Can we change behavior with social gaming technology?
Late last year we collaborated with Stanford’s Byron Reeves to answer that exact question with respect to home energy consumption. Our hypothesis was that it would be possible to use the same forces that drive consumption, namely competition and perceived social status, to curtail consumption. We just needed to change the game and alter the incentives. The result is shown in the short video below.
A front page story in today’s New York Times features a similar story that proves this really works. Read “Utilities Turn Their Customers Green, With Envy” to find out how the Sacramento Municipal Utility District is doing the same.
In our business, it’s this type of result that inspires me and gives me faith that we’ll be able to use our know-how to do much more than just sell people more stuff. In theory, we should be able to use social software and games to create a movement around almost anything that people care about, and help guide behavior towards healthy outcomes.
What do you think?
January 31st, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Chore Wars an example of this on a lighter note.
January 31st, 2009 at 10:39 pm
I really dig the idea. It might be a bit difficult to get those who have high consumption to publicize their energy useage (if it’s required that is) but it is still worth the experiment. Nice use of gaming to get people engaged..
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:54 pm
Great mix of serious games and virtual worlds. However I’m always weary of prognostications that technology will truly change or fix the world. In the early days they though the Internet would bring people closer together and bring about world peace. In any case this stuff has the power to make a difference, or at least a dent.
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:58 am
Are we connected or socially disconnected…
I personally believe that technology has reduced our social capital—the
relationships that bind people together and create a sense of community.
Consequences include decreased civility, loss of behavioural boundaries
and increased crime. We must find ways to deal with our profound loss of
social connectedness.
Even though technological advances have contributed significantly to the
problem of isolation, the emphasis on individualism in today’s society has
compounded it.
February 3rd, 2009 at 8:32 am
Thanks Justin and Nina.
Justin: don’t you think the internet has brought people closer?
February 4th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
20 years after the original SIM CITY and reality is the current Housing bubble crisis and Gas Prices that go up and down 10 cents a month.
Real world issues are not being solved or even truly addressed by these pop digital toys. They are being “virtualized” and are following the majority of televisions lessons for the previous generation. This time with an even greater gulf between reality and fantasy.
Technology only “extends” an individuals radius to affect others. The Milgram experiments were as much about technology to human interaction as they were about humans to human interaction.
February 5th, 2009 at 8:36 am
Reuben: Closer but it didn’t exactly usher in world peace as some claimed it would. I look at this type of technology like how Hollywood looks at film, they shy away from films with heavy handed messages. It’s about entertainment. Sometimes great entertainment can also educate, but when that’s you’re goal you usually lose the wider audience. Rewarding someone for doing the right thing in a game might be good morally but does it entertain? That’s the real question. But it’s possible to mix both and I look forward to that more than anybody.
February 10th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
I agree with you. Check out this energy website from Canada. It adds a nice bit of humor. aee.gouv.qc.ca/en/energuy/game/
February 11th, 2009 at 11:10 am
Reuben: This is a great example of opportunities that exist for companies in today’s new age of marketing. It’s definitely engaging. Imagine a PG&E logo at the end. Similar videos with user challenges could be created for health food products (comparing nutrition, calories, etc.), automobile companies (comparing MPG), window and solar manufacturers, waste management companies like Norcal for recycling, ….the list goes on and on. It has huge potential as a branding and business model.
February 13th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
“the emphasis on individualism in today’s society has
compounded it.”
i think you have this backwards…:)
nothing about the execution of technology today has emphasized the individual IN a society, they call it the “singularity” meaning I AM ALL, not how does the OTHER and ME survive together.
Millions of ME’s is truly the grail of the tech religion today.
February 16th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
To answer your question “Can we change behavior with social gaming technology?” I think the answer is quite likely yes, eventually.
I think the introduction of popular issues into an on-line community setting in the form of a serious game could be successful. However, I think getting the formula right to achieve that success would have to take a lot of factors into account as with any game or social tool. For example, cost of devices, ease of installation, demographic of target audience, convenience, ease of use, reward for use, etc.
As for the video, there are parts I really liked but also parts that didn’t really make sense to me.
- The idea of a smart meter driving visibility of energy consumption data to web and mobile devices is good.
- Use of the virtual house as context for presenting the energy consumption details or information on areas for improvement “in location” is great. However to me, all this assumes that there must be other instrumented parts of the house that measure energy consumption at different outlets. I don’t see how you could do this at a single input source on the house’s main hydro meter.
Unfortunately, as much as I love virtual worlds, the virtual neighborhood with houses, people, and streets etc. seemed unnecessary and unjustified in this video. At this point in time a google maps mashup to show the data would be more appropriate for everyone.
Other comments that come to mind are:
- what’s the incentive to get the smart meter in the first place? If not mandated then we’re basically preaching to the converted.
- not everybody would be interested in playing a game to become greener… they’d be just as happy with a printed report
- eventually people would get bored of the game or the returns on their actions would diminish
- the hydro bill should be delivered in this virtual setting and perhaps even paid there to force traffic and exposure to the environment
I still love the video though and think it does represent the way we should be thinking about these issues (and virtual worlds) moving forward.