Apply HN: IoQS – Message-based service to measure and track anything

The thing is, that's kind of a constrained interface. It's rare to track only one value at a time. Normally you want to track either sets of values (EX: how many grams protein, fat, carbs) or at least multiple individual values (EX: calories, weight, sleep).

So if there's nothing new about the data store (IE: just a spreadsheet on a server) and there's nothing new about the data (IE: just calories or mood or whatever) then the new part is the interface. Instead of firing up an entire application you do the exact opposite; ping one or two simple codes.

But, like, what do YOU add? Is there no other service that accepts brief messages from any registered phone/email and tracks the values over time? Is that filling a hole? Maybe if there is a hole you could build a platform that performs that function for anything. Individuals could use it for data like weight, businesses could use it for logging business things.

For example, I currently use google docs to track this kind of information. I just open a spreadsheet, plug in my values, and they're automatically saved "to the cloud." Normally I don't even close the sheet; I just leave it open for weeks at a stretch. I doubt it takes fewer clicks to enter a single value into an already-open sheet than to send a text message. However, it does mean if I want to review the data, or rearrange it, or add another column, or backdate something, I've already got the appropriate interface open.

IoQS would work for people who don't have a smartphone...but is there a lot of overlap between people who have an old phone and people who want to track quantified self data?

You're quickly going to burn your users out with incessant notifications. They'll actually train themselves to ignore the notifications until eventually uninstalling your app out of frustration. How will you avoid this?

What is the role of user data in the business model?