| Seven Ways to Bring More Playful Productivity to Your Work |
| Is play really the opposite of work? What if your most creative, productive & effective work was actually accomplished when in a state of playful flow? This article explores seven ways to make your work more playfully productive. 1. Re-examine your assumptions and beliefs about work and play. 2. Uncover your core passions and connect them to your business mission and values. 3. Schedule at least one, if not a few, “non-screen” times during your day. 4. Schedule regular daily or weekly play time with your co-workers, peers or friends. 5. Create a comfortable play-space or lounge in your workplace. 6. Bring more of your personal, creative, playful life into the workplace. 7. Do some more reading and research on this subject. |
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Seven Ways to Bring More Playful Productivity to Your Work
Taking the Work Out of Work
http://www.engagingleader.com/gc12-taking-the-work-out-of-work-podcast/
Global, social, technological, and demographic shifts alter the competitive landscape for businesses across the globe. The impact on organizational behavior is significant. Creativity and innovation are paramount – keystones for 21st century competitive relevance. The speed of business and the pressures of competition require unprecedented agility. At an organizational level, employees are pulled in every direction, asked to perform unreal acts, and pressured for new ideas at a level well beyond the greatest minds in history. Yet, high unemployment levels, globalization, offshoring, outsourcing, contract work, crowdsourcing and a burgeoning population mean uncertainty and insecurity for everyone. A lack of trust and uncertainty around job security inhibit creative undertakings by employees. How do we partner to foster creativity while maintaining a competitive edge? The answer is to create a culture of play and games in the 21st century workplace.© Ross Smith
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| Ross Smith DIRECTOR OF TEST, Skype Division |
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FW: Episode 60 – Bubbly Bubblers in Gamified Buildings
http://gamesatwork.biz/2013/09/08/episode-60-bubbly-bubblers-in-gamified-buildings/
Phaedra, Michael and Michael were delighted to be accompanied by Ross Smith, Director of Test in the Skype division of Microsoft for this show, centered around games for employee engagement.
Ross described the recent work that he and his team have done with giving personality to buildings and using the building itself as the ‘game master’, to orchestrate and facilitate employee engagement.
Games for health
Saturday, September 24, 2011
How Gaming Transforms the Workplace | Casual Connect Seattle
http://casualconnect.org/lectures/business/how-gaming-transforms-the-workplace-ross-smith/
With widespread access to broadband, social networks and multiple connected devices and tools on a daily basis, people are increasingly engaging in a fully connected and often gaming-centered digital world. This digitally-savvy population is also entering the workforce in larger numbers than ever — inciting vast changes in the workplace and re-defining our very understanding of how work “works”. Gaming and applied game elements, in particular, can make a dramatic impact on the quality of productivity, management, and even team-work itself. Whether you’re talking about making key personnel decisions, motivating employees, setting objectives or facilitating collaboration – these new ways of working will continue to shape the 21st century. Join Microsoft’s Ross Smith as he describes his experience and vision around how “productivity games” can help shape our working lives.
Delivered at Casual Connect Seattle, July 2011.
Monday, May 30, 2011
How Gamification Works
How Stuff Works
"Gamification" describes turning real-world situations into games. Gamification is a neologism -- a newly invented term that's becoming commonly used. The word gamification was likely born in the realm of casual conversation to convey the idea of turning something into a game. People like entrepreneur and author Gabe Zichermann, though, have given gamification its own unique definition. Zichermann, a respected authority on gamification and its applications, defines the term as "the process of using game thinking and mechanics to engage audiences and solve problems." In short, he describes gamification as "non-fiction gaming."
"Gamification" describes turning real-world situations into games. Gamification is a neologism -- a newly invented term that's becoming commonly used. The word gamification was likely born in the realm of casual conversation to convey the idea of turning something into a game. People like entrepreneur and author Gabe Zichermann, though, have given gamification its own unique definition. Zichermann, a respected authority on gamification and its applications, defines the term as "the process of using game thinking and mechanics to engage audiences and solve problems." In short, he describes gamification as "non-fiction gaming."
