The Network Garden - Mark Sigal's Blog

If it Matters, Write it Down

There is an axiom that you Manage what you MEASURE, but sometimes the truth is more basic. If something is a priority, document it by writing down.

This can be a basic as a post-it note, your favorite note taking app, checklists, Word docs, Google docs, whatever.

Pattern Recognition: The medium is less important than the discipline of writing down.

Because when you write it down, you commit to a level of specificity, which is the ultimate feedback loop for what matters, what is central and what is peripheral.

I can not tell you how many people I encounter that have great ideas, but because the simple first step of writing it down is too much discipline, their ideas never go anywhere.

That's why I say, if it matters, write it down.

Siri for Seniors: Envisioning a library of Siri actions

It took getting my dad a HomePod mini for his room in the assisted living facility he lives at to start to see Siri as much as a presence service as a media device.

The principal idea is building a Siri for senior citizens by creating and growing a library of what I call Siri actions. 

What are Siri actions?

In my line of thinking, they would be simple sequenced actions with some type of run-time functional set.

Ideally these functional sets could be extended or customized by software, including via an iPhone or Mac based front end, to set up a general class of applications that in this case would be targeted and senior citizens:

• Mental Acuity Tests
• Fitness (think: Apple Fitness + for seniors)
• Curated Assistance Care (vocabulary and caregiver network)
• Snoring Stopper (listen for snoring)
• Meditation and Mantras
• Flash Cards

How would this not be a really good thing for the aged segment, especially in the face of loss of mobility, isolation, loneliness and lack of external stimuli?

Food for thought: there are 23M Americans that are 75 years old or older so it's a huge market.