What is Revel?
What's a challenge?
Why are you doing this?
How can I take part?
Where can I download the app?
What are Revel's technical capabilities?
How does communication work with the app and between players?
What are the challenge topics?
What makes a good challenge?
Who can propose a challenge?
Can I propose more than one challenge?
What are the prizes?
What are the judging criteria for the prizes?
Who are the judges?
When will I find out if my challenge will be in the app?
I don't have an iPhone, can I use Revel?
Who's behind all this?
I still have questions—who can I ask?
Revel is a public invitation to participate in fun, social, and adventurous challenges on streetcorners, in parks, and in all other parts of town. Our free iPhone app will organize missions by type and location, deepening your connection to your neighbors and your city.
Revel works by sharing challenges—small sets of instructions or activities—that are imagined by people just like you. These can be about self-improvement, connecting with friends or strangers, or just having fun.
Challenges can be as simple as a set of instructions for one person, or they can can be more complex, involving multiple people in multiple roles. They can be for strangers, for friends, for co-workers—they can be anything you dare to create! Click here to make your own challenge.
We believe that public space is for...well, the public. And that means you. It's easy to forget that the streets and sidewalks we walk along actually belong to each and every one of us. Revel is an effort to help us all rediscover public space and its hidden potential for fun, meaningful, and active exchanges between ourselves and our cities.
We're seeking folks to envision challenges for people to do with friends and strangers. You can make your own challenge right now or get the full scoop here.
The app will be available soon. But you can learn more about how it works here.
The possibilities for your challenge are almost endless. Revel can:
- create GPS tags and set up challenges for specific locations (sidewalks, grocery stores, you name it!)
- send players messages when they get close to key points
- detect when other players are nearby
- ask players to upload photos
- accommodate multiple players with separate roles
- organize synchronous actions with large groups of people
- pass a challenge back and forth between two or more players
- match-up players based on a criteria of the creator's choosing,
- re-cast roles if a player drops out
- and more—find out how Revel works here
How does communication work with the app and between players?
The app can send the players messages, ask them questions, or get their location. The players can reply with text or with pictures. Players can communicate with each other in person or via an interface in the app that allows them to live chat, share reports, and even see one another on a map. (In challenges where communication between players isn't desirable, this interface can be shut off.)
What are the challenge topics?
You can write your own challenges in any of our seven categories: Appreciation, Exploring, Fitness Traning, Games, Neighbors & Networks, Photography, and Storytelling. We encourage you to be creative with your interpretations of these fields! For examples, click here.
A good challenge gives its participants unprecedented social experiences in public space while deepening connections between challenge authors, participants, bystanders, and their cities.
We'd love to see any challenge that:
1. Helps people discover public spaces and the city’s hidden potential for fun.
2. Creatively re-imagines boring, mundane, or everyday experiences.
3. Builds in social support, by way of cheering, back-up singing, hi-fives, etc., as a way to encourage participants to courageously carry out challenges.
4. Improves players' health or overall quality of life.
5. Strengthens relationships between neighbors and community-members.
6. Goes above and beyond these guidelines—show us what matters to you!
You can see some examples of challenges here.
Anyone! No technical knowledge is required.
Can I propose more than one challenge?
Absolutely. Submit as many challenges as you like under as many topic headings as you like.
The grand prize is $5,000. There are two first prizes, which are both $2,500.
What are the judging criteria for the prizes?
200 challenges will be selected to appear in the final application and to compete for prizes. These finalists will then by judged by the number of positive experiences they generate. Read the rules here.
Your challenges will be evaluated by a team of experts and celebrity judges who specialize in each of the challenge areas, including Micki Krimmel, Steve Lambert, Charlie Todd, and Alissa Walker. (Read more about our judges here.)
There is no current deadline.
When will I find out if my challenge will be in the app?
We'll announce the finalists when they have been assembled, probably in the fourth quarter of 2011.
I don't have an iPhone, can I use Revel?
Yes, you'll be able to participate in challenges using the mobile-web and text-messaging versions of our app. We'll have an Android version out in early 2012.
Groundcrew, an internet start-up dedicated to exploring the intersection of technology and public space, is the creative force behind Revel. You can read more about our team here. Groundcrew is funded by the Knight Foundation, Collaborative Fund, Rob Weisenthal, Mitch Kapor, Michael Ovitz, and other industry leaders.
I still have questions—who can I ask?
You can always give us a shout at questions@getrevel.com.
