Engagement Science That Makes GSummit Irresistible
At Gamification Co we have been working hard to provide the best quality content for gamification in the industry, and there is so much that can be shared, learned and experienced at a live event! Here are a few scientific reasons why you should come hang out with us at GSummit 2014!
1 – Brain-to-brain coupling
This is a really interesting scientific phenomena. In a nutshell, when two or more people are having a great conversation, they “click” because their brains are beginning to mirror each other’s activity. MRI scans show that the listener will begin to have the same brain waves and brain areas activated as the speaker.
This is really important because, to understand each other, brain-to-brain coupling has to take place. A Harvard Business Review article quotes the following example:
“Uri Hasson and his colleagues Greg J. Stephens and Lauren J. Silbert recorded the brain responses of a woman who was telling a story about her prom and those of people who were listening to her. Afterwards, the researchers asked questions to gauge the listeners’ comprehension of the story. The recordings showed that the listeners’ brains started to resemble the speaker’s brain, or “couple” with it. The stronger the resemblance was, the higher the listener’s comprehension of the story.”
Thus brain-to-brain coupling is crucial comprehension when learning anything from someone. However it is really hard to achieve unless you are having a face-to-face interaction. The reason for this is that there is much more to human communication than visual-audial stimulation. So, while you can watch GSummit live and see video recordings later, it will not be the same as being in one room with the speakers.
2 – Micro-narratives
This is similar to brain-to-brain coupling yet unique in its own way. You have probably heard about studies saying that the #1 influence on teenagers is their circle of friends and not parents or teacher. Or that you are the average of the 5 people you most hang out with, etc. The reason for this is that small talk is one of the main causes responsible for the rewiring of our brains. When you go to the GSummit you will be able to have small talk with industry experts and other professionals like you who will help you understand the concepts better. A peer-to-peer learning environment is priceless, and you can only achieve it by coming to the summit.
3 – Power and creativity through social connections
Individual studies done on either powerful or creative people show a pattern: The have a large network of weak ties.
In a power sense, you might be working on a project, get stuck, and ask someone in your network for some quick help. They might have the expertise or know a person, company, book, etc. that could help you. This helps you push forwards with your ventures.
In a creative sense, constantly being exposed to new ideas will make your brain more complex and innovative. One of our last year speakers, Andrea Kuszewski, gave a great talk detailing this further.
A great source of value from the GSummit will be the connections and friendships you will make that will amplify your career for years to come.
4 – Hands-on labs
If you were to design a piano lesson, you would probably agree that the students need a mix of books, lectures, mentorship and hands-on practice. The introduction of the hands-on labs (free for all attendees) will create a more holistic learning process that will amplify your skills. These labs will give you the tacit knowledge which is difficult to express in 20-minute conference talks. The labs will help you better understand the explicit knowledge from books and talks.
“While tacit knowledge can be possessed by itself, explicit knowledge must rely on being tacitly understood and applied. Hence all knowledge is either tacit or rooted on tacit knowledge. A wholly explicit knowledge is unthinkable.” (Michael Polanyi author of Knowing and Being)
The only way we can impart this tacit knowledge is for you to come and hang out with us! The cool thing is that once this tacit knowledge “clicks” inside your head, the books, lectures and articles you read about gamification will amplify your skills creating a positive compound effect for learning. This is a law in acquiring expertise due to the unique way our brains work.
5 – Understanding the why and the how
There is currently a general problem in business where people do not want to know why something works, they just want to be told what to do and what has worked for others. This shows in the popularity of the case study method, which is valuable, but without understanding theory you might confuse correlation with causation.
Human systems are complex and for something to work it has to rely heavily in the situational context. You will never be able to replicate the context of one successful gamified application with your own conditions, but if you understand the science of engagement, you can adapt to your particular contexts and design something amazingly original that is also uniquely your own. This is combining the why with the how.
6 – Our special GSummit dopamine cocktail
It is well-known by now that the hormone dopamine plays a very important role in shaping people’ s behaviors through rewarding small actions, which, over time, can create addictive habits. Before and during GSummit, attendees will get multiple hits of dopamine through the many engaging activities that we have planned, including solving problems with gamification, social games, scavenger hunts and social media.
“Winning increases the dopamine receptors in the brain, which makes you smarter and more bold.” (Ian H. Robertson)
Winning a chance to meet Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson and other speakers, as well and other prizes in the exciting online social media environment powered by Livecube will not hurt either.
At Gamification Co we are working hard to make you a master gamifier and give you the skills to come up with solutions for your particular challenges – via blog, our videos, weekly webinars, social media, newsletters and even MOOCs. Yet knowledge is transferred best from person to person, so we welcome you to join us in San Francisco, June 10-13, for 4 days of workshops, talks and intense networking!
A lion’s share of understanding gamified theory comes from learning hands-on, which at GSummit happens at our full-day, offline workshops with Gabe Zichermann, Mario Herger, BJ Fogg and others. Buy a copy of Gabe’s book while you’re at the event, its value will be amplified once you’ve heard the 50+ amazing speakers, networked the crowd and heard Neil deGrasse Tyson speak!
We hope to see you there!
