I Don't Care What You're Doing, I Care What You Did

Twitter is site that asks "what are you doing right now?"  It then shows you what others are doing, and gives you the option to track friends to see what they're doing.  It's a cool idea, but it reads like a chatroom.  Here's the front page right now:

/REPLY? d pfig thanks for the tip!  less than 5 seconds ago  from im
cerco di organizzare l'uscita per stasera... less than 20 seconds ago from web
Well...watching CSI and having a soar throat less than 20 seconds ago from web
study... less than 20 seconds ago from web
Oh god that was a lot of cachaca x half a minute ago from txt
;) half a minute ago from im
heart-shaped pancakes for the win half a minute ago from twitterrific
Agregada Taly half a minute ago from im
@ eio: colpa mia, chiedo scusa!  half a minute ago  from web

I started a similar idea last summer and I've been spending a lot of time on it recently.  The key difference is Twitter asks what you're doing whereas bouquet asks what you've done.  It's been interesting clicking through twitter to see what design decisions they've made, and where they've differed from mine.

A "Common Language" via Icons
I was obsessed with the idea of a common language, so you could see similarities with other people at a glance.  The best approach I could think of was using 16x16 icons.  It's a cool effect; on the weekend you see a lot more martini glasses and balloons, which represent "alcohol" and "socializing" respectively.

Inspiration and Motivation
I've been tracking myself on bouquet since July 4th, and I've noticed an interesting trend.  Knowing that I will have to account for my day, I will sometimes do some chores so I can put up a "cleaning" icon instead of one lonely "tv" or "computer" icon.  This has even worked in longer term ways, like joining a D&D group (geek!) and a soccer team, as well as trying to run more.

A Long Term Record
In technical terms, I like the idea of categorizing data to help the "common language" goal.  But in a more personal sense, I love having a graphical representation of what I do with my life.  It gets more useful the more I use it, and it can highlight interesting trends that I may not have recognized before.  It'd be interesting to see a graph like this for 10 years ago, so using this app is like a gift for me 10 years from now.

Track Your Friends
Several friends and co-workers have signed up, so it leads to some cool conversations.  "Hey Taylor, I didn't know you're in an indoor soccer league, great job on your goal!"  or "Hey Jeff, you saw Children of Men too?  What did you think?"  This is especially cool if you have a friend that lives far away.  When jetfuel went to Japan, I was able to see how his trip was progressing in bite sized chunks rather than him having to write an entire email or blog post.

No Stalking
Because you use bouquet after your activity has been completed, there's less of a security concern.  Several people have pointed out that they are much more willing to type "Went to a small party at Jeff's" the next day than writing "Going to small party at Jeff's".  Sometimes you don't want everyone (or even all your friends) to know your exact movements as they happen.

I have been having a lot of fun with bouquet.  Envisioning a new product is always exciting for me.  But now I need more users, so feel free to try it out if you're interested.