Blog Page 100

Kyra Aylsworth Asks, “Is Gamification the Future of Marketing?”

By Gabe Zichermann -
2
I continue to get a lot of positive feedback about my talk at Mesh Marketing in Toronto last month. Kyra Aylsworth says she learned a lot from my presentation – so much so that it inspired this great blog post about it on teehanlax.com. I want to thank her for this piece, she clearly has a solid grasp on the principals I’m always touting: the player’s journey, engagement, she even mentions SAPS.
Once again, the slides from my talk can be found here. And if you’re interested in hearing me speak live, along with Amy Jo Kim, Jane McGonigal and other gamification greats, be sure to register for the Gamification Summit!

Get More for Your Workout with Earndit

By Danyell Thillet -
0

Earndit is a new fitness check-in site that makes it easy for you to get rewarded for staying in shape. Their simple system acts as a great motivator and encourages you to keep a routine and rewards you for living healthier. Link your account to existing apps, Nike+, Garmin Connect, EveryTrail or Foursquare – this saves you from having to visit Earndit to check-in every time. You can earn credit by simply continuing to use apps that you’re already using! Earndit will credit you 10 points for every mile you go by foot, 3 points for every mile you go by bike and 15 points for each check-in at a gym. (You can also go by skate, paddle or skateboard!) These points can be redeemed for prizes such as a box of custom energy bars from ElementBars, gift cards from Bonobos and shoecrush.com or even a one-on-one web consult with personal trainer and company adviser, Jesse Schwartzman.

There are other bonuses as well, like virtual trophies and getting extra points for check-ins if you’re the mayor of your gym on Foursquare. Just for signing up, you get a free “Hammie the Hamster” gift! You can get points for “bragging” on Twitter or Facebook when you’ve unlocked a reward, Earndit has a dual-leaderboard system that shows where the user ranks during the given month, and the other can vary to show where the user ranks amongst different groups like your followers or people who live in your state.


Clearly, the system works. Co-founders Andres Moran and Harry Kautzman report memberships increasing by 20% every month and that 55% of members who have accrued at least 1,000 points have redeemed for a reward. That means that these members are not idle in any sense of the word. They are working out, checking-in and using their earnings. Andres Moran gets real feedback from users that shows their level of dedication. He says, “Users really do care about their points.  If for whatever reason they don’t see their points show up for a workout, they immediately reach out to the company to inquire about the issue.  They also really care about trophies.  Often times after receiving a trophy, a user will email the company commenting on how much they like the design and name of the trophy.”

Earndit might want to consider adding on more options as time goes on. If users are this concerned about points now, what if they could join teams composed of friends or coworkers & compete for special prizes or once-in-a-lifetime trophies with their collective earnings? Maybe a calorie counter can be added on to increase the amount of leaderboards and ways you can reach the top. In any case, Earndit is a great web app that successfully uses game mechanics to help people to live better!

The G-List: Demetri Detsaridis

By Danyell Thillet -
0

An inside look at Demetri Detsaridis: Executive Producer at Area/Code

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You can read more of Demetri’s thoughts by following him on Twitter: @detsaridis

And don’t miss hearing him speak at the Gamification Summit in January!

Social Media and Gamification Turns Readers into Reporters

By Danyell Thillet -
1

As social networks grow and evolve from audiences into dedicated communities, some news sources have begun to tap their online readership as volunteer investigative reporters. Journalists are now looking to their Twitter followers and Facebook fans for help in gathering research and information for news articles. This leads to a better source of material, as readers are often closer to the heart of the story and more specifically knowledgeable about the subject at hand than most journalists could become. Afterward readers anticipate the release of the story to see what results their input has yielded. One such instance added elements of gamification into the mix to engage the community further and drive a quicker outcome.

