Global warming is quickly becoming one of the
most important issues facing humankind, and has brought about concerns
regarding sustainable practices, especially within western societies. In order
to address this issue, we have designed a Facebook application that aims at
creating a culture of conservation, through providing its users with
information on their energy usage. Employing an application through Facebook
provides a platform to communicate to thousands of individuals and communities
within our target audience who reside in various geographic locations. Social
networks, such as Facebook, have become more than a mere source of
entertainment – they are a means to communicate new ideas, become an active
voice in a community, and more importantly, they are an opportunity to
influence culture.
Our approach to designing the application was
guided by a user-focused process, which has led us to create an enjoyable and
informative user experience. Our system
provides its users with an interface that acts as a virtual garden, where their
participation in energy conscious activities effects the growth of plants
within that space. Users are also provided with information on their energy
consumption, along with the consumption of their friends and communities, which
can be generated through data from electricity providers. Visualizing this
information is used to raise awareness of unsustainable practices through
providing individuals feedback on energy consumption within their communities.
In doing so, our system acts as means to change energy consumption behavior
towards more sustainable practices, not only in individuals, but within society
at large.