U.S. patent application number 13/273987 was filed with the patent office on 2013-01-10 for encouraging personal sustainability for an organization.
This patent application is currently assigned to SAP AG. Invention is credited to Michael A. ARENT, Jennifer A. Dumpert, Janaki P. KUMAR, Alys M. LONGWORTH, Aaron MARCUS, Garrett F. MILLER, Jeremiah E. STONE, Rebecca L. THOMAS, Laurie WIGHAM.
Application Number | 20130013326 13/273987 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47439190 |
Filed Date | 2013-01-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130013326 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
MILLER; Garrett F. ; et
al. |
January 10, 2013 |
ENCOURAGING PERSONAL SUSTAINABILITY FOR AN ORGANIZATION
Abstract
A system and method for developing trust in an organization
supported tracking system by ensuring that resources in a resource
library are collected from trusted sources, and encouraging and
tracking participation in organization supported activities
designed to achieve a long term goal of the organization. Resources
may be submitted by organization members and ranked according to
multiple factors including the trustworthiness of the source, the
relevance of the resource to the long term goal, or the response of
the organization members to the resource. Participation may be
encouraged through friendly competition, awards granted for
participation, and publication of member accomplishments. Tracking
may be facilitated by allowing members to create initiatives and
actions related to the long term goal which members may follow and
join and then tracking and verifying member participation in those
initiatives and actions.
Inventors: |
MILLER; Garrett F.; (San
Francisco, CA) ; KUMAR; Janaki P.; (Palo Alto,
CA) ; STONE; Jeremiah E.; (Palo Alto, CA) ;
ARENT; Michael A.; (Albany, CA) ; LONGWORTH; Alys
M.; (San Francisco, CA) ; MARCUS; Aaron;
(Berkeley, CA) ; Dumpert; Jennifer A.; (San
Francisco, CA) ; WIGHAM; Laurie; (San Francisco,
CA) ; THOMAS; Rebecca L.; (Oakland, CA) |
Assignee: |
SAP AG
Walldorf
DE
|
Family ID: |
47439190 |
Appl. No.: |
13/273987 |
Filed: |
October 14, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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61505714 |
Jul 8, 2011 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/1.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/1.1 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 10/00 20120101
G06Q010/00 |
Claims
1. A system for encouraging participation in organization supported
activities comprising: a memory for storing organization membership
information and organization supported activity information; and a
processor configured to receive a participation notification
indicating that an organization member has participated in an
organization supported activity, to disburse an award to the member
for the participation, and to record the award disbursement in said
memory; wherein said activity is designed to encourage organization
member participation in an activity that supports a long-term goal
of the organization.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein said processor is further
configured to publish said award disbursement to organization
members.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein said publishing comprises
transmitting an email message describing the award disbursement to
organization members.
4. The system of claim 2, wherein said publishing comprises posting
a notification message describing the award disbursement at a
system related webpage.
5. The system of claim 2, wherein said publishing comprises posting
a comment describing the award disbursement in an activity related
news feed.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein said processor is further
configured to publish a leaderboard listing the members of the
organization in order of accrued awards.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein said award includes a number of
points earned for the participation.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein a member redeems accumulated
points for a reward offered by the organization.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the rewards include goods and
services offered by the organization to encourage participation in
the organization supported activities.
10. The system of claim 8, wherein points are redeemable for a
reward only when the member has accumulated a total number of
points above a predetermined threshold.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein said processor is further
configured to publish the participation notification in an activity
related news feed.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein said processor is further
configured to publish said participation notification in an
organization related news feed.
13. The system of claim 1, wherein said processor is further
configured to determine if the disbursement of an award to the
organization member is approved before disbursing the award.
14. The system of claim 1, wherein said processor is further
configured to receive a verification that the organization member
participated in the initiative associated action.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein said verification includes a
photo of the organization member participating in the initiative
associated action.
16. The system of claim 14, wherein said verification includes an
attendance list received from an initiative associated action
moderator.
17. The system of claim 14, wherein said verification includes the
results of a competition.
18. The system of claim 14, wherein said processor is further
configured to disburse an additional award upon receipt of the
verification.
19. The system of claim 1, wherein said activity is a
competition.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein a member that wins the
competition receives a bigger award than the other members that
participated in the competition.
21. The system of claim 1, wherein said activity is a team based
competition.
22. The system of claim 21, wherein members of a team that wins the
competition receives a bigger award than members of other teams
that participated in the competition.
23. A computer implemented method for encouraging participation in
organization supported activities comprising: receiving at a
processor a participation notification indicating that an
organization member has participated in an organization supported
activity; disbursing an award to the member for the participation;
and recording the award disbursement in a non-transitory memory;
wherein organization membership information and organization
supported activity information are stored in the memory; and
wherein said activity is designed to encourage organization member
participation in an activity that supports a long-term goal of the
organization.
24. The method of claim 23, further comprising publishing said
award disbursement to organization members.
25. The method of claim 23, further comprising publishing a
leaderboard listing the members of the organization in order of
accumulated award totals.
26. The method of claim 23, wherein said award includes a number of
points earned for the participation.
27. The method of claim 23, further comprising offering a reward to
the member in exchange for redemption of awarded points.
28. The method of claim 23, further comprising publishing the
participation notification.
29. The method of claim 23, further comprising determining if the
disbursement of an award to the organization member is approved
before disbursing the award.
30. The method of claim 23, further comprising receiving at the
processor a verification that the organization member participated
in the initiative associated action.
31. The method of claim 30, further comprising disbursing an
additional award upon receipt of the verification.
32. The method of claim 23, wherein said activity is a
competition.
33. The method of claim 32, wherein an award disbursed to a member
that won the competition is bigger than an award disbursed the
other members that participated in the competition.
34. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with
instructions that when executed causes a processor to perform a
method comprising: upon receiving a participation notification
indicating that an organization member has participated in an
organization supported activity, disbursing an award to the member
for the participation; and recording the award disbursement in a
non-transitory memory; wherein organization membership information
and organization supported activity information are stored in the
memory; and wherein said activity is designed to encourage
organization member participation in an activity that supports a
long-term goal of the organization.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority to
previously filed U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No.
61/505,714 (Attorney docket No. 13316/518600), filed Jul. 8, 2011,
entitled PERSONAL SUSTAINABILITY FOR THE ENTERPRISE. That
provisional application is hereby incorporated by reference in its
entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Aspects of the present invention are directed to a
participation tracking system and more specifically to a system for
tracking individual participation in sustainability activities.
[0003] Individuals and entities are increasingly embracing the
`green` initiative by pursuing a sustainable lifestyle. Some
industries are regulated and are required to report sustainability
related data to a third party or government organization. Other
entities voluntarily track and publish their sustainability report
and carbon footprint in an effort to promote sustainability, or to
otherwise benefit from a `green` reputation. However, entities must
rely heavily on their individual members to achieve their
sustainability goals. For example, companies may enhance their
sustainability `score` through the conservation efforts of their
employees. However, engaging members and tracking individual and
group progress can often be difficult, cumbersome, and
unreliable.