Following a release by Parliament in the U.K. of MPs’ personal expenses, The Guardian asked for help from its readers scouring through  thousands of pages of documentation to find any suspicious claims. Volunteers are asked to mark what type of page it is (a receipt/invoice, an expense report, a stationery sheet, etc) and whether it deserves any further attention. Users can do this anonymously, or they can create an I.D. in order to write additional notes on a particular page and have their contributions shown on the leaderboard. The front page also shows how many pages have been reviewed and how many are left to go to encourage a speedy turnover.

It’s fascinating to see online social networks being used for such a purpose and basic game mechanics being implemented as motivation. It goes to show what powerful tools we now have at our disposable and how individuals are able to participate in and shape media, rather than simply absorbing it.

The G-List: Jennifer Van Grove

By Danyell Thillet -
0

An inside look at Jennifer Van Grove: Social Media Reporter at Mashable

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You can read more of Jennifer’s thoughts by following her on Twitter: @jbruin

And don’t miss hearing her speak at the Gamification Summit in January!

Gild Has the Golden Touch

By Danyell Thillet -
0

Looking for work is usually a frustrating, arduous process. Sending resumes, filling out applications, making phone calls, hitting up your business contacts and sometimes getting no reply or any indication that you’re making progress can make anyone feel downtrodden. And that’s just how things usually are. Even more so now, people are getting reduced to a stack of resumes and over qualified individuals are forced to settle for jobs that are beneath them. In the last few years, the job hunt has been even more difficult as work is scarce and people are scared about their future.

For technology professionals, there’s help. Gild, recently launched in September, takes the natural competitive aspect of online job hunting and utilizes it for your advantage. Gild offers corporate-sponsored contests that test you with questions in your field, whether you’re a physicist, Javascript expert or just an armchair technology historian. Succeeding at these short tests makes you eligible to win prizes like an iPod Touch, Kindle or a Canon Powershot digital camera, to name a few.

You can also join teams for competition with up to 6 people and compare scores on leaderboards individually and collectively (there’s even an international country based leaderboard, something they may have learned from the Orkut example in Game Based Marketing).

Add skills to your resume profile and Gild will show you where you stand in relation to other users in experience. You can also take certification tests on the site that not only earn you badges of increasing rank, but also display on your profile so employers can easily validate your level of expertise and qualifications for positions. In many ways, this is like the Odesk test system writ public – a valuable service and good example of meaningful badging (if people believe in Gild’s rating system).

Gild makes it easier for you to find jobs,  be discovered, prove your worth and actually feel validated in the process. The word “gild“, of course meaning to be coated in gold is an extremely appropriate and charming name for this site. It awards you for your hard work in a time when you might otherwise be ignored. It reminds you that you’re smart and worth some attention. And I’m sure the homonymic relation to the word “guild” is no accident. Gild brings technology professionals together through gaming to remind them that they’re not alone in this working world, even though it may often feel that way.

New Report on Gamification Commerce

By Danyell Thillet -
2

Jim Banister (CEO of Spectrum DNA), Michael Dowling and Zak Kirchner (CEO and Contributing Analyst for Interpret, respectively) have collaborated on the report “gCommerce: The Gamification of eCommerce” that was released last month  It’s purpose is to explain how the idea of the “gamer” is changing, how they shop and what it means for business.

As gaming becomes more mainstream and gamification becomes more present in business, it’s increasingly evident that gamers are no longer comprised of only the stereotypical young male “geeky” types. Gamers can be anyone that wants to feel like an achiever while adding some fun to everyday life. There are, however, some things that gamers do have in common.”Gamers are 20% more likely to be an online shopper than the average non-gamer. Gamers are opinion leaders and 50% more likely to be influencers among their friends, the report states. Gamers are now being recognized as highly-conscious consumers with a great deal of clout within their social circles, not the “loner” type that has been often assumed.

