Kanton

First page you get to when starting the app for the first time.

This page gives the user a general idea of what steps are involved in using the app. The start button will start them off. Other than this button, there is nothing else to do.

Setting goal

The four steps have now moved to the top, with one emphasised. This is to make it easy for the user to understand the navigation. All the user have to do on this page is to write down what their goal is.

Find peers / race

Based on what the user wrote on the previous page, Carrot have produced a list of races that seem to have similar goals as the user has. The user can now browse the different races and find one that fits them. If they can’t find one, they can create their own race.

Waiting for the race to begin

Each race will have a starting point and an end point in time. During the time before the race starts, people can join the race, check out the other members of the group, and start messaging and commenting.

Race time

Once the race starts, the race timeline page is what the user will be visiting. Here their workouts (or other activities) are posted automatically, and they can also post on this timeline.

Most of us has at one time or another decided to make a change that we know would benefit us. There is not shortage of people who want to loose weight, be more active, get the sleep we need, be stronger, or just be able to go for a 5 mile run without being sick. Yet when it comes to putting in the work to reach our goals, the initial enthusiasm quickly vanes.

Conversely, most of us have also had the experience of effortlessly pushing ourselves to perform with one powerful incentive: to win. On the football field, in the boxing ring, or on the tennis court, we push ourselves to be better then others and are motivated by the thought of winning the price as much as we are deterred by the thought of loosing.

Improving our health by walking more, going for runs, or eating better are prone to failure because they are often lonely endeavours without a clear, short term carrot or stick. That’s how the idea for Carrot was born: What if you would have a peer group with similar goals to yours with whom you could engage in friendly competition!

Carrot will enable users to find a group of people with similar goals, and then compete to reach that goal. The Carrot app will show the user what the other group members are doing to reach the goal, which gives you incentive to also take action. It’s one thing to sit in the sofa and think that you “should” go for a run. It’s another to see that Tom just came back from one and he’s going to beat you unless you go too.

but it gets better…

Carrot will also make it very easy to track your own and other’s progress. Carrot will be able to collect data from most popular health tracking devices, such as Fitbits, the iPhone step counter data, smart scales, etc. For example, if you go for a run and use your Fitbit to track the session, the workout you just did will automatically be uploaded to Carrot and your peers will be able to see that you are working towards the goal.

Carrot helps users utilise the natural human motivation to compete and to have a peer group to achieve goals that are normally lonely and difficult to achieve. Seeing what other competitors are doing and the ability to interact and be part of a community will provide the motivation needed to make those new years resolutions more than just beautiful plans.

So stay tuned as Carrot grows!