[0004] Individual users often express confusion and skepticism with
regards to sustainability. Credible sources of sustainability
information are sparse, often contradictory, and typically spread
out over multiple disparate resources. Disjointed information makes
personal sustainability efforts difficult to manage and track and
often fails to encourage significant behavioral changes. Thus,
traditional sustainability initiatives tend to result in only very
minor or extremely long term benefits. Participation in such
initiatives is difficult to maintain when users lack short term
incentives.
[0005] Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a sustainability
application that builds trust, encourages participation, and fits
into an individual's lifestyle with limited disruption.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating components
of an exemplary system according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0007] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary database support system
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0008] FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary records for sustainability
tracking information according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0009] FIG. 4(a) illustrates an exemplary interface displaying a
user profile on a client device according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0010] FIG. 4(b) illustrates an exemplary interface displaying a
user profile on a mobile client device according to an embodiment
of the present invention.
[0011] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary record for an initiative
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0012] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary method for creating an
initiative according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary interface displaying an
initiative on a client device according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0014] FIG. 8(a) illustrates an exemplary search interface as
displayed on a client device according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0015] FIG. 8(b) illustrates an exemplary take action interface as
displayed on a client device according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0016] FIGS. 9(a)-9(d) illustrate exemplary initiative interfaces
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0017] FIGS. 10(a)-10(b) illustrate exemplary leaderboard
interfaces according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary method for awarding
participation points to a system user according to an embodiment of
the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary record for a resource
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary method for identifying a
submitted resource according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] A sustainability tracking system mobilizes individuals to
take small actions that when combined across large groups become
significant improvements in sustainability awareness and
participation. The system provides the flexibility to create
activities unique to the group to facilitate a sense of community.
Individuals may be incentivized to use the system through the sense
of community, friendly competition, public recognition of
achievements, and rewards earned for adopting behavior deemed
beneficial to the group. The system may build trust with the
individuals through verification of self-reported activities,
limiting the group members to known entities, facilitating the
formation of subgroups, and restricting the information presented
to information from trusted sources.
[0022] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating components
of an exemplary system 100 according to an embodiment of the
present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 may include
one or more clients 110 accessing a server 120 via a network 130.
The server 120 may be a network server connected to the client 110
via the network 130. The server 120 may manage operation of a
sustainability tracking system for a group, the members of the
group connected to the sustainability tracking system via the
clients 110. Server 120 may consist of multiple servers wherein
each server performs a specific function in the system, or
redundant servers that provide reliability for multiple individuals
accessing multiple aspects of the system at one time. The network
130 may be a wired or wireless network that may include a local
area network (LAN), a wireless area network (WAN), the Internet, or
any other network available for accessing the server 120 via the
client 110.
[0023] A user may access the sustainability tracking system from
the client 110 via a user interface 111 capable of accessing and
displaying the sustainability tracking system. The client 110 may
be any computing system that facilitates a user accessing the
server 120 via the user interface 111, for example a personal
computer, laptop, tablet device, mobile handheld computing device,
or other network enabled device. The user interface 111 may be a
program or application or may comprise middleware that acts as a
frontend to or otherwise facilitates access to the sustainability
tracking system. The user may interact with the user interface 111
through an input device, such as by inputting a selection as with a
mouse, a keyboard, or a screen tap. The user may observe the
response to the selection on an output device or display of the
client 110. The user interface 111 may be a system specific
application or program installed on the client 110 or may be a
general-purpose application, such as a web browser, capable of
accessing the features of the sustainability tracking system via
the network 130. The user interface may run in a browser or an
application window installed on the client 110 and controlled by
the user.
[0024] When the user accesses the user interface 111, the client
110 may communicate with the server 120. The server 120 may return
information to the client 110 to facilitate the user's interaction
with the sustainability tracking system. The user interface 111 may
display one or more modules supported by a database or other data
repository. Each module may be supported by one or more databases
accessible by the server 120.
[0025] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary database support system 200
according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in
FIG. 2, communications server 220 may be connected to a user record
store 205, a group record store 215, and an initiative record store
210. Each store may be a database, repository, or other memory
storage device for organizing, managing and facilitating access to
sustainability tracking system records. According to an embodiment,
records in one or more databases may be accessed via a single
server, or the communication of data from each database may be
managed by a separate server (not shown).
[0026] FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary records for sustainability
tracking information according to an embodiment of the present
invention. As shown, a user record 310 may store information for
individual users of the sustainability tracking system. Each user
record 310 may include profile information, such as user name or ID
311 and contact information. A user record 310 may include pointers
to the subgroups 313, teams, competitions, and initiatives 312 to
which the user has been invited or has otherwise indicated a desire
to participate in or follow. A user record 310 may additionally
identify the points or rewards status 314 the user has accumulated
using the sustainability tracking system as well as any goal
related information. For example, a goal may be set by the user and
the status 314 may indicate the points needed to achieve that goal.
A user record 310 may contain other information not listed, for
example a user record 310 may include information regarding past
goals accomplished or other profile information such as the level
of activity the has had to date or any negative feedback or
disciplinary actions taken by the system administrators against the
user.
[0027] A subgroup record 320 may include a unique subgroup ID 321
and pointers to the user that acts as moderator for this subgroup
322 as well as pointers to the user records for the users that are
members of the subgroup 323. A subgroup record 320 may contain
other information not listed, for example the competitions the
subgroup has participated in or the feature that brought the
members together as a subgroup.
[0028] An initiative record 330 may include a unique initiative ID
331 and a set of parameters defined for the initiative 334. The
initiative record 330 may additionally include pointers to the user
that acts as moderator for this initiative 332 and the users,
teams, or subgroups that are participating in the initiative 333.
Parameters 334 may include a start time, a time limit, or a budget
for initiative, a maximum or minimum required number of
participants, a geographical limitation on the participants, or any
other information necessary to define the initiative. An initiative
record 330 may contain other information not listed, for example
the actions that an initiative member can take to earn points and
to support the initiative or ratings of the initiative submitted by
the participants.
[0029] Each user record 310 may be associated with a single user of
the sustainability tracking system. The sustainability tracking
system may service a single group, such as a single corporation or
community organization, or multiple related groups, such as
multiple churches of a single denomination or multiple businesses
sharing a building or an office park. Members of a group may have
access to only those aspects of the sustainability tracking system
that are associated with the group. Therefore, a group member may
have the ability to compete only in those competitions, or
participate only in those initiatives organized for their
associated group, regardless of the number of groups supported by
the sustainability tracking system. However, a system user may be
invited into more than one group.
[0030] In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a
group may be closed such that no new members may be invited into to
the group without the approval of the group moderator or owner. In
accordance with another embodiment, a group may be open such that
any current member may invite other individuals to join the group.
