low tens of thousands of people which is not economically meaningful on it’s own. But, it does show another side of the privacy debate. Many companies are selling data not because it’s significant revenue, but rather because they have no reason to leave money on the table.…
I have never felt harmed or threatened by the idea that my anonymized data (health or otherwise) is being used by large organizations... assuming it is anonymized. As far as I can see, there are many good uses of this data (some potentially profitable, such as selling to health insurance companies so they can better price their products and evaluate risks) and very few bad uses of this data. Can someone please clarif…
> I have never felt harmed or threatened by the idea that my anonymized data (health or otherwise) is being used
How anonymised is it again?
Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
What is wrong with using Twitter as a source? This is how people communicate in 2019 What method would serve you better?
It's purely anecdotal. Nothing meaningful. Did these people even own Fitbits in the first place? Have they even been using them recently? How many have actually thrown them away? It's representative of nothing.
Much news relies on anecdotes. Some of which are anonymous (aka unsubstantiated) while still involving issues higher stakes. Media is about clicks and influence.
Re: Some users say they're getting rid of Fitbit because they don't trust Google
#70Classic example of an article in search of a movement. Take a handful of tweets that share an opinion and write an article that makes it seem like there's a mass exodus. It's ok, you don't need anything more than a handful of tweets to back your claim. Yes, some people are privacy conscious and are going to stop using Fitbit but how many are actually doing it? A lot? A few? Who knows. I'm sure author has no clue but…
You're turning a factual story into fake news.
>but how many are actually doing it? A lot? A few?
No one knows except Google and fitbit. As it is, is exactly "some"and since a lot of fitbit owners don't tweet, precisely because they care about privacy, the actual number is almost definitely a multiple of the tweeters.
What word other than "some" should they have used?