Today, Venturebeat reports on a new startup called Top That out of the Cayman Islands. The company, which just launched, bills itself as a platform for any kind of social competition. The design appears to be mostly quite straightforward – it’s a Hot or Not style ranking game. You are given two possible choices and are…
Earlier this week, I went to go see the critically-acclaimed documentary Speak. The movie centers around the competition for the World Championship of Public Speaking, run each year by Toastmasters International. According to the New York Times Review, this doc is both deft and innovative – and I would tend to agree. Obviously, I’m really…
I can’t resist a documentary about competitive subcultures, like the amazing Word Wars and Wordplay – docs about Scrabble and crossword puzzles, respectively. Even better when I come across one that is both game-oriented and competitive. The excellent documentary, Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story ably satisfies both requirements – and then some. Like many…
Historically, games have focused on competition. Gambling, video games, board games, and athletic sports are often defined by having a winner. On Forbes a few weeks ago, author Haydn Shaughnessy looked at the rise of gamification and the return of game-like competition to the workplace. According to him, too many corporations focus solely on collaboration…
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…
A lot of the conversation surrounding gamification tends to focus on how businesses can better engage and relate to customers. While it obviously can increase brand loyalty, gamification can also be used to better motivate and educate employees. In her recent blog post, Lauren Carlson over at Software Advice theorizes how game mechanics can be…
DailyBurn is a fitness and health site, that tries to cater to every possible type of user and offers a ranges of apps and devices to continue interacting off-site. After you create an account, you select a fitness goal – loss weight, get stronger, increase endurance or become more athletic. Right from the get-go there’s…
The Academy Awards are this Sunday and as per usual, people are making their winning picks for Best Picture, and Best Actor/Actress. If The Oscars and other similar industry awards are the prizes, is the act of film making a game in and of itself? Earlier this week we mentioned Clinton Bonner’s idea to gamify…
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…
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…