Membership may then be limited to invited persons or groups to
ensure that only trustworthy members can participate and receive
the rewards of participation. For example, a corporation may invite
employees, suppliers, customers, etc. to join their sponsored group
whereas an individual member may invite a trusted friend or family
member to participate in group activities and competitions. Then,
individuals trusted by at least one member of the group may be
added to the group and participate in sustainability tracking
system activities. Members invited by other members may or may not
be eligible to participate in the rewards program for the group. An
individual may additionally request membership in a group if not
otherwise invited by the group administrators.
[0031] Members may additionally form subgroups. Subgroups may
consist of users who have self-identified as having common
interests, may be formed automatically by the system based on
profile information or the users, or may be organized by a system
moderator, administrator or owner. A subgroup may be a team whose
members participate in sustainability tracking system activities
together, for example, the human resource department or the members
of a specific building.
[0032] FIG. 4(a) illustrates an exemplary interface 411 displaying
a user profile and other related information on a client device
according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in
FIG. 4(a), a user profile interface 411 may display a general
profile module 412 that identifies the user and displays
information about the user, for example contact information and a
brief biography of the user. The profile information may be
collected and automatically displayed by the system or may be
entered by the individual user, the group owner or moderator, or
another user. A photo album module 413 may include photos, videos,
or other images added by the user, added by others but in which the
user is featured, or marked as interesting by the user. An
initiatives module 414 may provide identification of the
initiatives the user is participating in or following. The
initiatives module 414 may additionally provide links to an
interface for each of the initiatives currently associated with the
user, or links to browse, explore or add a new initiative to the
initiatives module 414. A teams module 415 may include
identification and links to an interface for each team with which
the user is associated. A competitions module 416 may include
identification or links to an interface for each competition in
which the user is participating or following.
[0033] A post feed module 417 may display news, comments and
messages. The news, comments, and messages may be related to the
user's activities, competitions, teams, groups or initiatives,
directed to or posted by the user, or directed to or posted by
other users that the user follows. The posts displayed in the post
feed module 417 may be regularly updated or updated whenever a new
post is available. The post feed module 417 may additionally
provide links to other feeds including activities the user, the
related teams, or the group as a whole are participating in, to a
feed of photos and videos uploaded by members of the user's teams,
competitions, initiatives, or the group generally, or to all the
posts, comments, activities, photos and videos from the post feed
module 417 displayed in a single interface. An individual user's
post feed may be viewed by other users. The user may have access to
security settings that determine privacy features and outside
access to user profile information including the post feed. The
privacy settings may identify the subgroups or group members that
have access to the user's profile or post feed, for example, the
user may limit access to only members the user is following, only
members in the user's team, only members in one or more of the
user's subgroups, etc.
[0034] A post feed module 417 may additionally include an update
interface 419 that provides an interface for the user to add new
comments or photos to their profile. A comment may be a message
concerning a topic of interest for the user, for example an idea
for a new initiative, a statement initiating a discussion on a
current event, a link to interesting articles, items, or websites,
or announcement indicating completion of an activity or an
acquisition of reward points. Each post or comment may be included
in a greater collection of group comments, may be included in a
group post feed, and may be parsed for information relevant to the
group as a whole. Pictures and weblinks, for example, may be added
to the collection of resources created for the group. Culling
resources from the posts and comments of group members ensures that
the source of the resource is a trusted user.
[0035] A success tracker module 418 may display the user's
accumulated points, whether a lifetime accumulation, or an
accumulation over a designated and limited period of time (such as
quarterly or annually), and the user status achieved based on the
accumulated points. The sustainability tracking system may maintain
a virtual economy that has a point system or other method of
tracking a social currency for managing rewards and determining the
status of each user. Points may be awarded for a variety of
reasons, for example, participating in an initiative, winning a
competition, submitting a resource, or getting new members to join
or to participate in system activities.
[0036] As will be further described below, the sustainability
tracking system may provide users the option to set goals for point
accumulation that may be achieved by participating in sponsored
activities and initiatives. Upon reaching a set goal, a user may
then redeem their accumulated points for rewards. As shown in FIG.
4(a), the success tracker module 418 may provide links to an
interface for redeeming accumulated points, or to an interface that
identifies system activities, participation in which will allow the
user to earn additional points.
[0037] Some user record elements may not be accessible to the user
and therefore not displayed on the profile interface, for example,
a unique identifier used by the sustainability tracking system to
identify the user record throughout the system. Other profile
elements may be visible by selecting an interface to view the
record. For example, the user may not initially see the feed
listing the posts the user has contributed to or is following until
the user selects the comments or activities tab of the displayed
post feed module 417.
[0038] FIG. 4(b) illustrates an exemplary interface displaying a
user profile and other related information on a mobile client
device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As
shown in FIG. 4(b), a mobile interface 450 may display a subset of
the elements displayed in the user profile interface 411. For
example, the mobile interface 450 may display an update module 451
that provides an interface for the user to add new comments or
photos to their profile or post feed. A post feed module 452 may
display the user's news, comments and messages. The news, comments
and messages may be related to the user's activities, competitions,
groups, teams or initiatives, directed to or posted by the user, or
directed to or posted by other users that the user follows. The
post feed module 452 may additionally provide links to other feeds
including activities the user, the related teams, or the group are
participating in, a feed of photos and videos uploaded by members
of the user's teams, competitions, initiatives, or groups, or to
all the posts, comments, activities, photos and videos from the
post feed module 452 displayed in a single interface window.
[0039] A mobile interface 450 may additionally provide links to
display other interfaces 453, for example, there may be links to
display the available initiatives or the initiatives the user is
following, to display the group or team leaderboard indicating
which group members have accumulated the most points, to display
the user's success tracker or the rewards available for achieving a
goal, or to return to the user's post feed module.
[0040] A mobile interface 450 may facilitate efficient use of the
sustainability tracking system. For example, a user may view
actions within their initiatives for which participation will award
them points, notify the initiative moderator that they have
completed an action, upload photos or comments to illustrate their
completion of an action, rate the action or initiative, and add the
action to their post feed all via a mobile client device, thereby
allowing users to interact with the sustainability tracking system
while on the go, away from their computer or traditional client
device, or in real time, while engaged in sustainability tracking
system activities.
[0041] An initiative is an organizational tool for encouraging
activity related to a specific goal or topic within the
sustainability tracking system. FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary
record for an initiative 510 in the sustainability tracking system
according to an embodiment of the present invention. Each
initiative may have one or more moderators who are responsible for
creating and maintaining the initiative. Accordingly, the
initiative record 510 may include pointers to the user record for
one or more users designates as initiative moderators 511. The
initiative creator may be the default initiative moderator or an
individual within the group responsible for group administration
may be designated as the default moderator. An initiative creator
or moderator may additionally assign another user or initiative
member as the initiative moderator 511. An initiative record 510
may additionally include an initiative ID 512 which may be assigned
by the system as a unique identifier that identifies the initiative
in the system and an initiative name 513, which identifies the
initiative to the system users and may be descriptive of the
initiative. The initiative name 513 may be created by the
initiative moderator 511 during creation of the initiative or may
be edited by the initiative moderator 511 at a later time.
