Yesterday Apple revealed iOS 7, the latest version of its operating system for mobile devices. The update was greeted – as usual – by thunderous applause from the company’s legions of fanboys and with vocal derision from pro-Android bigots. In the midst of all the hoopla and traded social media barbs, one thing seems glaringly obvious: Apple is out of ideas, particularly for business users.
Masturbater. Master Baiter?
Whether you’re an expert animal trapper or a normal person who enjoys self-pleasure, the mere sound of the word masturbation isn’t pleasant for anyone. The clunky quadrisyllabic term meant to describe personal relief is so socially awkward that it’s ostensibly forbidden to talk about, despite being something every human being has engaged with at some point in our lives. Masturbation as it relates to women is an even bigger taboo to discuss, as a result of widespread dogma pushing absolute female purity throughout the development of most modern societies.
The act of masturbation is an important step in our sexual development as human beings, yet this dogma still exists. As a result of this many females feel a societal pressure to live up to these outdated beliefs and suffer from negative self-image and lowered self-esteem for their natural desires. The fact remains that many women and girls don’t masturbate at all and may not even know how to but does it need to be this way?
It’s important to recycle and reduce consumption and turn off the water while brushing teeth, but who wants to sort trash? Who wants to go around the house making sure all the light bulbs are off? If you make it a game, you create a situation where people actually want to use less power, and some cases, you could even generate more power. There are a number of mobile apps for iOS and Android that aims to make the whole act of conserving energy a little easier. Here are three applications aimed at encouraging eco-friendly behavior.
Activity trackers have become very popular among fitness enthusiasts, quantified-selfers, and gadget fans but are they making any sort of difference? I had mixed feelings about the Nike Fuelband when I reviewed it a year ago and Wired thinks it isn’t making you any healthier either. But maybe these glorified bluetooth accelerometers are missing a crucial feature: brainwave monitoring
If the case for non-physical rewards (see SAPS) as a motivator still hasn’t convinced you of its effectiveness, you might want to look at Boston’s government mobile app that will allow Bostonians to improve city services.
Released in 2008, Citizen’s Connect allows local citizens to report issues like broken signs and potholes to make sure they are fixed quickly. According to SearchCIO, this effort is in part of Boston CIO, Bill Oates’ desire to create an active communication loop between citizen and workers to ensure city problems are solved.
When a colleague had heard about a new to-do list app called Carrot, it somehow made its way immediately to my desk. After several months into my job at Gamification Co I was juggling so many different responsibilities that I found it hard to organize my time, so I began reading books and collecting apps dedicated to all things GSD (Getting Shit Done). Eventually I will have to find time to organize all my organizational tools.
The reason I decided to add Carrot to my catalog is because it’s a To-Do list infused with gamification elements. You get points for each task you complete and a red status bar letting you know how far along you are, and how far you have to go before you can level up and collect a reward – so far a humorous fortunte cookieqsue statement you’re asked to share socially.
I’ve recently acquired a Nokia Lumia 920 review unit and as an Android enthusiast, I would have never made this switch but there’s no way I’d turn down the opportunity to play with some new toys.
While I can make a full comprehensive-review of the hardware and operating system, I’ll mainly be looking at Windows Phone 8 (Not Windows Mobile, mind you) and its implication for gamification design.
Most smartphone users (i.e., mostly everyone) have been getting excited by mobile providers new claims on their 4G networks. The speeds are supposedly incredible and who could resist the possibility of downloading a full-length HD movie right to your phone? But before you get too jazzed, you might want to check out the recent post…
They say the average smoker will attempt to quit 10 times or so before they finally kick the habit. There’s nicotine patches, gum, electronic cigarettes and tons of other tools out there to help, yet it’s so hard to stick with a plan. Obviously addiction to smoking isn’t just a physical problem, but emotional as…
Beintoo is a gamification startup out of Milan that focuses on uniting users across the app ecosystem with a series of socially oriented game mechanics. So far, gamification platforms have been gunning for big targets, with the majority working on projects around larger brands and campaigns. Beintoo is the next step in the trend towards using…
Julie Price, CEO of Mobile Adventure Walks, is an expert in human factors, UX, marketing, and product management. After analyzing gym members psychological and behavior profiles, Julie began building technology products to change behavior. Her designs and tests evaluated different interactions, themes, voices, and game-mechanics that would attract people to move more and eat healthier. Julie earned her MBA from…
Heavy snowfall in New York is to be expected this time of year. We have really humid weather, our summers and winters are equally brutal and our proximity to the ocean often makes forecasts difficult more than just a few days in advance. But the recent East Coast blizzard seems to have taken New York…
