Our Motivator: A Virtual Garden (with flowers)

Woggers of the world unite!

We’re loving the like minds over at Fitbit, even if their diminutive health monitor has gotten tangled up in production. The nifty personal device — a hybrid pedometer and Nike+ doohickey — “keeps track of your movement, distance traveled and calories burned.” Then get this: the wearable sensor provides simple, real-time feedback using a flower metaphor. Naturally, healthy activities equal a healthy plant. And six-pack abs!

The Garden, our ambient gaming overlay, clearly had a similar muse (we’ve even gleaned a bit of our philosophy from the article’s own BJ Fogg).

But since we Baxters find the most power in the collective, we’re looking forward to seeing how Fitbitters can leverage a Nike+ style community. As we iterate our signature product, for instance, we’re continually discovering unexpected value in spontaneous relationships between Gardeners. With overlapping social media functions — adding friends, creating teams, challenging others — the Fitbit would be a exemplary motivator in this wacky growing industry of Applied Gaming.