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Ribbon Hero 2
Clippy is back!
Ribbon Hero 2 uses game mechanics to teach players how to use Office.
Download here
CNN coverage is here
The storyline with Clippy keeps a theme across levels of learning.
"In Ribbon Hero 2, you'll hop on board Clippy's stolen time machine and explore different time periods. With each time period, you get to explore a new game board with challenges you must complete to get to the next level."
YouTube video here
Ribbon Hero 2 uses game mechanics to teach players how to use Office.
Download here
CNN coverage is here
The storyline with Clippy keeps a theme across levels of learning.
"In Ribbon Hero 2, you'll hop on board Clippy's stolen time machine and explore different time periods. With each time period, you get to explore a new game board with challenges you must complete to get to the next level."
YouTube video here
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Crowdsourcing Can Help Companies Find Scarce Data Analysis Skills
IT Business Edge
As Darren Vengroff, a former lead researcher for Amazon's recommendation engine, said in a Forbes article, Netflix "spent the same amount and got thousands, probably millions of engineer-years."
So it's not too surprising to see other companies trying to attain similar R&D returns by offering big bucks to folks who can help figure out the answers to complex data analysis questions.
As The Wall Street Journal reports, California physicians group Heritage Provider Network Inc. is offering $3 million to the participant who develops the best model to predict how many days a patient is likely to spend in the hospital in a year's time. Contestants will receive "anonymized" insurance-claims data to create their models.
Heritage executive Jonathan Gluck says the goal is to reduce the number of hospital visits, by identifying patients who could benefit from services such as home nurse visits.
As Darren Vengroff, a former lead researcher for Amazon's recommendation engine, said in a Forbes article, Netflix "spent the same amount and got thousands, probably millions of engineer-years."
So it's not too surprising to see other companies trying to attain similar R&D returns by offering big bucks to folks who can help figure out the answers to complex data analysis questions.
As The Wall Street Journal reports, California physicians group Heritage Provider Network Inc. is offering $3 million to the participant who develops the best model to predict how many days a patient is likely to spend in the hospital in a year's time. Contestants will receive "anonymized" insurance-claims data to create their models.
Heritage executive Jonathan Gluck says the goal is to reduce the number of hospital visits, by identifying patients who could benefit from services such as home nurse visits.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Lync IM an Expert
IM an Expert helps connect people asking questions with a set of self identified experts via IM. Experts compete via a leaderboard to answer questions using Lync instant messenging. Great example of a productivity game :-)
from http://lyncteam.com/archive/2011/03/23/2272.aspx
Are there experts in your enterprise that would like to share their knowledge? Do you find yourself trying to find the right person to answer a particular question?
IM an Expert for Lync Server 2010 can help connect experts in an organization with those seeking their advice. Unlike forums, distribution lists or other existing methods, IM an Expert can provide almost immediate assistance by searching for available experts and using IM to contact them
from http://lyncteam.com/archive/2011/03/23/2272.aspx
Are there experts in your enterprise that would like to share their knowledge? Do you find yourself trying to find the right person to answer a particular question?
IM an Expert for Lync Server 2010 can help connect experts in an organization with those seeking their advice. Unlike forums, distribution lists or other existing methods, IM an Expert can provide almost immediate assistance by searching for available experts and using IM to contact them
Saturday, March 12, 2011
It Doesn't Feel Like Work--the Power of Intrinsic Motivation
MiX
It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit." - John Wooden
Rewards and punishments are often thought of in terms of "extrinsic" motivators--incentives that go beyond, or are greater than, the task itself and which are offered up by someone other than those performing the task. A child receives a piece of candy for sitting still or a salesman gets a trip to Hawaii for selling above quota. External motivation can often take the form of punishment or manipulation as well.
