There are three changes in this release: push notifications for props and comments, multi-device sync for people who are using Lift on both their iPhone and iPad, and bug fixes.
Push notifications is the headline feature for most of you.
Lift works on feedback loops. You check in, you see your progress, you want to beat your previous best. That’s the standard quantified-self style feedback loop. For example, it is what makes the Fitbit and the Fuel band so effective.
Lift also has a positive reinforcement feedback loop. You check in, a friend or fellow habit-seeker notices and gives you props. We used to do that positive reinforcement loop with points but ended up feeling like the social reward was more meaningful.
We’re pleasantly surprised that even tiny positive reinforcement loops work. People have had a lot of success on Lift and it’s not because we’re drenching them with praise, it’s because they had more strength than they realized.
But we’re not satisfied with the strength of our feedback features. We see where they can go and today’s release is a big upgrade.
Timeliness is a major factor in the design of a feedback loop. Before today, all of our notifications went to your email inbox (which causes problems for everyone in our Inbox Zero habit).
Now props go directly to your phone via the iPhone push notification system. Same with comments.
We’ve been beta testing this and, although it seems like a small change, getting these notifications directly on the phone is a much more satisfying experience. When I workout mid-day, my phone starts buzzing with props before I’m even back at my desk. I like that.
As for the other changes, the multi-device sync solves a problem where people who were adding habits on one of their devices were not seeing those habits on their other device. Most of you don’t use Lift on multiple devices, but for those that do, you should have a smooth experience now.
The last change was a bug that caused the app to crash when you started it up. I’ve written in previous release notes that we get a record of bugs that cause the app to crash and always try to get those sorted out as quickly as possible.
I want to talk more about push notifications and how they allow us to tackle your most requested feature, reminders, but I’ll save that for the next update.
