We are seeing an explosion of smart, inexpensive technologies that can be used to track activities and support the move to the quantified self. That is very interesting to me, but what is more interesting is making this social. Research into why people keep exercising consistently shows that stress relief and social connection are critical.
There is an increasing number of smart phone apps like Strava that not only allow you to track your exercise but also allow the sharing and comparing of that data with friends. Whenever my schedule allows, I prefer to ride with the local biking club -- but for the times individual rides between I can use the compare features to see how I rank on the tougher hills of my ride.
So what about taking the social aspect of group exercise to the next level? I had the good fortune to meet the founders of the Healthy Communities Institute who are supporting connected communities. I call this the quantified community ... so instead of just measuring yourself, your community tracks public health by establishing real-time data dashboards that leverage easy to understand green/yellow/red widgets. As a founder of a health information exchange (HIE), I find this approach really intriguing.
Before you say "my community is not that progressive" watch what Owensboro, Kentucky did to support public health as they established community health dashboard.
What is your community doing to improve health and well-being?
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