[0042] The initiative record may additionally include pointers
514.1-514.N identifying system users that have indicated an
interest in following or participating in the initiative. A new
pointer 514 may be created when a new user indicates a desire to
follow or join the initiative. The initiative moderator 511 may
have the option to regulate membership, either by setting a limit
to the number of members that can participate in the initiative, or
by refusing membership to individual system users. Membership might
be refused for example, if the initiative is only applicable to
users at a specific location.
[0043] An initiative record 510 may also contain pointers to one or
more actions 515.1-515.N. Actions may be activities or events
related to the initiative in which members might participate. As
shown, an action record 515 may include an action moderator 521.
The action moderator 521 may or may not be the same member as the
designated initiative moderator 511. Actions may be created by the
initiative creator or initiative moderator 511, by any member of
the initiative, or by a user having administrative or initiative
creation privileges. Actions may also be suggested or created by
any system user and adopted or accepted by the initiative moderator
511. The initiative moderator may additionally have the ability to
delete, remove, or otherwise alter the initiative and related
aspects. For example, an initiative moderator 511 may delete or
remove association of a resource with the initiative, or may
approve or delete actions. In some embodiments, an initiative
moderator 511 may need approval or permission from a group
administrator to significantly change the initiative, for example,
to delete an action or initiative. Additionally, initiative changes
may require group administrator approval if the affected initiative
or action has actively participating members.
[0044] The group administrator may have privileges that allow the
administrator to set initiative and system parameters. For example,
the group administrator may set default parameters and settings
that may then be applied to all initiatives in the group. In some
embodiments, the group administrator may set parameters for
individual initiatives. Parameters may be set when the
administrator approves a new initiative or after the initiative has
been created. The group administrator may additionally set
parameter defaults for a group or a category of initiative, for
example, new initiatives or initiatives created by a specific
category of user. Exemplary parameters that may be set by a group
administrator may include the total or maximum points available for
an initiative or action, the types of resources displayed or
collected in an interface module, etc.
[0045] An action record 515 may also include an action name 523 and
an action reward which may include a number of points awarded for
participation in the action 524, each of which may be set by the
action moderator 521 at the time of action creation. In some
embodiments, these aspects of the action record 515 may be revised
at a subsequent date. The action ID 522 may be a unique identifier
assigned by the sustainability tracking system and used to identify
the action within the system. As with the initiative, an action may
be associated with one or more resources 525.1-525.N, and optional
objects 526-528 that allow the action moderator 521 the flexibility
to define unique aspects of the action.
[0046] An action record 515 may contain other information not
listed, for example each action may have one or more ratings or
reviews of the action as submitted by action participants. Action
ratings may be used to identify popular actions or to identify
actions that require additional moderator oversight to maintain the
quality of group initiatives. An action record 515 may additionally
include a list of pointers indentifying system users that have
participated in or completed the action.
[0047] An initiative record 510 may include pointers to one or more
associated resources 516.1-516.N. A resource 516 may be any media
associated with the initiative, for example, photos and videos,
informative articles, links to relevant products, etc. A resource
516 may be associated with the initiative by the initiative
moderator 511 when creating the initiative, by a member 514 in an
initiative related comment or post, or automatically by the
sustainability tracking system. The sustainability tracking system
may automatically associate a resource 516 with an initiative based
on keywords or user rankings or other relevance parameters.
[0048] An initiative record 515 may include an identification of an
initiative reward 514 or initiative points 517. An initiative
member may be awarded participation points or other rewards for
participation in the initiative or completion of an initiative
related action. However, the number of points participants in an
initiative that may be awarded may be limited. Then the initiative
points 517 may include a record of the remaining points the
initiative may award. The initiative moderator 511 may assign a
number of points to each action, and then an initiative member 514
that participates in the action may receive the assigned action
points 524. In accordance with an embodiment, the total available
initiative points 517 may be periodically refreshed. For example,
every month or every quarter, the total available initiative points
may be restored or new awards made available. Additionally, in
accordance with an embodiment, the initiative moderator 511 may
request additional points. A group administrator may approve, or
the system may automatically approve the disbursement of additional
initiative points to the initiative record 510.
[0049] Each initiative may have predefined features that an
initiative creator is required to identify or that the system
automatically populates, as well as a plurality of optional
features that may be created or defined by the initiative creator
or moderator 511. The optional features may be generic objects
initialized by the initiative creator or moderator 511 that provide
the flexibility to create the initiative according to the
initiative creator or moderator's 511 design. For example, optional
objects 518.1-518N may include pointers to one or more subgroups or
teams competing in the initiative or optional objects 519-520 may
identify the score achieved by individuals or teams participating
in the initiative. Optional objects may allow for easy and
efficient initiative extensibility.
[0050] An initiative may be created by third parties and
prepackaged or may be created by a system user. Permission to
create a new initiative or action may be restricted to only a few
users with administrative privileges within the group, may be open
to all members of the group, or may be a reward granted to members
who are active in the group, for example, members at the top of the
group leaderboard or members that have reached a certain status
based on their accumulated point totals.
[0051] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary method 600 for creating an
initiative according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Initially, the system may receive a request from a system user to
create a new initiative (block 605). If the user does not have
permission to create a new initiative (block 610) the system may
deny the new initiative request. If the request is denied, an
alternate creation method may be available (block 615). An
alternative method of initiative creation may be coordinated by the
system (block 620). For example, the system may allow the user to
create the new initiative but require review and approval by a
group or system administrator before the new initiative is
activated. Or, the user may provide details for the new initiative
and submit the initiative idea. Then an initiative administrator or
other user with permission to create new initiatives may create a
new initiative to implement the ideas outlined in the new
initiative submission.
[0052] If the user does have permission to create a new initiative
(block 610), the system may facilitate the creation of a user may
create a new initiative record with details sufficient to
instantiate the new initiative (block 625). These details may
include the required elements of an initiative record or otherwise
include sufficient information for the system and system users to
identify and utilize the new initiative. For example, an initiative
moderator and name, one or more initiative related resources, or
one or more initiative unique objects may be defined upon creation
of an initiative. One or more actions or events may additionally be
created to provide initiative members with participation
opportunities (block 630).
[0053] Once an initiative is created, the initiative creator may
assign reward payouts which may be in the form of a points award
for completing the action (block 635). Point awards may be set for
each activity or action in which a member may participate. For
example, a set number of points may be awarded for each member that
participates in a defined action and additional points may be
awarded for verification that the member participated in the
action. Additionally, for competition based actions, a point scale
may be set to compensate the competition winners for their success.
The initiative creator may be restricted in setting the point
awards if, for example, the initiative has a limited number of
points to award or if the group has set a maximum award limit for
all initiatives and actions or for some initiatives and actions
that fall into a predetermined category, for example, new
initiatives, user created initiatives, or un-approved
initiatives.
[0054] Some actions may be added to each new initiative by default,
unless removed by the initiative moderator. For example, every
initiative may include an action that rewards the submission of an
initiative related resource, or for recommending the initiative to
another user that joins the initiative.
