Fitocracy is an online game and social network that aims to use gamification to help users improve their fitness. It has received coverage from mainstream media sources.

History

Fitocracy was founded by

Dick Talens Richard Talens is an entrepreneur and fitness coach. He is the founder of Fitocracy, an online game and social network with over 10 million users. According to The Economist, Talens came up with the idea of Fitocracy from his past as a geek who p ...

and Brian Wang. Both were self-described computer nerds who had succeeded in improving their own fitness and decided that game mechanics could help others to do the same. Fitocracy launched in February 2011, using an invite system to control new user signups. Invite codes were initially distributed through sites such as

Reddit Reddit (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") submit content to the site such as links, text posts, images ...

. In November 2011, the site introduced advertising, along with a paid option, known as Fitocracy Hero, which was ad-free and offered additional features. By then, Fitocracy claimed to have 120,000 users and a waiting list of a further 120,000. In January 2012, Fitocracy began a partnership with

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...

in which the site would be used to host the Red Bull Fitness Challenge. By the end of January 2012, Fitocracy claimed a user base of 230,000 registered members. In March 2012, Fitocracy launched an app for

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

devices. In January 2013, Fitocracy launched an app for

Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...

. In March 2013, Fitocracy reached one million users and announced a collaboration with

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

, which challenges users to exercise for 15 minutes per day. In August 2014, Fitocracy was listed as one of ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' Best Websites of 2014. Fitocracy was acquired in 2016 by an unnamed buyer. In October 2017 it was announced that Fitocracy had reached 12.5 million active users.

Game

Fitocracy users log their exercise activity by selecting from a collection of activities such as weight lifting or

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

and entering details such as weight lifted or distance run. Points are awarded based on the estimated fitness benefit of each activity. Users must reach points thresholds in order to ''

level up Level Up may refer to: Film and TV *Level Up (2016 film), a British thriller film * ''Level Up'' (American TV series), a Cartoon Network live action series ** ''Level Up'' (2011 film), the movie pilot for the Cartoon Network series * ''Level Up' ...

''.

Quests and achievements

The site presents users with '' quests'' to perform for additional points, typically consisting of a set of related activities. Particularly significant fitness milestones are recognized with

achievement Achievement may refer to: *Achievement (heraldry) *Achievement (horse), a racehorse *Achievement (video gaming), a meta-goal defined outside of a game's parameters See also * Achievement test for student assessment * Achiever, a personality type ...

badges.

Social networking

In addition to the game, Fitocracy also provides a

social network A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for an ...

which enables users to follow other users, view and comment on their workouts and join groups for specific interests.

Reception

Fitocracy was initially covered by technology and gaming focused media, such as

TechCrunch TechCrunch is an American online newspaper focusing on high tech and startup companies. It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare. In 2010, AOL acquired the company for approximately ...

, ''

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'', ''

Lifehacker ''Lifehacker'' is a weblog about life hacks and software that launched on January 31, 2005. The site was originally launched by Gawker Media and is currently owned by G/O Media. The blog posts cover a wide range of topics including: Microsoft W ...

'', ''

Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...

'', and ''

Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. History ' ...

''. As it grew, it was covered by more mainstream media, including ''

Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (sometimes PM or PopMech) is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do-it-yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation and transportation o ...

'', ''

The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper printed from 1987 to 2016, when it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainmen ...

'',

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' and ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

''.

2012 Shorty Awards

Fitocracy was nominated in the 2012

Shorty Awards The Shorty Awards (also known as “The Shortys”) honors the most innovative work globally in digital and social media by brands, agencies, nonprofits and creators. The Shortys’ mission is to celebrate, inspire and push the boundaries of exce ...

. Although it received the most votes in its category, Social Fitness, it was not selected as the winner by the judges.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.fitocracy.com/ American social networking websites Gamification