Technology for Change: Keas

With summer just around the corner, many people are thinking about starting (or sticking with) a healthy eating and fitness regimen. At this year’s SXSWi, a panel called “Can Gaming Make the World Better?” introduced us to Keas, an online social gaming platform that encourages healthy diet, exercise and stress management. Keas CTO and Co-founder, Adam Bosworth was there to talk about how his startup uses social gaming to help people live healthier lifestyles. 

Keas sells employers on the benefits of “wellness as a business strategy”. (They offer a free e-book download on this subject on their website.) The idea is that happier, healthier and more engaged employees are more productive. Healthy lifestyles also lead to lower healthcare costs, which helps the company’s bottom line.

Keas

Keas reports a 70% sustained engagement rate, with the average user posting on the game’s social network twice a week. The keys to Keas’s success are the team aspect (co-workers form teams of up to six people and compete with other teams), and positive reinforcement in the form of badges, accomplishments and, in some cases, monetary rewards from employers.

The Keas platform is changing the way people use employee wellness programs by offering a fun, social, online way to engage with co-workers and get / stay healthy! Keas has gotten a lot of press and positive testimonials. Check out their website to learn more: http://keas.com/.

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Interested in other ways technology is used to help people live healthier lifestyles? Check out “Apps for Healthy Kids”. These apps were chosen through a USDA competition linked to Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign to end childhood obesity within a generation.

Singlebrook’s T4C campaign spotlights entrepreneurs and organizations that are using technology in unique ways to scale their ideas and create a massive impact. We are also creating our own high impact T4C projects. Check them out at: singlebrook.com/t4c. Share your stories of T4C or other inspirational resources and tips on Twitter (@Singlebrook) using #SBT4C and on the T4C Facebook group, or contact us to be spotlighted in an upcoming feature interview or blog article!