The Interpret report notes that it is important to reach these developing archetypes in the way they’ve become accustomed. It uses the phrase “Earn, Burn, and Yearn”, coined by Barry Kirk in the Maritz White Paper (August 2010), to describe the ideal consumer environment for gamers. These shoppers need to be motivated to earn points, use them up and desire items within a virtual economy that are scarce or slightly out of reach.

While it pitches SpectrumDNA’s services, the report acts as a pretty good introduction to certain concepts regarding the validity and significance of game-based marketing to retailers that are completely in the dark about it. If you are already deeply involved in Gamification, it might seem like old hat, but for those new to the market – and especially retailers – the gCommerce report would be useful reading. The report can be purchased here for $795.

Come to The Gamification Summit, Jan 20-21, 2011 for more insight on gamification and how it’s changing eCommerce, and to hear from expert speakers in the industry. Early bird tickets are available until November 30th, so register today!

The G-List: James Gatto

By admin -
0

An inside look at James Gatto: Virtual World and Video Game Team Leader at Pillsbury Winthrop

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You can read more of James’s thoughts by reading the blog at www.virtualworldlaw.com

Don’t miss hearing him speak at the Gamification Summit in January!

Angry Birds Peace Treaty Goes Viral

By Gabe Zichermann -
1

Though we usually don’t discuss capital-G-Games at the Gamification Blog, sometimes the social/political effect of those games can be worth noting.

Few titles have been as successful and addictive as iOS game Angry Birds, and unlike banal “game satire”, AB has affected enough people worldwide to warrant comedic spoofs. I think it’s a sign you’ve really made it when truly funny people are inspired by your work. Here then is a hilarious sketch from an Israeli comedy show that uses Angry Birds as a context for talking about middle east peace.

The G-List: Kes Sampanthar

By admin -
0

An inside look at Kes Sampanthar: Director of Media Strategy at Cynergy Systems

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You can read more of Kes’s thoughts by following him on Twitter: @kessampanthar

And don’t miss hearing him speak at the Gamification Summit in January!

Gamification Workshop Materials

By admin -
0

Thanks for attending the Gamification Workshops in SF and NYC! We hope you enjoyed the day, and we look forward to welcoming you at the Gamification Summit 2011 – be sure to invite your colleagues and friends before it sells out.

Below you’ll find the main material from the sessions. Please follow @gzicherm or @amyjokim if you’d like to continue the discussion. You can also email Kevin on our Priority Services Team with any other questions.

  1. Gabe Zichermann’s Slides
  2. Amy Jo Kim’s Slides
  3. BigDoor Media’s Slides
  4. Pillsbury’s Slides

Thanks again for attending, and we look forward to seeing you at GSummit 2011!

My Mesh Marketing Talk in the Financial Post

By Gabe Zichermann -
0

It was a lot of fun speaking at Mesh Marketing yesterday in Toronto – it was great to be back in Canada! The audience was really engaged. There were a ton of questions and a lot of responses on Twitter too. If you haven’t yet, you can follow me at @gzicherm. There should be video up very soon, and the slides are located here.  In the meantime I’d like to thank Matt Hartley of Financial Post for doing this great write up about my talk.

Be aware though, some of what I had to say today was NSFW – so if you read my twitter mentions, you might see a swear word or two pop up. But I think it’s worth it.

If you’re interested in hearing me speak, along with Jane McGonigal, Amy Jo Kim and other gamification experts, be sure to register for The Gamification Summit, January 20-21 2011. You can still take advantage of Early Bird savings, but only until November 30th – so don’t delay!

Facebook Deals Takes Check-ins to the Next Level

By Danyell Thillet -
0

It was only a matter of time before someone created a location-based service that was directly linked to shopping. Even though apps like Foursquare and Gowalla are relatively new, it’s still surprising that it even took this long for us to have Facebook Deals.

Once you sign up for Facebook Places, you can opt-into Deals. You can look up your favorite local stores at touch.facebook.com or the latest Facebook for the iPhone  just as you would to check-in, and be privy to special offers, discounts and freebies which you can redeem right then and there with your mobile device. There are already over 21 major companies with special Facebook Deals offers including, Starbucks, H&M, Macy’s and the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.

