The rise of the digital nanny state

The Washington Post

...San Francisco-based cloud technology company Appirio has distributed 200 Up bands to its employees as part of its internal wellness program, CloudFit. The company chose the Up band for a few reasons: Jawbone offered them a discount, and the API could be integrated into Appirio’s system. The wristband also had a sleek design, longer battery life and collected activity data and sleep data, steering the company away from the Nike Fuelband. The deal made even more dollars and sense, since Appirio also negotiated with its U.S. health-care provider to cover the first $20,000 in costs dedicated to creating the company wellness program, with the goal of negotiating deeper insurance discounts once enough data had been collected, according to a company representative.

Appirio employees are not required to wear the bands, and if they do, they don’t have to share their data with one another or with the company overall. The wellness program has led to “an uptick in collaboration of its virtual employees that now have more in common (by sharing their UP data). This collaboration translates to a positive and motivational workforce,” according to the company representative...

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