With gas prices finally coming down, it’s a great summer for a family road trip. Offering nearly 400 destinations across every state in the union, US National Parks not only provide an economical vacation option, they can also provide a fun and rewarding set of challenges for visitors. Collecting badges existed long before Foursquare came…
Let’s face it: saving money can be difficult, especially if you’re just receiving the first regular paychecks of your life or have gotten your first credit card. The ease of swiping or typing combined with a relatively high credit limit and fuzzy mental math can add up to some hefty financial trouble, or even persistent…
After their highly popular gamified Les Paul landing page last Thursday, Google has created even more play time. With science! The longest lunar eclipse in a decade began earlier today (still in progress) and though it was wasn’t visible to those of us in North America, now everyone can enjoy the sights. Visitors can witness…
Today is Les Paul‘s birthday, and the Google landing page has an interactive sound board in memoriam of the jazz guitarist and father of the electric guitar. The page is fun to play around with and lets you record your song with a shortened URL to send to friends. Similar to the piano stairs, Google has made a…
Think about the last food you ate for a moment. Can you fully describe where it came from before the supermarket, vending machine or plastic package? How was it grown or raised there? Chances are it’s quite the challenge for most of us. It’s no secret that in our modern existence, urban dwellers have grown…
In the same vein as sites like Rypple and Chromarama, the Email Game seeks to gamify something both everyday and routine: in this case, your email. It seeks more to improve your performance than simply make it enjoyable. In fact, they promise it will improve your performance to the point where you read through your…
A few weeks back we reported on the new Zappos VIP features that added a layer of gamification to the exclusive shopping tier of the popular online store. Excitement by customers has increased when Zappos launched the new “Outfit Builder” (beta) late last month. This paperdoll-esque interface allows you to browse the selection, pick out items…
Mother’s Day is almost here, and with it comes the necessary phone calls, gifts, and communication around showing appreciation for all of those hard working mommas out there. I recently had a conversation with Matthew Bromberg, founder and CEO of I’mOK, an interesting app for parents and mothers. I’mOK aims to improve communication between children and parents and…
If everyone can agree on one thing, it is probably that commuting is terrible. A repetitive, daily frustration. What if, though, instead of simply getting on the train where you always do and getting off where you always do, you were gaining points, both for yourself and for a team? What if you gained additional…
Increasingly, cable television has been threatened by alternative outlets like Hulu, NetFlix, and Apple TV for viewership and advertising. Hulu’s freemium and the ease of use of Netflix are far more engaging than channel surfing on Cabletown ever could be (not to mention cheaper). In his most recent post on Econsultancy, Gabe Zichermann argues that games represent…
Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Good Game ran a short but informative episode on gamification featuring our own Gabe Zichermann, Bunchball’s Rajat Paharia, and Marigo Raftopoulos. Visit ABC.net.au to view the video.
It’s long been said that the best way to develop the future is to learn from the past. Jane McGonigal’s new collaboration with the New York Public Library, Playmatics and Natron Baxter Applied Gaming does just that by challenging players to complete quests to become one of 500 finalists who will stay overnight in the…
We’ve talked a lot about various gamified check-in sites and apps that allow you to complete chores, do good deeds and lose weight on the Gamification blogs recently. While these apps are fun, engaging and helpful to those who are already motivated, they are all still susceptible to getting “gamed”. In any game or gamified structure you will…
Remember back in the late ’90’s where meeting people online seemed scary and dangerous? Now online dating is the new norm and it’s meeting people in real life that seems intimidating. How do you approach that cute stranger on the subway, in a coffee shop, the book store…? And what do you say? “Missed Connection”…
In part one of episode 13 of this season of Top Chef All Stars, a little snippet stood out amongst the drama. Contestant and previous season 4 winner, Antonia Lofaso commented that the show’s prize money doesn’t matter, only winning the competition. Splicd.com This goes to show what we at Gamification Co have been saying…