Most of us have to work to earn a living--with the evidence on display in that legendary contrivance known as a paycheck. There are many powerful inducements to show up and perform each and every day, whether you enjoy it or not, but the paycheck is often the most compelling.
In 1905, Howard Washington Odum wrote:
Well, you wake up in the mornin',
You hear the work bell ring,
And they march you to the table to see the same old thing.
Ain't no food upon the table, and no pork up in the pan.
But you better not complain, boy,
You get in trouble with the man.
On the contrary, we all have seen those intrinsically motivated people perform each of their tasks for the enjoyment or satisfaction of the task itself. (It's awe-inspiring--and sometimes jealousy-inducing.)
In "Social Influences on Creativity: The Effects of Contracted-For Rewards" (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, p383), Teresa Amabile suggests that "people are intrinsically motivated to engage in a particular task if they view their task engagement as motivated primarily by their own interest and involvement in the task".
Does a paycheck, salary bonus, raise, or promotion put more work in to work? Well, it sure seems like lavish raises, exotic vacations, those coveted employee-of-the-month parking spots, and massive bonuses would make work more fun, doesn't it? The research suggests otherwise: rewards, or worse, the threat of punishment actually make work less enjoyable and perhaps even reduce productivity. These extrinsic elements can make work feel like work.
People who are offered rewards tend to "...choose easier tasks, are less efficient in using the information available to solve novel problems, and tend to be answer oriented and more illogical in their problem solving strategies. They seem to work harder and produce activity, but the activity is of a lower quality, contains more errors, and is more stereotyped and less creative than the work of comparable non-rewarded subjects working on the same problem."
Perhaps a goal of the "take the work out of work" moonshot could be to shift from extrinsic motivation to intrinsic--to build teams of people who are self-motivated by the tasks themselves; inspired by the vision or mission of the organization, rather than by the promise of a paycheck, a bonus, or a raise. Confucius said, "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." (John Condry “Enemies of Exploration: Self-initiated vs. Other-initiated Learning” p. 471)
And in one of the perhaps all-time greatest testimonials to the power of intrinsic motivation, Theodore Roosevelt, in Paris in 1910, said:
"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
So, as we move along the path away from extrinsic rewards towards intrinsic motivation, we begin with external regulation--performing a task to get a reward or to avoid a punishment.
As Alfie Kohn, author of Punished by Rewards, suggests:
"Sure, bribes and threats can produce temporary compliance. Offer a reward to adults for going to the gym, or to children for picking up a book, and it may work -- for a while. But they come to think of themselves as extrinsically motivated, so when the reward is no longer available there's no reason to continue. Indeed, they may wind up less interested in exercising or reading than they were before."
Let's survey a few recent submissions on the MiX and look for evidence that might support this idea that an increasing the level of intrinsic motivation in the workplace could help to take the work out of work.
It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit." - John Wooden
Rewards and punishments are often thought of in terms of "extrinsic" motivators--incentives that go beyond, or are greater than, the task itself and which are offered up by someone other than those performing the task. A child receives a piece of candy for sitting still or a salesman gets a trip to Hawaii for selling above quota. External motivation can often take the form of punishment or manipulation as well.
Most of us have to work to earn a living--with the evidence on display in that legendary contrivance known as a paycheck. There are many powerful inducements to show up and perform each and every day, whether you enjoy it or not, but the paycheck is often the most compelling.
In 1905, Howard Washington Odum wrote:
Well, you wake up in the mornin',
You hear the work bell ring,
And they march you to the table to see the same old thing.
Ain't no food upon the table, and no pork up in the pan.
But you better not complain, boy,
You get in trouble with the man.
On the contrary, we all have seen those intrinsically motivated people perform each of their tasks for the enjoyment or satisfaction of the task itself. (It's awe-inspiring--and sometimes jealousy-inducing.)