While it’s true that these kinds of rewards are often less of an incentive as opposed to more intangible items, this feature is in addition to proven successful mechanics. There will be some status levels like mayor, similar to Foursquare, and bonuses for repeat customers. Specials are also given to random visitors. Since only 4% of online adults use location-based services, Facebook Deals might help to give these services a kick and get companies as well as users really invested in making them work.

The Gamification Workshop NYC

By admin -
0

Gamification has become the hot topic of the day and knowledge about it has been in increasingly high demand. We created the The Gamification Workshops in order to educate business owners on how to successfully utilize game mechanics in a deep and meaningful way. Our focus is on the player’s journey- making the user’s experience engaging, enriching and rewarding, whether it be through social connection or personal accomplishment (or both). Our events in San Francisco and New York were completely sold out and both went off without a hitch! All participants walked away with a new understanding of gamification and with inspiration for their own business projects.

In our workshop in New York City yesterday, Gabe Zichermann opened with introductions about the power of game designers as creators. He warned that the games we make have to have substance or it will not hold a player’s interest. He compared good design to a delicious chocolate cake – and bad design to simply a circle of foam with frosting on top. Amy Jo Kim continued on this idea with her opening presentation. She made the distinction between real gamification and “badges on a platter” – her term for the more superficial aspects of adding gaming techniques to activities. We can’t thank Amy Jo Kim enough for running the workshops. As the CEO of Shufflebrain, expert game designer and a PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience, she was an amazing instructor and helped participants get real insights and opened their minds to the benefits of gaming. As the day progressed, she clearly defined major concepts in game design and explained how to identify player types and social styles in order to make them work for your business model as well as for the player. She utilized a number of her own games and hands-on exercises to illustrate her points and to have the workshop participants look at gamification not as a quick fix for business, but as a a philosophy and way to connect with people in the long term.

Patty Buckly from FriendFactor –  whose mission  is developing a fun and easy way for straight Americans to  help their LGBT friends gain freedom – volunteered to share her workshop exercise results with the group as a model for success. George Matthew, from CareProsper – a site dedicated to helpiing people manage their personal health – also shared his ideas about desired social actions for his site.

Once  participants were able to articulate what they wanted to get out of gamification, it was important to understand ways of reaching these goals. We invited Keith Smith, CEO of Big Door Media to discuss incentives and engagement strategies. He also explained how Big Door’s new Minibar system can be used as a route towards successful gamification and  demonstrated  how quickly and easily an account can be set-up and activated for your site.

There are many different legal issues that can come up when dealing with gamification and the online world that many people don’t always consider until there is a problem. We invited Sean Kane from Pillsbury, Winthrop to give a presentation about some of these issues and how to avoid common pitfalls. He recommends staying away from calling points “currency” unless they have a real-world value. When it comes to site user agreements and user-generated content, Sean says you have to ask yourself as the owner “What can I give to my users to provide them with something, that will then justify getting something from them?”

The day was filled with helpful insights, insider knowledge, new ideas and ended with face-to-face networking. It really was a fun and invaluable experience! If you’re feeling left out, there will be another opportunity in January to get enlightened about gamification. Come register for The Gamification Summit, January 20-21 2011 where you can hear presentations from Gabe Zichermann, Amy Jo Kim, Keith Smith and many others! The second day will have yet another comprehensive workshop filled with important, practical information that for your business. Don’t let yourself miss out this time around!

The G-List: KoAnn Skrzyniarz

By Danyell Thillet -
0

An inside look at KoAnn Skrzyniarz: Founder and CEO at Sustainable Life Media

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You can read more of KoAnn’s thoughts by following her on Twitter: @koann

And don’t miss hearing her speak at the Gamification Summit in January!

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