<a href="https://www.gamification.co/2010/11/10/eat-to-win/" rel="bookmark" title="Eat to Win!">Eat to Win!

There’s a lot of exciting news surrounding the Gamification Summit on January 20-21st at San Francisco’s Mission Bay Conference Center. We’ve confirmed a bunch of exciting new speakers, including:

Comcast: Eric Grilly, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer, Comcast Sports Group
Google: Vikas Gupta, Google Payments
NBC/Universal: Jesse Redniss, Vice President, Digital, USA Network
Microsoft: Neal Freeland, Director, Bing
MyTown, by Booyah: Brian Morrisroe, Co-founder
ngmoco/DeNA: Clive Downie, VP Marketing
DevHub: Geoff Nuval, CEO

Readers of the Gamification.co blog can take advantage of the promotional code, GCO10 that’s good for 10% off registration at www.gsummit.com. If you register before November 30th you’ll also get Early Bird discounts of up to $500. Be sure to register soon, since Gabe & Amy Jo’s November workshops sold out so quickly!

You can read more about these exciting developments in our recent announcement.

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Need help with behavioral science and gamification? Get in touch with our boutique consulting agency Dopamine.

Overjustification, Replacement, Rewards

November 9, 2010

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My recent Google Tech Talk has triggered a tremendous outpouring of interest, insightful comments and praise. I’m really grateful to the opportunity to have done the talk and the reaction it’s received.

The followup has been almost uniformly interesting, and it’s given me a chance to think about some of the ideas I’ve shared and refine them going forward. In particular, two of my twitter followers/commenters on the blog reached out with insightful ideas that I wanted to share.

First, Georg Mir (twitter) wrote a really interesting blog post on Overjustification – the fallout from replacing intrinsic motivations with extrinsic rewards (generally, previously intrinsically-motivated behaviors are extinguished when extrinsic rewards are introduced then withdrawn). His main contention in the post is that when user behavior is suppressed, it’s because we shift our focus of mastery from the intrinsic behavior (piano playing, say) to the positive feedback of others (our parents).

I think this is a very very compelling argument. Although mastery alone isn’t enough to explain why such powerful extinguishment occurs, it’s nonetheless obvious that we moved the carrot from the core behavior to love/affection in the parental example.

This understanding also reinforces one of my core assertions (amplified by Michael Kim on this blog’s comments) that while intrinsic motivation may not be entirely dead, I would caution any business to continue to rely on it as a principal revenue driver, the way Don Draper might have in Mad Men.

The second response in the blog that I thought was really interesting was also in Michael Kim and Lukasz’s comments on the blog post. They both referenced the very interesting Dan Pink talk at TED from last year in which he argues that extrinsic motivators don’t work for lateral thinking tasks. He does a great job of highlighting important social science research that shows that cash motivation can make people perform more poorly than they would have without it.

Pink and I agree 100% on an important point: Cash is generally not the best motivator. In my previous posts I’ve mentioned my SAPS acronym: Status, Access, Power, Stuff – as a new way of thinking about reward schemes. Cash, Stuff are at the bottom of the list for a reason – they are substantially less powerful than status, access and power at motivating user behavior.

But I wouldn’t draw the conclusion that “extrinsic rewards don’t work that well” – as Pink and others have suggested. I think they are not thinking laterally enough about their experiment design, TBH. 🙂 The research only studies cash, and cash just isn’t that good of a motivator. I’d love to see the experiments re-run with Frequent Fliers (figuring out how to get the most mileage out of a trip) or World of Warcraft (Words with Friends? Farmville?) players who exist in a status “system” to which they are clearly aligned.

The empirical evidence says that well structured external rewards (which are SAPS-based) are able to produce superior results – as measured in “engagement”. I’d love to see actual companies operate on this premise.

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Need help with behavioral science and gamification? Get in touch with our boutique consulting agency Dopamine.

The G-List: Amy Jo Kim

November 8, 2010

An inside look at Amy Jo Kim: CEO at Shufflebrain

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You can read more of Amy Jo’s thoughts by following her on Twitter: @amyjokim

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

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Need help with behavioral science and gamification? Get in touch with our boutique consulting agency Dopamine.

Gamification Video Podcast #3: New Speakers and Sold Out Workshops

November 5, 2010

In this 3rd video podcast I talk about some of the exciting updates happening with the Gamification Summit, which will be January 20-21. And yes, the Gamification Workshops are officially sold out! But you can still sign up for the waitlist and you will be notified if a spot becomes available.

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Need help with behavioral science and gamification? Get in touch with our boutique consulting agency Dopamine.

The G-List: Geoff Lewis

By admin -

November 5, 2010

An inside look at Geoff Lewis: CEO and Founder at Topguest

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You can read more of Geoff’s thoughts by following him on Twitter: @justGLew

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

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Need help with behavioral science and gamification? Get in touch with our boutique consulting agency Dopamine.

