28 May 2012

Benchmarking concept

Innovation idea #1 (vs. a "project idea" which can be immediately implemented, whereas the “innovation idea" is probably something that can be weaved into a project).

Assumption: users love to compare their performance in anything and everything.

Conclusion: give them the ability to benchmark themselves – against "circles" of people: family, friends, equivalent users (for sports, that would be men of similar conditions for instance), users in same neighbourhood / country, etc..

This idea stemmed from that paragraph in the New York Times article:

"The neatest part, though, is comparing yourself with other riders who have done the same ride. This can be humbling. I’m proud to say that I can hit 30 miles an hour on the downhills in Central Park. But a rider named Rod Millott’s average speed for the entire loop around the park is nearly that fast, and he has done the six-mile route in 12 minutes 33 seconds. Sheesh. Be warned, there are a lot of people like Mr. Millott using this app. For some more reasonable competition, you can also follow your friends."