YouTube Hero.
[Sometimes I give away ideas, either because I cannot execute them alone, or because I think they are more valuable as inspiration for someone else. Laziness may also be a factor.]
I’ve been fascinated with the use of game mechanics in Foursquare: the idea that you can incentivize real world social behaviours with a point system, acheivements that can be unlocked, and social reinforcement, is beautiful, and fits closely into the concepts that Jane McGonigal discussed in her TED talk.
The inherent problem I’ve had with this system is that it’s too easily gamed, and often limited. I’ve had friends check in at places they’ve driven by, and called people expecting them to be at home, only to find out they’re still on the highway.
Hence: YouTube Hero.
The idea is based on setting up a system of acheivements, point totals, and awards, based on the difficulty, location, and peer rating of your accomplishments - all of which is based on linking to video, either first person or taken by an observer / accomplice, of the player completing a task. When a video is submitted, people watching the specific task, specific tags, or those who have added the user as a contact, get a notification of the submission, including a link to the video, and a yes / no option. If X number of people vote yes, it counts. You have your verification, and your points.
Obviously, this requires internet connected, video capable mobile devices. I’m not sure how that’s a bad thing, but people always seem willing to suggest it is.
This also allows the achievements to be anything, from philanthropic (donate to a food bank) to utterly bizarre (set fire to a striped left sock) and any point in between. While this could degrade into the absurd, it also incentivizes positive behaviours that people need a small extra push to complete (sign a petition, write a letter to your MP, etc) and encourages a transparency of action.
This is obviously the germ of an idea, as evidenced by the lack of a definitive ‘why?’, and less importantly, the use of a name that would be complete legal suicide. Someone go have fun with it.