[0055] A new initiative may need approval of a system administrator
upon completion (block 640). If approval is required and approval
is not granted (block 645) the new initiative may be denied, may be
purged form the system, may be revised by the initiative moderator
to attempt to gain approval, or may otherwise await further action
(block 650). If approval is required for the new initiative and
approval is granted (block 645), or if approval is not required for
the new initiative (block 640), then the new initiative may be
activated and published (block 655). Publication may include
providing details about the new initiative in a group-wide or
system notification, for example, in an update message delivered to
system users. An update message may be a notification message
transmitted to system users either via a periodic update email, a
message presented in a post in the group users' post feeds, or
other notification message. Publication may additionally include an
update on the system homepage or otherwise spotlighting the
initiative in a general access page or system home page. A
completed and published initiative may then begin receiving
membership requests.
[0056] An initiative may be designed for participation by a single
member or a team of members. For single member initiatives, each
time a member participates in an action, that member may receive an
award of points as previously designated by the initiative creator
or moderator. For team initiatives, each member that participates
in a team activity may be rewarded, or only a subset of the
participants may be rewarded. Similarly, initiative actions may be
designed for participation by a single member or a team, with a
static total point award for each action completed dispersed among
the action participants. For competitions, the points awarded for
the completion of the action may be distributed according to the
results of the competition. The points may be awarded to all of the
participating members or teams on a sliding scale such that the
participant that wins the competition is awarded more points than
the other participants. Alternatively, the points may be awarded to
a subset of the participants at the top of the competition results.
The point or award disbursement may be determined by the action or
initiative moderator.
[0057] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary interface 700 displaying an
initiative on a client device according to an embodiment of the
present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, an initiative interface 700
may display an overview module 711 that identifies the initiative
and provides a brief description or introduction of the initiative.
The overview module 711 may provide links to an interface through
which a user may indicate an interest in the initiative or become a
member of the initiative. A user can follow (or become a fan of) an
initiative without becoming a member to receive news and
information updates, for example, the feed posts associated with
the initiative, or updates about new or upcoming actions or
competitions associated with the initiative.
[0058] An initiative interface 700 may additionally include a
member module 712 that has a list of recently added, recently
participating, or active members. For each member in the list, the
member module 712 may provide a link to a profile interface such
that members or users interested in the initiative may identify and
learn about members with similar interests. An initiative interface
700 may further include a photo album module 713. The photo album
module 713 may include photos, images and videos added by
initiative members, or photos, images and videos added by other
users but that are relevant to the initiative. The photos, images,
and videos displayed in the photo album module 713 may be limited
to items collected by members during participation in or completion
of an initiative activity or action. Alternatively, the items
displayed in the photo album module 713 may be limited items
collected during participation in a team or subgroup based
initiative activity or action. The limits on the items included in
the photo album module 713 may be set by the initiative creator or
moderator, may be set to systems defaults, or may be set by the
group administrator. The photo album module 713 may additionally
include an update module or a link to an interface that facilitates
upload of photos, videos, and other images by an initiative member
or other system user to the photo album collection of objects.
[0059] An actions module 715 may provide identification of the
actions associated with the initiative. The actions module 715 may
additionally provide links to an interface for each of the actions
currently associated with the user, or to add the actions to the
member's action list.
[0060] A post feed module 714 may display news, comments and other
items posted by initiative members and related to the initiative.
The news and comments may be related to the initiative actions,
competitions, teams or the initiative generally, posted by
initiative members. The post feed module 714 may additionally
provide links to other feeds including a specific post feed of
comments posted by initiative members, or to all the posts,
comments, actions, resources, photos and videos related to the
initiative displayed in a single interface window.
[0061] A post feed module 714 may additionally include an update
module that provides an interface for the initiative members to add
new comments or photos to the initiative post feed. A comment may
be a topic of interest related to the initiative, for example an
idea for a new action, a discussion on a current event, or links to
interesting articles or items. Photos uploaded via the post feed
module 714 may be extracted and added to the photo album module
713.
[0062] Referring back to FIG. 5, some initiative record elements
may not be accessible to the users and therefore not displayed on
the initiative interface 700, for example, the unique identifier
512 used by the sustainability tracking system to identify the
initiative record 510 throughout the system or the total points
available 517 for allocation to initiative participants.
[0063] Sustainability tracking system users may have the ability to
browse available initiatives through a search interface according
to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8(a) illustrates an
exemplary search interface 800 as displayed on a client device. As
shown in FIG. 8(a), a search interface 800 may display all
available initiatives or actions and provide a module for sorting
the initiatives and actions to facilitate identification of
initiatives according to the user's preferences. The search
interface 800 may additionally provide links to other interfaces
that display a limited set of available initiatives, for example,
the most popular initiatives, the most recently added or updated
initiatives, or the initiatives pending group administrator
approval. With location-based services, a user may additionally
search for local initiatives or actions taking place in the
vicinity of the user. Local initiatives and actions may be
displayed on a list or map to indicate a location for participation
in the initiative or action.
[0064] Sustainability tracking system users may have the ability to
submit notification of participation in an initiative action
through a take-action interface. FIG. 8(b) illustrates an exemplary
take-action interface 810 as displayed on a client device. As shown
in FIG. 8(b), a take-action interface 810 may display the actions
in which the user may participate. The available actions may
include open-ended actions which are not restricted by a time
limit, actions that are starting in the vicinity in the near
future, and any other actions that are available for any initiative
in which the user is a member. A user may access the take-action
interface 810 via a link in another interface, for example, from
the user interface or the success tracker module. Accessing the
take action interface 810 directly from an initiative interface may
limit the list of available actions displayed to those actions
related to the original initiative. From the list of available
actions, the user may select an action in which the user is or has
participated in. The selection of an action may provide access to a
post interface through which the user may submit participation
evidence and publish the action participation to a feed post. When
an action is successfully completed, the points awarded for the
action may be credited or distributed to the user.
[0065] The sustainability tracking system may automatically
distribute the appropriate participation points to the member or
may first require verification and approval. Verification may
include approval by an administrator or moderator, submission of a
verifying post by a second user, or submission of a resource that
evidences the user's participation in the action. An exemplary
evidentiary post or resource may include a photo of the user
participating in the action, a comment from a user congratulating
the member on a successful action, or a submission of recent GPS
activity as recorded on the member's mobile client indicating the
member's movements or position during event participation. In
accordance with an embodiment, a user or a moderator may submit the
names of individual members who have successfully completed an
action and request the appropriate point distribution. Other
conditions may additionally affect the award of points. For
example, if the member has already completed the action once, the
member may be restricted from completing the action a second time
or may receive fewer points for subsequent participation in the
same action.
[0066] Initiatives are designed to be flexible and encompass a
variety of different activities and actions. Several exemplary
initiatives are described below, each initiative illustrating an
exemplary initiative directive or goal and the types of activities
an initiative may organize. Although exemplary initiatives are
described herein, the sustainability tracking system is designed to
provide the flexibility to allow system users to define and design
their own initiatives, limited only by their own creativity. The
provided examples should be considered only exemplary and not
limiting embodiments of an initiative.
