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<\/p>\nWhen I call Edmonton accounting student Kyle Bauder, he\u2019s busy loading a handful of \u201cmissions\u201d for the island nation of Madagascar, off the coast of Africa.<\/p>\n
Bauder is the creator of Zelse, an app that encourages users to complete location-based missions, earn points and discover public landmarks, attractions and local history. He says he\u2019s hoping to get people off the couch, away from endless doom scrolling and out into their cities.<\/p>\n
The platform already features more than 650 locations around the world, including local cities like Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge, with plans to continue expanding across Alberta and Canada.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea of the app is you go out and do these missions in your community or your city, then you get these points,\u201d says Bauder. \u201cIn Edmonton, you might go take a picture at the Legislature or another landmark. Premium members can create their own missions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edmonton was the first city built into the platform and currently features about 25 missions. Users can complete challenges ranging from photographing notable landmarks to visiting locations that highlight a city\u2019s culture and history.<\/p>\n
Bauder said the concept behind his app has evolved significantly since it was first imagined, shifting into more of a travel idea, he says. \u201cTourists aren\u2019t always aware of the area or what sites and sights are important to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cYour assignment, should you choose to accept it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Rather than simply offering another social media platform, Bauder says the app is designed to encourage people to be active, explore and engage with others.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are getting off the couch and doing things,\u201d he says adding the app is already expanding well beyond Alberta.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve added some missions for Madagascar,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can add missions for smaller places too. We\u2019re looking to curate Alberta first and then all of Canada. Where there\u2019s a will for them, people will sign up and create their own local ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those ideas could include everything from local folklore and historic landmarks to famous restaurants and hidden attractions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the U.K., for example, it could be a 1,000-year-old tavern,\u201d said Bauder.<\/p>\n
Future updates are expected to add rewards tied to local businesses. Bauder also envisions restaurants and retailers creating their own missions, allowing users to redeem points for discounts and promotions while encouraging more people to explore neighbourhood businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt helps people engage in their community, go out and do things, be active and have fun,\u201d he said. \u201cSo many apps want to keep you just at home on the phone. This is about being a bit more active.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bauder hopes as more users join the platform, each community will begin creating its own missions with the power of local knowledge, making every city a unique experience for both residents and visitors.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Many missions.<\/p>\n
Related<\/p>\n
RBrown@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don\u2019t miss the news you need to know \u2014 add EdmontonJournal.com<\/a> and EdmontonSun.com<\/a> to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.<\/a><\/p>\n You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal<\/a> | The Edmonton Sun.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When I call Edmonton accounting student Kyle Bauder, he\u2019s busy loading a handful of \u201cmissions\u201d for the island…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":786469,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194294],"tags":[278022,49,48,23752,278021],"class_list":["post-786468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-edmonton","tag-bauder","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-edmonton","tag-kyle-bauder"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=786468"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786468\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/786469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}