In "Social Influences on Creativity: The Effects of Contracted-For Rewards" (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, p383), Teresa Amabile suggests that "people are intrinsically motivated to engage in a particular task if they view their task engagement as motivated primarily by their own interest and involvement in the task".
Does a paycheck, salary bonus, raise, or promotion put more work in to work? Well, it sure seems like lavish raises, exotic vacations, those coveted employee-of-the-month parking spots, and massive bonuses would make work more fun, doesn't it? The research suggests otherwise: rewards, or worse, the threat of punishment actually make work less enjoyable and perhaps even reduce productivity. These extrinsic elements can make work feel like work.
People who are offered rewards tend to "...choose easier tasks, are less efficient in using the information available to solve novel problems, and tend to be answer oriented and more illogical in their problem solving strategies. They seem to work harder and produce activity, but the activity is of a lower quality, contains more errors, and is more stereotyped and less creative than the work of comparable non-rewarded subjects working on the same problem."
Perhaps a goal of the "take the work out of work" moonshot could be to shift from extrinsic motivation to intrinsic--to build teams of people who are self-motivated by the tasks themselves; inspired by the vision or mission of the organization, rather than by the promise of a paycheck, a bonus, or a raise. Confucius said, "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." (John Condry “Enemies of Exploration: Self-initiated vs. Other-initiated Learning” p. 471)
And in one of the perhaps all-time greatest testimonials to the power of intrinsic motivation, Theodore Roosevelt, in Paris in 1910, said:
"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
So, as we move along the path away from extrinsic rewards towards intrinsic motivation, we begin with external regulation--performing a task to get a reward or to avoid a punishment.
As Alfie Kohn, author of Punished by Rewards, suggests:
"Sure, bribes and threats can produce temporary compliance. Offer a reward to adults for going to the gym, or to children for picking up a book, and it may work -- for a while. But they come to think of themselves as extrinsically motivated, so when the reward is no longer available there's no reason to continue. Indeed, they may wind up less interested in exercising or reading than they were before."
Let's survey a few recent submissions on the MiX and look for evidence that might support this idea that an increasing the level of intrinsic motivation in the workplace could help to take the work out of work.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
The Gamification of Work
MiX
Gamification, the use of game elements, or game play mechanics, for non-game applications, is getting a lot of attention these days. Later this month at the Game Developer’s Conference, the "Great Gamification Debate " will dispute the merits of adding game elements to real life. Check out Jesse Schell’s Gamepocalypse talk, Jane McGonigal, author of Reality is Broken on Colbert, and Business Week’s recent article
In the renowned "Homo Ludens", Johan Huizinga, describes play as "an activity which proceeds within certain limits of time and space, in a visible order, according to rules freely accepted, and outside the sphere of necessity or material utility. The play-mood is one of rapture and enthusiasm, and is sacred or festive in accordance with the occasion. A feeling of exaltation and tension accompanies the action, mirth and relaxation follow." (Homo Ludens, Johan Huizinga, p. 132)
Wow! Wouldn’t it be great if that’s how you described your workplace? Douglas MacGregor, in Theory X, suggests that "work is as natural as play." Perhaps, we can follow the lead of these HCI M-Prize innovators and "gamify" our work—adding more game elements, beyond the typical player vs. player competition and zero sum, winner-take-all rewards so commonplace in corporations today. Perhaps we could all achieve the success that these M-Prize folks have brought to their workplace.
