We’ve talked a lot about various gamified check-in sites and apps that allow you to complete chores, do good deeds and lose weight on the Gamification blogs recently. While these apps are fun, engaging and helpful to those who are already motivated, they are all still susceptible to getting “gamed”. In any game or gamified structure you will find those people who love winning so much that they’ll cheat to get to the top. Or they’ll lie to themselves (well, I thought about exercising today, that should still count) and create excuses. Sometimes checking in will become too tedious and users will simply forget. How do you combat that and design a system where it’s clear that users are being honest and keeping good records to create accurate data?
GreenGoose has developed a solution to changing one’s lifestyle in small, simple ways and keeping track in a way that’s hassle-free. GreenGoose is a real life game platform, based around a little egg shaped base-station.
The game kit also comes with sensors that can be attached to your toothbrush, your water bottle, your vitamins and more. Then, every time you brush your teeth, drink water or take your vitamins, the base-station receives a signal for completing said pro-you activity. There’s even a smart pedometer that tracks your steps independently of any other objects moving around in your bag or pockets. Register your “intentions” and get points for doing positive actions and staying consistant. Earn points that can be used on offers from partner companies. You can even use the system to make sure your kids are doing their chores and reward them accordingly.
The base-station only has a range of 250 feet, but sensors save their data until they can are within reach to re-sync. It only takes a few minutes to set up, but installing it with an ethernet cable into an existing internet router. So far, this seems to be the easiest system to use for those interested in making small positive lifestyle changes, get rewarded and not have to bother with tracking data and checking in. Right now the system is in beta and will soon be available for pre-order. Check back with their site to find out more info and updates.
