June 13, 2026
Headlines

Why You Shouldn’t Ignore Gamification in 2013

Ivan Kuo25 mins

In a recent Inc.com article by Erik Sherman about Trends to Ignore in 2013, Sherman is quick to dismiss gamification. I wholeheartedly agree with some of Sherman’s claims because a gamification effort that isn’t backed by appropriate goals and business models is simply just a gimmick and/or an ineffectual game. However, when Sherman speaks to the Hawthorne Effect and the whimsical nature of games, which is to say that this yet another dismissal of gamification without a full understanding of what it even means.

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Top Articles for Consumer Gamification in 2012

Ivan Kuo04 mins

As we continue with our Best of 2012 Series, we look at some of the top gamification articles in 2012 to engage with consumers. 2012 proved to be an interesting year as more and more companies are choosing to adopt gamification in unique ways to engage with customers. As the industry saturates in 2013, these techniques will have to refined and reiterated and keep up with some of the best examples we see here today.

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Behind the Scenes Notes from gsummitX Tel Aviv

Gabe Zichermann01 mins

We had a great gsummitX in Tel Aviv on Christmas Day, with a standing room-only crowd and great speakers. We’ll soon share some of the videos from the event, but in the meantime you might enjoy reading my notes. I took these from listening to the varied speakers and then did an impromptu presentation where I responded to their assertions and highlighted their most interesting comments. My handwriting isn’t the best, but the topics are fascinating.

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How to Gamify Your Goals: A Step By Step Guide

Ivan Kuo1332 mins

When I started gamifying my goals last year, I didn’t think it would become something worth sharing. I simply wanted to create an effective system for tracking and achieving my goals – especially the ones that were in dire need of motivation. Despite its humble beginnings, this gamified system has far exceeded my expectations, and has even helped me acquire a dream job of sorts. It’s done a great deal of good for me, so I’d like to pass it along to you (in excruciating detail, of course).

This article contains the nitty-gritty details on the process of gamifying goals, along with a set of techniques that will help you get the most out of the system you ultimately create for yourself. So if you have (or intend to soon have) a challenging goal that would benefit from higher levels of motivation, it may be worth your while to read on.

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The NY Times Features Gamification And Employee Fitness

Gary Henkle03 mins

On Christmas Eve The New York Times –  the paper of record – acknowledged the influence of gamification with an article which features delightful game mechanics in its online version, while the print version of the article appeared on the cover, page A1. Technology writer Nick Wingfield offered readers a basic introduction to the gamification movement with some case studies and a little bit of cotroversy as well. Online readers earned badges for reading the article, searching through it, for reading the comments and more.

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Add Some Gamification to Your Drunken Holiday Office Parties

Ivan Kuo14 mins

It’s finally 12/21/12 and the world is supposed to end at any moment now. It also just so happens to be right at the cusp of Christmas and other major holidays. Whether you’re cowering in fear or celebrating the holidays like a sane person, chances are that you’re probably drinking a lot of alcohol for the occasion. Here are some gamification apps to make drinking even more engaging during your holiday boozing.

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Encouraging Gen-Y Entrepreneurship with the Gamification Market

Ivan Kuo09 mins

According to many economists, encouraging the growth of small businesses and entrepreneurship is one of the best ways to help the country recover from the financial setbacks of the past few years. An entrepreneurial spirit does not come easily to everyone, though. It takes a certain type of personality to strike out independently, but there are also a range of business skills needed to find success. Schools, universities, and graduate management programs are taking note, and slowly but surely are introducing small business training modules to their curricula. Motivating kids to think about jumping aboard the small business wagon is, many believe, a smart move, both for the economy and the future development of our leaders. Particularly as technology continues to develop and become ubiquitous, there are likely to be an ever-increasing supply of entrepreneurial opportunities for those who are willing—and prepared—to take on the challenge.

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North Korea’s Crap Attempt at Gamified Propaganda: Pyongyang Racers

Ivan Kuo19 mins

A Chinese company called Koryo Tours has been commissioned (or forced…who knows) to create a game simulating a driving tour around Pyongyang called Pyongyang Racers. You’re placed in a nondescript car and need to drive around this ghost-town of a city to collect oil barrels and stamps to see monuments in Pyongyang. After taking about  45 minutes to finish this crude game, I’ve come to the conclusion that Pyongyang Racers is one of the worst gamified marketing efforts I’ve ever seen.

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The Evolution of Loyalty with Rajat Paharia

Ivan Kuo01 mins

Each week on the Gamification Revolution web show, Gabe Zichermann answers all your burning gamification questions LIVE every Monday at 1pm ET/10am PT/1800 GMT at http://gamification.co/live. This week’s show features Rajat Paharia, Founder and Chief Product Officer of gamification platform, Bunchball. Here’s a rundown on some of the topics they spoke about:

  • What should people focus on first when starting to integrate gamification?
  • Why people fear personalized marketing and loyalty.
  • Rajat explains the “unfair value exchange” consumers are believed to have in gamification systems
  • Some examples of “negative” enterprise gamification
  • The current state of gamification in learning management systems


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This will be our last episode of 2012 – so stay tuned for our return on January 11, 1:30 PM with Asi Burak, the Co-President of Games for Change.

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Gamification Myths Part 2: Game Mechanics are Being Misused

Gabe Zichermann010 mins

One of the more vexing questions within game design is “what is a game mechanic” and its corollary — what isn’t. Along with some of the other major disagreements in game design, the mechanics question is both existential and crucial for understanding the interplay between games and gamification. Very long and interesting articles, papers, speeches and presentations (n.b. there are obviously thousands more) have been given on the topic of what is a game mechanic, how it works, what conflicts are, etc – most of them interesting, if academic.

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Are You Elfing Kidding Me?! Elfster Gamifies Secret Santa

Gary Henkle17 mins

I am very excited for this coming Thursday, when our office will be exchanging gifts for Secret Santa! Here at Gamification Co. we couldn’t just have our staff draw names out of a hat – that would be too fourth grade – so our editor Ivan set us up with a free online Secret Santa exchange called Elfster a social network which organizes Secret Santa lists for your employees.

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Zurmo Delivers CRM Gamification with Version 1.0

Taavi Lindmaa03 mins

The release is the culmination of two years of full-time software development by seasoned engineers in the Open Source CRM field determined to build the best Open Source CRM application on the planet. Developers of the Zurmo Open Source Customer Relationship Management application today announced the General Audience (GA) release of Zurmo Version 1.0. The release is the culmination of two years of full-time software development by seasoned engineers in the Open Source CRM field. Zurmo 1.0 addresses three significant pillars to a successful customer facing solution – Users, Developers, and the Enterprise.

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