Video of My Google Tech Talk

November 4, 2010

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I gave this talk at Google on October 26th. It was really well received and it was great to meet everyone. Google headquarters was really impressive- especially the coffee! There was a lot of broadcasting and the video is now up and you can watch it right here. It’s slightly similar to some other talks I’ve given but I thought some of you would find it interesting:

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Need help with behavioral science and gamification? Get in touch with our boutique consulting agency Dopamine.

ScreenTribe & Get Glue: Making Entertainment More Engaging

November 3, 2010

I recently registered for both ScreenTribe and Get Glue, the entertainment-based social network sites. I immediately started using them every single day. (What can I say, I watch a lot of movies!) Both have similar basic formats and both utilize basic gaming mechanics to engage users and incentivize frequent usage. I find I log into Get Glue more than twice as often as ScreenTribe and stay on for much longer periods. This made me want to investigate the reasons why more thoroughly.

ScreenTribe is much younger than Get Glue, having been launched earlier this year. You “tune-in” when you’re watching a movie or TV show and taking a cue from Twitter, ScreenTribe tells you which programs and movies are “trending” on the site. The points that you earn can get you prizes such as free movie tickets from Fandango, gift certificates from Amazon and charitable donations to such organizations as Livestrong. Tune-ins earn you badges as well, you can refer friends for extra points and integrate your Twitter and Facebook accounts. Of course there is the all important leaderboard on the homepage to show you where you stand with your friends. The community page shows you what people are watching right now.

Get Glue has been around for about a year and has already gained a lot of recognition and followers. While you can check-in to movies and TV shows, Get Glue also allows you to do the same for music, books, games and a plethora of other topics. You can peruse around the site and “like” or “dislike” titles or add them to your list of favorites to make check-ins easier. Get Glue gives you recommendations based on what you like and keeps a constant (and I mean constant) stream of the activities of your friends. Get Glue also has a tool bar that can be added to your web browser which you to “like” items through partner sites such as IMDB and Wikipedia. People with the most popular reviews can become “Guru” of a topic or program This allows you special privileges like updating the item’s page description, photo and adding your own expert recommendations that will be shown to other viewers who check-in. Get Glue also has stickers and ever offer special ones for checking into promoted items.

The reason for Get Glue’s success is evident. There’s plenty to do on the site to keep you clicking and a lot of social interaction to keep you competitive.”We measure success by growth of social entertainment taste graph. Every time when users rate or check-in we grow a unique data set about how people connect and consume entertainment today.” said Get Glue CEO Alex Iskold “Stickers are very fun and very viral…People feel a need to share and discuss the entertainment they consume, this is just the way we are wired. Stickers facilitate conversations, spread GetGlue and partner brands in a way that is simple and human.”

I would like to see ScreenTribe use a broader selection of media you can tune into. Screens aren’t only for TVs and movie theaters. What if your computer screen were included to allow you to tune into YouTube or Vimeo clips or even check into popular websites? ScreenTribe offers points with inevitable prizes but in order to get a $10 Fandango ticket, you need to accrue 7520 points. At 5 or 10 points per tune in, most users would find this prize unattainable. And since the selection of media is more limited it takes longer to earn points and get badges. On Get Glue, the goals are easier to shoot for and make users feel more accomplished. Plus, after unlocking 15 stickers, users can have real stickers mailed to them to show off IRL. “And the future holds more tangible rewards,” says Iskold. “HBO is already giving $50 gift card to the Guru of True Blood and other brands will shortly be offering similar rewards as well.”

Both Get Glue and ScreenTribe have apps for the iPhone, iPad and Android. However, as a non-smartphone user, I’d like to see an SMS option added. Since neither site is location-based one might think this option unnecessary. But what if you’re seeing a movie at a theater or at a friend’s house watching TV? I was sad to have missed out on my Walking Dead premiere sticker for Halloween on Get Glue, but I was watching at a party and didn’t want to disrupt things by asking my hostess to borrow her laptop so I can get my check-in points!

Minor criticisms aside, I really enjoy the way both sites engage the user with and bring more fun to my regular entertainment. The use of game mechanics turns watching movies or enjoying music into a treasure hunt.

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Need help with behavioral science and gamification? Get in touch with our boutique consulting agency Dopamine.

The Voting Game

November 2, 2010

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Every election, tons of political groups come out to try to encourage young voters, which are a prime demographic. MTV tells us to “Rock the Vote” and one year I recall P. Diddy threatening my life, telling me to “Vote or Die”. I’ve been receiving tons of e-mails over the last week from different political organizations to remind me of my civic duty. I know politics is serious business, but can’t we also enjoy it instead of it just being a chore?

In 2010, voting has become a game. Foursquare and Facebook are offering badges today in honor of midterm elections. When you login to Facebook today you’ll see a notice telling you how to find your local polling place. Be sure to click “I voted” when you’ll all done with your ballot to post the announcement to all your friends on your newsfeed. Check-in to your polling location Foursquare to receive the “I Vote 2010” badge.

Will this be a lead-in to more gamified voting? Perhaps we can look forward to more rewards and things like county-based leaderboards that function as much for statistical purposes as they do for fueling our All-American competitive spirit. In any case you should get out today, vote and have fun!

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Need help with behavioral science and gamification? Get in touch with our boutique consulting agency Dopamine.

