uptu

Uptu is a social collaboration platform aiming to improve quality of life and offering a technological response to the increasing demand for innovation and the rising needs of society.

Citizens interested into environmental and economic sustainability, into a fair relationship between men and the environment around them, into safety and the improvement of the surroundings management, now have a dedicated social network. In Uptu it is possible to experiment new ways of democratic participation oriented towards the development of local smart communities where citizens, institutions and other subjects - associations, enterprises, etc. - work together to change the present and plan the future.

Uptu users can share through the platform geolocalized information, images, video and audio in real time, and all issues related to the life in their neighborhood or farther: problems, emergencies, but also cases of excellence, places to visit and interesting events.

The community finds in Uptu the ideal network to gather ideas, look for experiences, find solutions to common problems, exchange opinions, create interest groups about topics of common interest or neighborhood communities. These conversations may lead towards the proposal and realization of projects with positive effects on everybody's life quality.

All contents produced by the users are grouped through specific hashtag related to more than 70 keywords: Mobility, Consumers, Animals, Environment, Person and Society, Public and Private Goods. New areas will soon be introduced: Culture and Education, Employment, Health.

Uptu spreads the reports and information added by users via email and/or push notification towards smartphones. This last possibility is available only for users who install the dedicated App on their cellphones, either in the iPhone or Android version. Users can customize the reception of all information in the settings menu: they can choose which communications they want to receive, in which area of interest, and also in which way, either by email or push message.

Thanks to these features, Uptu allows its members to be informed when they are home, at work, on holidays, when approaching the geographic area interested by a specific information or even if the communication is referred to the place they have defined as their own base, that it is usually where they live.

Already available in 6 languages, Uptu offers a glocal collaborative environment, meaning that it lets users participating and being up-to-date about what happens in several places of interest, while the community can share ideas, solutions and experiences made in many different areas. One App to feel always home and be - at the same time - a world citizen.

The name "Uptu" comes from "It's up to you", and that is the real keyword which sums up the social network vision: on Uptu everybody is encouraged to become an active user, a smart citizen.

When you witness or hear about a situation which could be dangerous for yourself or the people around you, send a report to inform Uptu community and the authorities. Uptu has been developed to use GPS, wireless connection and the camera of your smartphone to let you describe key issues related to the public safety while you are on the move. If you do not have a last generation mobile, you can send your reports through the website. Sending a report is very simple:

• Identify the place on the map;
• Define the area and event type of the report you are sending;
• Add a description;
• Upload the related image;
• Send your report.

Have you got an Idea to improve your neighborhood? Add it to Uptu: all the community will be able to see it, comment upon it or give you a suggestion to improve it. Adding an Idea is simple:

• Geolocalize your Idea on the map: you can pinpoint it on your base for instance;
• Seleziona l'ambito più coerente con la tua idea;
• Add a description;
• Upload an attachment: a picture, a video, a document, a presentation etc...;
• Send your Idea.

Do you want to share an interesting Event with the whole community? Add it to Uptu and invite other users to participate. The Event will be visible to the entire community on both the website and the mobile app. Besides, the members of the community will receive the notification referred to the Event either via email or via push message according to their personal settings. The community will be able to comment upon the Event or to offer suggestions to improve it. Adding an Event is simple:

• Geolocalize the Event on the map;
• Select the most consistent area related to the Event;
• Add the start and end date;
• Give the Event a title;
• Add a description;
• Invite other users to participate;
• Upload an attachment: a picture, a video, a document, a presentation etc...;
• Send the Event.

Base is a place that you consider "home", that you care about and about which you are interested in receiving real time information relevant for your safety.

Make an Up+ when you want to show your appreciation to the community, when you agree with something posted by another user or when you wish to point out a specific content to the network.

A Comment is your evaluation, a thought you can add to other users' reports.

Add an evidence when you have witnessed the circumstances reported by another user or you have experienced a similar situation that confirms the same issue. That could be useful to other users and will provide further elements to the community.

We will never be able to solve all problems around us by ourselves, but helping each other makes easier to find a solution: Uptu believes in his users' "collective intelligence". If you have an idea about how solving a difficult or dangerous situation reported by other users, add your Suggestion.

If the reported situation has been solved by other people or it's you that has solved it, add a Resolution with a short text and a picture, if you have it.

When you are on the move, walking, cycling, driving, using public transportations, in the city or up on a mountain track, the Mobility area allows you to report issues concerning traffic jams, car crashes, obstacles in the roadway, dangerous roads, architectural barriers, wrong or missing road signs, blocked paths…

The Consumer area allows you adding reports related to yourself as a product/service consumer such as abuse against a tourist, rude staff, poor service, misleading advertising, frauds, dangerous products sale…

The People area lets you report unpleasant situations due to the human actions such as theft, negligence and failure to offer assistance, bullying, stalking and so on.

The Animals area allows you reporting issues concerning animals preservation: alley animals, loss or abandonment of animals, mistreatment, poaching…

The Environment area lets you report situations related to the environment and ecosystem preservation (waste abandonment, unauthorized dump, water pollution, etc.), as well as circumstances where it's the environment to be potentially dangerous (landslides, floods, earthquakes, frost, etc.).

The Private/Public Goods area lets you send reports regarding public or private properties: acts of vandalism, disfigurement of public works and monuments, as well as theft or damage to private properties, etc.