Bike to Work
[0067] A neighborhood bike to work initiative may be created for
people who live in or near a particular area and from which they
may bike to work. The initiative may be created so that members
from the neighborhood can leave their homes at approximately the
same time and bike along the safest route, as suggested by the
initiative moderator. Other members can join the group anywhere
along the designated safe route. The positive reinforcement of a
group activity as well as the additional points awarded for each
day biked may encourage members to bike to work more often.
[0068] Another initiative member that is good at fixing bikes, for
example adjusting brakes, balancing gears, and making sure the
tires are optimally filled may add a date sensitive action to the
actions list for the bike to work initiative. The new action may
offer a bike tuning session to be conducted at a predetermined time
and place in the near future. The action creator may receive bonus
points for creating and organizing the action and may have the
responsibility to monitor and report attendance. Verified attendees
may then be awarded points. If an initiative member submits an
action completion notification, the member may be awarded
participation points. If the member is then also identified in the
verified attendance list, additional points may be awarded. A
verified participant may not submit a participation notification
but may still be awarded participation points.
[0069] An initiative member using a mobile client may access the
initiative interface from a mobile device. From the list of actions
available for the initiative, the member may view additional
actions that can be taken to earn points, for example in the bike
to work initiative, an action of biking among buildings may be
listed and may inspire the member to bike to his next meeting. The
action may award additional points for uploading a photo, so for
example, the member may upload a picture of their bike leaning
against the sign for a first building and a second sign for a
second building. Then the member may post his action completion
notification. Notification that the member has performed the action
will go to the initiative moderator for approval and the
disbursement of award points to the member as required.
Vampire Hunters
[0070] Another exemplary initiative is a vampire hunters game. A
"vampire" is an identified power drain, or item that is
unnecessarily using energy, for example, a rarely used device that
is left powered on or plugged in to an adapter that has a
continuous power draw. In the vampire hunters initiative,
individuals or team members identify locations of vampire power
drains throughout a predetermined area, for example a single
building or the local campus. The goal is to find and document the
most examples of vampires within the designated location, for
example phone chargers, lights, video screens, and computers not
being used but left on. The power draining items and locations may
be entered into a database or otherwise tracked. From the collected
power drain locations, the sustainability tracking system may
estimate the total power wasted by the identified vampire, map the
location of all of the vampires or just the worst offenders, or
produce a graph or other visualization of the levels of wasted
power. The resulting visualization, whether a map, diagram, or
table may then be available to all group members. When a vampire
has been eliminated, the visualization could be updated to show
changes as methods for saving energy and draining less power are
implemented. Additionally the list of identified vampires may be
utilized by facilities or maintenance to install more energy
efficient devices in those locations.
[0071] FIGS. 9(a)-9(d) illustrate exemplary initiative interfaces
for a vampire hunters initiative according to an embodiment of the
present invention. An individual member of the vampire hunters
initiative may identify and document energy vampires as they are
discovered, the more energy vampires discovered by the member, the
more points the member may accrue. An energy vampire may be
documented by identifying the location of the energy vampire on a
map, uploading a photo of the vampire, or otherwise reporting
information that identifies the energy vampire. FIG. 9(a)
illustrates an exemplary introduction interface or splash screen
for a vampire hunting initiative. FIG. 9(b) illustrates an
exemplary visualization of identified vampires. FIG. 9(c)
illustrates an exemplary identification and reporting interface as
displayed on a client device. FIG. 9(d) illustrates an exemplary
interface displaying individual or team scores for a vampire
hunters initiative as displayed on a client device.
[0072] An initiative member may alternatively organize a team
vampire hunter competition such that at a pre-arranged time,
members from different subgroups or teams compete to see who can
find and document the most vampires, for example, building A
against building C or the members of floor 5 against the members of
floor 3. The subgroup that identifies the most energy vampires
within a specified period of time will be considered the winning
team. The points awarded to a member for participating in the
initiative may awarded simply for participation in the initiative,
based on the member's standing in the initiative leaderboard, or
based on the number of unique energy vampires identified by the
member.
Image Wall
[0073] An image wall may be a stand alone initiative or an action
that may be added to an existing initiative. For an image wall, a
mosaic may be created of resources including photos and images,
quotes, and ideas that users have uploaded that are relevant to the
initiative. To create the mosaic, grids with different-sized
rectangles may be available and users may choose which resource
should be placed in each rectangle. Alternatively, the system may
automatically create the resource mosaic with a random placement of
resources that may result in a unique quilt effect. In another
embodiment, a resource may be restricted to a particular size and
shape, and creating the mosaic may be achieved by fitting the
resources together as if they were part of a jigsaw puzzle.
[0074] A mosaic may be published as a souvenir upon completion of
an initiative containing images and comments uploaded for or
otherwise related to the initiative, may be added to the initiative
post feed or the post feed for participating members, may reflect a
work in progress, may be displayed or printed and posted to
showcase an initiative and attract more members, or may simply be
added to the library of resources stored by the sustainability
tracking system.
[0075] Establishing and maintaining user interest in the
sustainability system goals and activities is addressed by
providing incentives that encourage individuals to utilize the
features and participate in the activities of the sustainability
tracking system. Incentives may be provided competition prompted by
published leaderboards and other published action results,
published notifications detailing individual accomplishments, or
goods and services awarded for user participation in system
activities.
[0076] Competition may be a strong motivator that encourages
participation in sustainability tracking system activities. As
previously noted, a user may gain points for each initiative or
action participated in, and the award of points may provide an
incentive for the individual to participate in new activities.
Additionally, an individual member's participation in the
sustainability tracking system may be published to the group,
either by posting the total number of points acquired over a period
of time, or by indicating a point milestone achieved by the user,
for example, a participation status of silver may reflect
achievement of a point milestone of a predetermined number of
points that represents participation levels. Alternatively,
according to an embodiment, a silver status may reflect an average
participation level whereas a participation status of gold may
reflect an above average participation level. The member's
participation may additionally be published to third party websites
or otherwise transmitted to third parties. For example, the member
may choose to publish their accomplishments to a social networking
website, such as facebook or twitter, or may choose to send an
email to their friends or family to notify them of the
accomplishment.
[0077] FIG. 10(a) illustrates an exemplary leaderboard interface
that identifies the top point scorers in the group according to an
embodiment of the present invention. A group leaderboard may
facilitate friendly competition between group members and provide
additional motivation to participate in system activities. As shown
in FIG. 10(a), individual members may look up and compare their
point score to another known member. This may allow members that
are not displayed at the top of the leaderboard to compete against
their friends and family.
[0078] A group leaderboard may be cumulative, indicating the total
points accumulated by group members. Or the leaderboard may be
periodically reset, every year, quarter, or month for example, to
allow new members a chance to achieve notoriety at the top of the
leaderboard and encourage competition among members after a subset
of members have been at the top of the leaderboard for a
period.
