Nagging service for dieters

Anyone who’s ever tried to lose weight or improve their fitness knows that it can sometimes be tough to get motivated. For those who need a little extra help getting going, a new service called WeightNags will nag customers mercilessly until they get off the couch and get some exercise. WeightNags, which was just launched by Texas-based ConnectWorks Media, needs nothing more than a customer’s email address to get started. In exchange, it will hound that customer once a week for free in the hopes of motivating him or her to exercise and lose some weight. Of course, we all know that emails can easily be ignored and deleted in the blink of an eye. Customers who don’t trust themselves to take WeightNag’s emails seriously can also request weekly nags by phone. All they need to provide is their phone number and first name; the cost is USD 4.95 per month. Without a way to tell WeightNags when you do get some exercise in or have resisted every single calorie-laden temptation—and thereby win a respite from the nagging—it seems to us the effectiveness of the negative feedback could soon wear off. Nevertheless, it’s an interesting concept that could be a nice micro-business opportunity for anyone with a Skype account and a talent for nagging. 😉 (Related: Sell what you say.)