Uptu will notify the most important reports within the are defined by you. By Radius we intend the size of your area of interest within which Uptu will send you a real time message each time relevant information are reported.

The Social Score represents the actual score, the active participation level to Uptu, through a numeric value. For each action that you make in Uptu (send a report, make a comment) you will be assigned with a score that increases your Social Score. Furthermore, you will acquire points when your actions within the network will be approved and supported by other users. The Social Score – together with other information – identifies the relevance of each participant. The more points you earn, the more functionalities will be unlocked for you and the more awards you will be eligible to receive.

The Status varies in relation to the actions that you make in Uptu.

• If you have just subscribed to Uptu you are an Observer as you have not participated to the life of the network yet, by sending reports, adding comments and suggesting possible solutions to the known issues. As soon as your involvement increases, your status will evolve accordingly.
• If you contribute to the development of the network by generating content and spreading the diffusion of reports at an early stage, then you are a Reporter. He's the first who brings information from the real world directly into Uptu, information that consequently earns visibility within the network. It's the citizen who is always up-to-date about the city life, the one you go to for suggestions about the shortest route to reach a place avoiding traffic, the one who spreads the news about the interesting demonstration promoted by an environmental association. The Reporter is willing to share his knowledge to prevent other people from running risks or experiencing unpleasant situations. If you are in this category, then congratulations and thank you from the Uptu Team and from the community.
• If you pay attention to what the users post and you contribute to the life of the network adding comments to the reports, you are a Commentator. These contributions are of primary importance for the life of the network because they make the reports important and popular within the network. A Commentator is a smart and analytical person who is not afraid of expressing his own opinion and debate with other people. The Commentator is open and positively inclined to a constructive dialogue.
• A Solver is a user who participates to the network especially when a report has been sorted out, often by himself. A Solver's activity is important for the entire network thanks to his precision and efficiency. Just think about that friend of yours to whom you give the tickets for a concert until the day of the show, as you are sure he will not lose them. Or the one in a group of friends who manages – after and endless discussion - to find the points all the people agree on to choose the holiday destination.
• If you are a Witness, Uptu community thanks you. Your main activity in the network consists in bringing your experience into the community. You make the reports richer in information confirming their value for the all network. People with this status are like superheroes: you are always in action!
• Suggestor: within the Uptu community there are well-informed and generous people ready to help other users to solve the issues reported sending a suggestion to facilitate their resolution: they are Suggestors! If this is your status, Uptu realizes that your main activity in the network is suggesting solutions. In the real life, the Suggestor is aware that the more you share knowledge, the more it becomes widespread.

Uptu encourages conscious participation and invites users to make use of their own name and last name as nickname to give relevancy and credibility to the information shared through the social network. The reports you send making public your identity have more chances to be considered by other users and to involve the institution in charge of the related area, such as public administrations, public security services, no-profit organizations that actively collaborate in the assistance, safety and civil defense areas. Furthermore, making your nickname public as the author of a report you will raise more interest in the other users of the community. Nevertheless,, to preserve your anonymity when subscribing to the social network, we will ask you for an authorization to be able to send your data to the police forces if you report situations that require their intervention. If you do not give your authorization, we will suggest you again the possibility to do so when you send a report that, for its own nature, could involve the police forces intervention. When you subscribe and before sending a report, you are given the chance to hide your personal data from other users and the police forces.

• If you do not check "Hide personal data", other users will see your nickname as the author of the report. On the contrary, if you check the box, the report will be tagged as anonymous.
• If you do not check "Hide personal data from the security forces" the security forces (for example in Italy Coast Guard, Forest Rangers, Customs, State Police, Local Police, Corrections Officers, Fire Brigade) will be able to know your nickname, your name and last name. If you check it, they will receive the report as anonymous and they will not have access to your personal data.

Uptu encourages conscious participation and invites users to make use of their own name and last name as nickname to give relevancy and credibility to the information shared through the social network. The reports you send making public your identity have more chances to be considered by other users and to involve the institution in charge of the related area, such as public administrations, public security services, no-profit organizations that actively collaborate in the assistance, safety and civil defense areas. Furthermore, making your nickname public as the author of a report you will raise more interest in the other users of the community. Nevertheless,, to preserve your anonymity when subscribing to the social network, we will ask you for an authorization to be able to send your data to the police forces if you report situations that require their intervention. If you do not give your authorization, we will suggest you again the possibility to do so when you send a report that, for its own nature, could involve the police forces intervention. When you subscribe and before sending a report, you are given the chance to hide your personal data from other users and the police forces.

• If you do not check "Hide personal data", other users will see your nickname as the author of the report. On the contrary, if you check the box, the report will be tagged as anonymous.
• If you do not check "Hide personal data from the security forces" the security forces (for example in Italy Coast Guard, Forest Rangers, Customs, State Police, Local Police, Corrections Officers, Fire Brigade) will be able to know your nickname, your name and last name. If you check it, they will receive the report as anonymous and they will not have access to your personal data.

Uptu still does not allow the deletion of contents. However, if you made a mistake entering a content, you can click on “Insert an abuse” and specify in the notes that you request the deletion of the content. You can proceed to upload it again and the Uptu Team will remove the wrong content in a short time.