[0079] As shown in FIG. 10(b) a leaderboard may be displayed for a
subgroup, initiative, or competition. Then the members of a
competition, subgroup or initiative may see the leader standings
for the subgroup. A system user may see the leaderboards for each
subgroup of which they are a member from a single leaderboard
interface.
[0080] System users may additionally be encouraged to participate
in sustainability tracking system activities by providing system
content that is often updated and refreshed, consistently providing
new and interesting content. Image content displayed on a system
homepage or initiative interface, for example, may be pulled from a
resource library of helpful links, articles, photos, videos and
other information. The resource library may contain pre-loaded
resources. Resources may additionally be submitted by group members
and added to the resource library. Resources may be promoted or
demoted by the group members such that resources with a high
ranking, or a ranking above a predetermined threshold, may be
displayed more often and resources with a low ranking may be
removed from the display rotation.
[0081] User specific information may be updated with similar
frequency, for example, each time a user participates in a
recurring initiative (bike to work for example), the user's
activity may be reflected in a dynamically updated map displayed on
the initiative page, the system homepage, or the user's profile.
This ability to see at a glance which subgroups have the greatest
participation may be a source of bragging rights, facilitate
friendly competition, and may attract new and repeat users to the
sustainability tracking system and the various initiative
interfaces. A user might also be encouraged to participate in an
initiative if they were notified that multiple members of the
user's subgroups were participating in initiative activities.
[0082] Participation is further encouraged where the points earned
for participation initiative activities may be redeemed for
rewards. FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary method for awarding
participation points to sustainability tracking system users
according to an embodiment of the present invention. To claim
participation points, a user may first access the initiative in
which they want to report participation (block 1105).
[0083] According to an embodiment, a user may only claim
participation and receive points from initiatives in which the user
is a member. Accordingly, if the user accessing the initiative is
not a member (block 1110), the system may prompt for or receive
from the user a membership request (block 1115). Upon receiving a
membership request, approval by an initiative moderator or system
administrator may be required before membership is granted (block
1120). If membership approval is required, and membership is
approved (block 1125), the system may add the user to the
membership for the initiative record. Membership may be denied
(block 1130) for example, if the initiative has reached a maximum
capacity, if membership is limited to a closed group of users, a
department, building or family for example, or for other
reasons.
[0084] If an approved member accesses the initiative, the member
may additionally access a list of actions in which the member may
participate (block 1135). The user may then submit a notification
indicating participation in the action (block 1140). Points may
then be awarded to the member according to the predefined
disbursement rules set by the initiative moderator (block 1145). In
accordance with an aspect of an embodiment, the points may be
awarded automatically upon submission of the notification, or the
points may not be awarded without first receiving approval or
verification from the initiative moderator.
[0085] According to another aspect, the member may have the option
to receive additional points if the member submits verification
information with the participation notification. If verification
earns the member additional points, and verification is submitted
(block 1150), the member may be awarded additional points (block
1155). Verification may include submission of a post or comment
containing photographic evidence of participation, submission of a
resource that represents a souvenir of the participation, a post by
another member commenting on the participation, an attendance list
uploaded or confirmed by an action or initiative moderator or other
information uploaded to the system. The initiative moderator may
restrict the type of submission that will be accepted as
verification.
[0086] Group members may additionally earn points when an
initiative the member actively participates in results in a
calculable reduction in related energy usage. This may encourage
other users to participate in successful initiatives.
[0087] Points may be used as a measure of participation and to
encourage friendly competition, as through a leaderboard for
example. Additionally, earned points may be redeemed for other
rewards. For example, points may be redeemed for coupons, gift
certificates, goods or services, or intangible rewards such as time
in a premium parking spot or extra hours of paid time off. User
profile features or customizable interfaces may additionally be
held out as rewards, for example a user may earn the ability to add
additional icons, or animations to their profile, to download a
game or widget for their client device, or to change their profile
and system interface theme.
[0088] A system administrator may determine the number of points or
the types of awards available to system participants. For example,
the system administrator may have a set budget and according to
that budget, determine the number and types of awards available to
the system users as a whole or specifically to each initiative, the
number of points needed to earn specific awards, or the number of
points available to each initiative for a period.
[0089] Members who create or moderate an initiative, action, or
competition may have the ability to set the point distribution for
participating members or to identify specific rewards for
initiative winners. The moderator may additionally specify reward
distribution by identifying reward ranges. Reward ranges may
provide rewards to users according to tiers of rewards, and the
tiers available for an initiative may be determined by the
initiative budget. For example, a member may be able to select an
award for participation from a first tier of awards, and a
different award for winning a competition from a second tier of
awards.
[0090] User participation in the sustainability tracking system may
be further facilitated by ensuring the information provided to the
system users comes from a trusted source. To ensure the information
presented to users is trustworthy, the sustainability tracking
system may maintain a resource library consisting of resources that
were either pre-loaded into the sustainability tracking system or
uploaded to the sustainability tracking system by trusted group
members. FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary record for a resource
1210 in the sustainability tracking system according to an
embodiment of the present invention. As previously noted, resources
may include links to valuable online resources, articles, websites,
tips related to making changes in behavior relevant to an
initiative, video clips and images, or inspiring quotes and other
facts or snippets of information.
[0091] A resource may include a resource ID 1211 which uniquely
identifies the resource in the system and a resource name 1212
which identifies the resource to the system users and may be
descriptive of the resource. The resource ID 1211 may be assigned
by the system as a unique identifier. The resource name 1212 may be
created by the system during resource detection and creation or
assigned by a group administrator or initiative moderator. Where
applicable, the resource record 1210 may additionally include a
pointer to the resource source post or comment 1213 or to the
member who originally submitted the source post or comment where
applicable. Additionally, the resource record 1210 may include
member ratings 1214.1-1214.N for the resource. A new rating 1214
may be created when a user provides feedback rating the source
comment or the resource itself. Other related resource history 1215
may be stored with the resource record 1210. For example, a
resource may generate significant traffic that may be tracked by
the system and associated with the resource record 1210, other
resources may be associated with the resource record 1210, or a
pointer to the member that submitted the resource or the initiative
associated with the resource may be stored as part of the resource
record 1210.
[0092] Users may rate or rank a resource such that highly rated
resources may be displayed more often. Resources may additionally
receive a rating based on the number of users viewing the resource,
the number of posts linking to the resource, or the number of
comments posted about the resource. Through the rating system, a
photo or clip of the week may be chosen and displayed. A user who
submits a highly rated resource may additionally receive rewards
points for submitting high quality or high interest resources.
Highly rated resources associated with an initiative may highlight
successful initiatives and encourage new members to participate in
a featured initiative.