Attend IGDA Leadership Forum

November 1, 2010

The IGDA (International Game Developers Association) Leadership Forum is happening this week, November 4-5. If you’re interested in leadership issues in the games industry, this is the definitive event.

From their site:

The 2010 IGDA Leadership Forum will continue the format of three tracks – Personal, Project, and Tools Track – that encompass a broad range of leadership topics. The sessions will run in parallel tracks and will consist of a mix of lectures, panels, and interactive workshop sessions. This event will be valuable for producers, team leaders, project managers, studio directors, and all others seeking to learn and share techniques for leading teams in creating successful games.

Representatives of the IGDA were kind enough to offer a promotional code to our readers. Enter Gamification on their site to receive $50 off your registration.

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Need help with behavioral science and gamification? Get in touch with our boutique consulting agency Dopamine.

Mobile Games Forum 2011

October 30, 2010

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I’m very excited to announce that I will be speaking at the 8th Annual Mobile Games January 26-27, 2011 at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London.

Mobile Games Forum is the leading mobile games event in Europe. I will be presenting amongst a diverse crowd of 60 of the industry’s most influential leaders representing top companies and organizations. The forum also features an interactive round-table format that encourages learning and the exchange of ideas that really helps set this event apart. There’s even a late-night networking party. It will be an exciting opportunity to meet the people in the know of gaming that you really shouldn’t miss.

You can get more info and register at their website and stay updated by following @gamesforum on Twitter.

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Need help with behavioral science and gamification? Get in touch with our boutique consulting agency Dopamine.

The G-List: Kris Duggan

October 29, 2010

An inside look at Kris Duggan: CEO and Founder at Badgeville

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You can read more of Kris’s thoughts by following him on Twitter: @kduggan

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

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Need help with behavioral science and gamification? Get in touch with our boutique consulting agency Dopamine.

The Gamification Workshops Are Sold Out!

October 28, 2010

The interest in the Gamification Workshops has been amazing! Both workshops, New York and San Francisco are now officially sold out! But it’s not too late to learn more about gamifying your business. You can still sign up for the waitlist to be notified if more spaces become available by filling out this form.

And, of course, you can still register for the Gamification Summit, January 20th-21st 2011. There will be informative keynotes, lectures and panels by outstanding speakers, with plenty of networking opportunities and a second day full-length, hands-on workshop led by renowned gamification designer Amy Jo Kim that will help you take your specific business requirements and turn them into actionable gamification strategies.

Thanks for everyone for your enthusiasm! We look forward to seeing you in November – it’s going to be great!

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Need help with behavioral science and gamification? Get in touch with our boutique consulting agency Dopamine.

Takin’ It To The Streets

October 27, 2010

Roadify is a relatively new mobile social network based around NYC commuting. The basic premise is to notify other users of the actual bus arrival times, as compared to the posted stop times that are often inaccurate due to traffic and other delays. As a member, you either “give” or “get” real time notices that updates the main server. When someone “gives” a bus location, the network is updated and the next person to request [“get”] the bus’s location is notified whether the bus is running late, on time or early. Members can also give/get information on street parking spaces as they become available or even before, if you are about to move your car. In return, members receive StreetCARma Points. You can join different teams that are sponsored by local business and redeem those points for prizes.

Of course, there’s the all-important leaderboard that shows top users, top teams and even shows the “top gives” as pin points on a Google map. Check out how many there are in just a month!

Roadify started primarily as Park Slope, Brooklyn-based and has grown to include all of Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island bus routes. And now you can even receive info on subways where cell phone service is available (primarily on the 1-2-3 and A-C-E lines). Roadify now has it’s own iPhone app and is integrated with Facebook and Twitter.

But what’s really impressive about the site’s growth is that early adopters discovered the service through grassroots advertising. Yes, real people, in real life stood at bus corners around Brooklyn, handing out cards and having real conversations with other real people. I was working in Red Hook waiting for the only bus that would take me to my job when a guy handed me a postcard and asked “Have you heard about Roadify?”

Now, as a New Yorker, I’ve generally become immune to people trying to hand me fliers on the street but when he said “real-time bus updates via text messaging” I couldn’t help but pay attention. What’s more is he stood around answering all of my questions with a genuinely friendly and energetic attitude before he moved on. Everyone waiting that morning got a card instructing them to get started immediately by texting the included number. When the bus finally did come nearly all of the boarding passengers were whipping out their phones to start playing the game.

Roadify also goes a few steps further by giving out weekly “trophies” to their two top givers: a blog shout-out and a laudatory flier posted at the users’ favorite stop. How’s that for bragging rights? Roadify is also a supporter of the Brooklyn Community Foundation’s Do-Gooder Award “a borough-wide initiative that seeks to identify and honor those who embody the highest values of community giving and service.”

So far, Roadify has focused on the notion of local community building which is really working. Maybe it will eventually build a national network but for the time being, thinking small is paying off big for them.

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Need help with behavioral science and gamification? Get in touch with our boutique consulting agency Dopamine.

Get my GrassrootsCamp Talk

October 24, 2010