Entrepreneur, shrewd husband, creates PMS detector

[0ni0n]

Jordan Eisenberg says he knows a thing or two about dealing with the volatile emotions of premenstrual syndrome. After all, he grew up around women.

A year ago, the 28-year-old entrepreneur and Denver resident decided to devise a way other men could do the same.

The outcome was PMSbuddy.com, a free Internet-based service that tracks the monthly cycles of a subscriber's significant other and offers e-mail reminders about the impending deadlines.

And it's catching on: The site surpassed 150,000 registered users last month. Ten percent are women.

Not to rest on his laurels, Eisenberg recently added a phone application — PMS Buddy iPhone — for 99 cents. There were 1,000 downloads the first day.

The idea was largely a social experiment rather than a way to earn money, Eisenberg said.

"The whole notion is that you're being considerate," he said. " Obviously, it's funny as well."

And unlike websites such as fertilityfriend.com and mymonthlycycle.com , Eisenberg's creation is different.

"This is for tracking PMS. Those are for tracking fertility," he said.
A graduate of Vanderbilt University with degrees in math and computer engineering, Eisenberg moved to Denver two years ago. He lives downtown with his wife — not his inspiration for PMS Buddy — and works as director of sales for a technology company.

PMS Buddy germinated in a LoDo bar during happy hour. Eisenberg and a coed group of friends chatted about relationships, and the conversation inevitably landed on the challenges of PMS — otherwise known as premenstrual syndrome.

The group concluded that women just don't like being asked if it is "that time of the month," Eisenberg said. The solution: keep tabs on the woman's menstrual cycle to eliminate the need to ask.

"Just having that awareness, we hope, will lend to fewer arguments," he said.

The main demographic for PMS Buddy is men ages 20 to 40. There's even a forum for subscribers to post their own PMS stories and a list of tips to help women feel better during their period.

Flowers, according to the site, "are the kryptonite to PMS."
"We don't intend to be taken too seriously," Eisenberg said. "People think it's funny, interesting, helpful . . . maybe a combination."
Some aren't so light-hearted, claiming the site is an adversary to understanding the problems women face, perpetuating stereotypes of women suffering from PMS.

"I feel it just reinforces this thing that women are driven by their hormones," said Joanne Belknap , a professor of sociology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. "Men also have hormonal cycles. . . . We just aren't as preoccupied with them."

Belknap said people should not pathologize PMS because many women's emotions tend to get dismissed and invalidated during what is a perfectly healthy function of a woman's body.

Don Aptekar, a gynecologist at Rose Medical Center in Denver, said the website could be helpful if it's used as a means of communication between partners dealing with PMS.

"If it's something that two people do together as a means of encouraging communication, then yes, I think it has some value," Aptekar said. "Independently, I think you're just asking for trouble."

The tips didn't thrill him either, noting that buying a woman flowers or wine may only add fuel to the fire of insensitivity.

[Correction]

Nobel Prize inc.

[Kael]

I could have used this growing up with 5 sisters.

[Boyiee]

Nobel Prize inc.

This guy is a genius, he deserves all the money he is about to rake in and already started.

edit(i have 3 sisters, and gf has 3, time to download the iphone app.)

[Price]

I heard about this on a morning radio show last month. Neat idea. They actually interviewed him and apparently one of his buds got yelled at when he asked his wife if she was PMSing and she wasn't. Which made me lol

GG Inventor-man

[Kiro]

New entry in the Man-Law book. "All households containing more than one female require a PMS detector. In fact, replace all of your fire alarms with one."

[AoE]

I'm luckily that the women in my life somehow stay pretty chill when they PMS but then again I don't live with them. Was blessed with not having any sisters.

[Meian]

Haha I imagined this like a fire detector but this is still genius. Needs more research funding!

[Fistandantilus]

My family is 3 women and 2 men, one of which is out of town often and the other being myself. Now I can plan which weekends to visit from college on!

[Athas]

Obviously, it's funny as well.

[Maguspk]

Awesome.

[Devek]

Most women in Oklahoma are so batshit insane a device like this would be pointless. There is no perceivable difference between that time of the month or any other time of the month.

[Stiker]

brb downloading to iPhone.

Also, this man is a fucking genius.

[Ryany]

Some aren't so light-hearted, claiming the site is an adversary to understanding the problems women face, perpetuating stereotypes of women suffering from PMS.

How about the understanding about how much of a pain in the ass it is to live with someone that feels the whole world has to suffer when they do?

[Kuya]

[aznmajiktaru]

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/5163/pms.png

'~')6

[Despain]

Win.

[Jer]

Haha I imagined this like a fire detector but this is still genius. Needs more research funding!

Indeed, when I first read the title I was expecting something like the 'Gay-Dar' from The Office.

I'm well aware of the fact gay-dar 'existed' before The Office. I just thought the presentation was amusing.

[chillin]

kuya is literally a fag. as such his opinion should be voided due to the fact that he does not have to live with or deal with women during their menstrual cycle.

[altwight]

Yea didn't think it would be a shitty website that tracks it for you. Not like you can't track it yourself. Got a bitch motherfuck sister and a gf and I can tell just by the way they speak.