[0093] Resources may be identified and tracked or stored in a
resource library. FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary method for
identifying a submitted resource according to an embodiment of the
present invention. For example, a user may submit a comment
updating a post feed, a notification of participation, or some
other submission to the system (block 1310). The system may receive
the comment or notification and parse the submission to identify
any submitted resources (block 1315). As previously noted, a
resource may include photos and videos, informative articles, links
to relevant products or websites, sustainability tips, quotes, or
other facts or snippets of information. If the comment does not
include a resource, the comment itself may be considered a
resource. However, not all comments are considered resources. A
comment may be considered a resource for any of several reasons,
for example if it generates a significant amount of traffic or
click-throughs, if it receives a significant number of or
predetermined number of comments, if a predetermined number of
members link to the comment in another post or comment, or if the
comment receives consistently positive ratings (blocks 1320,
1325).
[0094] An identified resource may then be stored in the resource
library (block 1330). Resources in the resource library may be
published and made viewable to the users of the sustainability
tracking system (block 1335). Resources may be displayed to users
throughout the system, for example on the system homepage, on a
user profile page, on an initiative page, or in an update message.
Additionally, a user may search the resource library for published
resources. Then, resources that have received positive reviews, or
that are informative on a sustainability topic may be accessed on
demand at the user's convenience.
[0095] Additional information related to a previously published
resource may be tracked by the sustainability tracking system
(block 1340). For example, the comments and traffic generated by
the resource may be stored or tracked, the ratings for the resource
may be stored or tracked, or a subsequent submission that may
directly update, confirm, or contradict the resource may be stored
or tracked. Upon submission of additional information, resources
stored in the resource library may then be updated as appropriate
(block 1345). The new information or a pointer to the new
information stored in the system may then be stored with the
resource.
[0096] Thus the sustainability tracking system may automatically
track documents, images and links shared by members of the group,
and create a repository. The resources may be organized by subgroup
or initiative as applicable. Users may access and search the
resource library through a resource library interface, or may be
organized and browse-able by group, subgroup, or initiative. Thus
users do not have to keep track of interesting and informative
resources on their own, but can access them at any time. As a user
becomes familiar with the concepts advanced by the sustainability
tracking system, easy and reliable access to information may
improve the user experience, may enhance the user's trust in the
sustainability tracking system, and may encourage participation in
sustainability tracking system initiatives and actions.
[0097] Additional exemplary resources may include a 3-D map of a
group's buildings or campuses with areas glowing with different
intensity according to current or recent or historic power usage or
hotspots mapped to a floor plan. Similarly, real time images could
be captured as a time-lapse video over the course of a day and
saved to the system, so that users may access such visualizations
via their sustainability tracking system membership. Such a
resource may generate data visualizations comparing usage by
different subgroups or individuals as well as showing usage over
time.
[0098] Additionally, the inherent untrustworthiness of a self
reported system may be remedied by encouraging verification
activities. As previously noted, verification may include approval
by an administrator or moderator, submission of a verifying post by
a second user, or submission of a resource that evidences the
user's participation in the action. An evidentiary post or resource
may include a photo of the user participating in the action, a
comment from a user congratulating the member on a successful
action, or a submission of location based information from recent
GPS activity as recorded on the member's mobile client indicating
the member's movements or position during event participation.
Verified participation may be worth more points than a
self-reported participation that was not verified.
[0099] The group may additionally be self-policed, as part of the
rating system, members may flag other members or posts or
initiatives as inappropriate or questionable. A system
administrator or initiative moderator may then take steps to either
verify the questionable post or restrict posting access and rewards
for certain members.
[0100] Initially, users may be more likely to participate in
sustainability tracking system initiatives if participation in the
initiatives easily fits within their lifestyle. Then, once a user
is an active participant, the previously discussed incentives may
encourage further participation. To make participation simple,
sustainability tracking system access and initiative participation
may be achieved from a variety of easy to use platforms. For
example, through a webpage accessible via the Internet, through a
client application running on the user's system and connected to a
group's Intranet, or through an application installed on a mobile
device. Access from each of the various platforms may be intuitive
and switching between platforms may be seamless.
[0101] For example, users may quickly access their profile and
active initiatives from a handheld mobile device. Then a user may
upload photos, update their post feed, or submit a participation
notification from the mobile device. Participation may be recorded
during an action or event or immediately following completion of an
action. Thus, the user need not log-on and provide updates from a
specific client device or at a specific time that may occur long
after the action has been completed. Immediate access to the system
features from multiple different devices also may provide an
opportunity to advertise actions as they are occurring. Then local
members may observe posts related to the action in real time and
join fellow members in participating in the action.
[0102] A sustainability tracking system user may receive updates
and notifications through a variety of communication methods, for
example, a user may receive a periodic update email listing the top
10 most popular initiatives in the sustainability tracking system,
a description highlighting any new initiatives created in the
sustainability tracking system, new actions available for the
user's subscribed initiatives, upcoming competitions, as well as
the leaderboard for the group or for individual initiatives. The
periodic update may be sent weekly, daily, monthly, or quarterly,
or not at all according to the user's preferences. Additionally, a
user may receive notifications, for example a pop up or an SMS
message that provides notice when an initiative in which the user
has membership has an upcoming competition or action for which the
member has indicated an interest in participating.
[0103] Although the disclosed embodiments discuss a sustainability
tracking system, in some implementations, the features disclosed
herein may be applicable to other systems that encourage individual
member participation, facilitate the growth of trust in the system,
provide flexible methods for interacting with the system and user
input, and are implemented on an organization level.
[0104] The foregoing discussion identifies platforms and devices
that may be used by users of a sustainability tracking system
constructed according to various embodiments of the present
invention. In practice, this system may be applied in a variety of
devices, such as personal computing systems and/or mobile devices.
In some applications, the modules described hereinabove may be
provided as elements of an integrated software system, in which the
blocks may be provided as separate elements of a computer program.
Some embodiments may be implemented, for example, using a
computer-readable storage medium or article which may store an
instruction or a set of instructions that, if executed by a
processor, may cause the processor to perform a method in
accordance with the embodiments. Other applications of the present
invention may be embodied as a hybrid system of dedicated hardware
and software components. Moreover, not all of the modules described
herein need be provided or need be provided as separate units. Such
implementation details are immaterial to the operation of the
present invention unless otherwise noted above.
[0105] The exemplary method and computer program instructions may
be embodied on a machine readable storage medium such as a computer
disc, optically-readable media, magnetic media, hard drives, RAID
storage device, and flash memory. In addition, a server or database
server may include machine readable media configured to store
machine executable program instructions. The features of the
embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in
hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof and utilized
in systems, subsystems, components or subcomponents thereof. When
implemented in software, the elements of the invention are programs
or the code segments used to perform the necessary tasks. The
program or code segments can be stored on machine readable storage
media. The "machine readable storage media" may include any medium
that can store information. Examples of a machine readable storage
medium include electronic circuits, semiconductor memory device,
ROM, flash memory, erasable ROM (EROM), floppy diskette, CD-ROM,
optical disk, hard disk, fiber optic medium, or any electromagnetic
or optical storage device. The code segments may be downloaded via
computer networks such as Internet, Intranet, etc.
[0106] While the invention has been described in detail above with
reference to some embodiments, variations within the scope and
spirit of the invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill
in the art. Thus, the invention should be considered as limited
only by the scope of the appended claims.
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