Gamification

I came across Catherine Aurelio’s talk on Gamefication at TEDx Santa Cruz earlier this year.  I enjoyed her thoughtful look at the current trend of gamifying absolutely everything to attract and engage consumers with a product or service.  If you are not familiar with this trend, Catherine does a great job of explaining it.  Sometimes it goes beyond websites and into the real world.  Take foursquare as example.  People use their phones to check in to real world locations, connect with their social network, and earn “mayorships” and badges along the way.  Some companies even use foursquare as a marketing tool, offering deals to encourage people to visit their business and check in.  A number of people at the office were avid foursquare users and the competition was lively.  They were clearly into the game and having fun as they engaged with each other in a new way while going about their daily lives.

As a professional in the video game industry, I often get a lot of heat for being a part of an industry more known for the violent entertainment it creates.  So, I was happy to see Catherine conclude with some thoughts on using gamification as a catalyst for change.  That is a very recent trend that I hope will take off in the very near future.

However you feel about games, keep in mind that games have been used to teach and develop skills, for both children and adults, since practically the beginning of humankind.  Games will always engage and entertain people.  It’s up to us as consumers to invest our time with games in as positive away as possible.

In the meantime, enjoy the video.  I would also love to read your comments on the gamification trend.  Do you participate?  How can we use it as a catalyst for change?

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• Video Games Make Kids Smarter?
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• Social Games and Gamification: What’s the Difference? (socialtimes.com)