I have spent the last few months pulling together a bunch of thoughts and ideas to help people lead healthier and more active lives using online social networks and gaming dynamics. I want to encourage people to take small steps to improve their lives and have fun doing it. Almost five years ago I took a few small steps to change my life. I admitted I needed to change and asked for help. I took a few small steps that led me to a rich (i.e. full not wealthy!) and fulfilling life. Realizing that so many people want to make a change but don’t necessarily have the tools and encouragement to do so, I founded Mambo Health Gaming with a former Capstone Partners colleague, Tim Schmidt, this past summer Here’s what we’re working on:
What does Mambo do?
MamboHG develops and markets online and mobile health games that entertain, challenge, encourage and motivate people to take incremental positive steps to lead healthy lives. Our portfolio of products combines well-researched health behavior change theories with recent developments in online social networks, social media, and gaming tactics to sustain engagement and build healthy habits. Our products utilize goal setting and tracking tools, peer support, competition, education, entertainment, visualization and rewards to produce positive long term behavior change.
We have a number of products at various stages of development. Our goal is to have a portfolio of products delivered over various platforms targeting different demographics and, potentially different chronic diseases. Our products range from simple reminder applications for mobile devices incorporating geo-location elements to casual social games played on Facebook. Each of our games will be designed to encourage small positive actions as the building blocks of developing healthy habits.
Below is a brief summary of some of our product initiatives:
MamboWalk – An Everyday Walk-a-thon
MamboHG plans to quickly develop and launch a social networking product aimed at
complementing the fund-raising capabilities of thousands of non-for-profit organizations and help millions of volunteer fund-raisers to improve their health. The platform is a virtual walk-a-thon called MamboWalk where fund-raisers raise money for the charities of their choice for each step they take every day. The MamboWalk website will connect with Facebook and will allow users to sign up to choose their organization, recruit sponsors, create teams, report their progress and view their accomplishments.
Participants will log their steps using either connected pedometers (e.g. iPhone apps) or manually entering their steps recorded on an unconnected pedometer. Fund-raisers will be rewarded with points and badges for achieving certain milestones, such as building teams, raising funds and accomplishing walking activities.
HabitMaker- Small actions to build healthy habits
HabitMaker is a mobile device application designed to encourage healthy behavior changes through simple reminders throughout the day. Users receive tasks and reminders to take small actions that improve their health and create awareness to build healthy habits. Users receive points for completion of the tasks. Users can customize their reminders for specific goals or even to break bad habits. Think of it as the digital string on the finger.
FutureMe - A Facebook game for health
FutureME is a comprehensive online, interactive health platform consisting of two major
components: a consumer facing website and an online social networking game. The FutureME platform includes an interactive social networking game that links the accomplishment of real life goals with a reward system based on the accumulation of virtual currency with value in a virtual online gaming world. The FutureME program is intended to require the user to post and record real life activities in order to play the
game online thus encouraging positive behavior changes.
Crystal Ball - Creating your own Self Fulfilling Prophecy
Crystal Ball uses the power of creating a Vision Board to see the types of results you are interested in attaining through small changes in behavior. It will engage a player to create a picture of the future healthy lifestyle they want to attain.
What's new, interesting, or different about what your company will do?
MamboHg is positioned at the intersection of three important trends: social media, gaming and health information to collect and use this data in a positive way. MamboHG’s approach is to focus on changing health behavior by capitalizing on the dramatic changes in the way people connect and interact with each other using social media. Now, more data can be captured, analyzed and shared in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago. While there is no silver bullet to change health behavior, we approach health behavior in a fun way. We talk about people and games and rewards and encouragement from friends. We talk about entertainment and celebration. We don't talk about patients and compliance and protocols and requirements. We bring games to health.
Millions of people around the world suffer from poor health and wellness decisions and behaviors. Two thirds of Americans alone are overweight or obese. These trends, combined with an aging population are driving up healthcare costs globally. It is estimated that over 50% of all healthcare expenditures are associated with unhealthy lifestyles and are therefore avoidable. Most experts agree that a major part of the solution to rising health care costs is an emphasis on prevention and lifestyle changes.
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