Gamification, the use of game elements, or game play mechanics, for non-game applications, is getting a lot of attention these days. Later this month at the Game Developer’s Conference, the "Great Gamification Debate " will dispute the merits of adding game elements to real life. Check out Jesse Schell’s Gamepocalypse talk, Jane McGonigal, author of Reality is Broken on Colbert, and Business Week’s recent article
In the renowned "Homo Ludens", Johan Huizinga, describes play as "an activity which proceeds within certain limits of time and space, in a visible order, according to rules freely accepted, and outside the sphere of necessity or material utility. The play-mood is one of rapture and enthusiasm, and is sacred or festive in accordance with the occasion. A feeling of exaltation and tension accompanies the action, mirth and relaxation follow." (Homo Ludens, Johan Huizinga, p. 132)
Wow! Wouldn’t it be great if that’s how you described your workplace? Douglas MacGregor, in Theory X, suggests that "work is as natural as play." Perhaps, we can follow the lead of these HCI M-Prize innovators and "gamify" our work—adding more game elements, beyond the typical player vs. player competition and zero sum, winner-take-all rewards so commonplace in corporations today. Perhaps we could all achieve the success that these M-Prize folks have brought to their workplace.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Business Week: 'Gamification': A Growing Business to Invigorate Stale Websites
Business Week
When done right, games exert a strong psychological influence over consumers, says Amy Jo Kim, a game designer who worked on hits such as Rock Band after earning a PhD in behavioral neuroscience. "What games do is help you come up with stories about yourself," she says. Earning points or reaching new levels creates the illusion of progress and is akin to "telling you a story about yourself getting better and stronger and more powerful," she says.
Social status is another motivator. "We have this tendency to care about what image we portray," says Dan Ariely, a professor of behavioral economics at Duke University. In real life, there are mansions and handbags. "In the gaming world," says Ariely, "there are badges."
When done right, games exert a strong psychological influence over consumers, says Amy Jo Kim, a game designer who worked on hits such as Rock Band after earning a PhD in behavioral neuroscience. "What games do is help you come up with stories about yourself," she says. Earning points or reaching new levels creates the illusion of progress and is akin to "telling you a story about yourself getting better and stronger and more powerful," she says.
Social status is another motivator. "We have this tendency to care about what image we portray," says Dan Ariely, a professor of behavioral economics at Duke University. In real life, there are mansions and handbags. "In the gaming world," says Ariely, "there are badges."
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Giants’ safeties wish Tom Coughlin would be more like Rex Ryan
From NBC Sports
We are approaching the NFL Super Bowl in the U.S., and throughout the playoffs, there’s been a lot of talk about, and by, New York Jets coach Rex Ryan. Last week, two New York Giants players, who are not in the playoffs compared their coach, Tom Coughlin, to the Jets Ryan. Safety Antrel Rolle said about Coughlin, “If he just loosened up just a little bit, run the ship the way you want to run it, run the program the way you want to run it but let us have a little fun, because at the end of the day that’s what it’s all about. . . . I like the coach, I understand what he’s trying to do but he has to understand it’s 2011, man, things have changed.”
We are approaching the NFL Super Bowl in the U.S., and throughout the playoffs, there’s been a lot of talk about, and by, New York Jets coach Rex Ryan. Last week, two New York Giants players, who are not in the playoffs compared their coach, Tom Coughlin, to the Jets Ryan. Safety Antrel Rolle said about Coughlin, “If he just loosened up just a little bit, run the ship the way you want to run it, run the program the way you want to run it but let us have a little fun, because at the end of the day that’s what it’s all about. . . . I like the coach, I understand what he’s trying to do but he has to understand it’s 2011, man, things have changed.”
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Nissan Leaf rates you against other drivers, creates a high score list for hypermilers
From Engadget
http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/26/nissan-leaf-rates-you-against-other-drivers-creates-a-high-scor/
Xbox Live and the Achievement system kind of reinvented the high score list, letting you compete against your friends even when you're roaming solo through a stark, barren wasteland. It looks like Nissan is doing much the same with the Leaf -- but minus the bloatflies and the supermutants. As the cars are now rolling out to eager owners we're learning more about just what its Carwings system can do and another neat trick is the "Regional Rankings" page, where one driver's driving efficiency is rated against others in the area. There are bronze, silver, and gold medals up for grabs but, if you cover the thing with speed tape and only commute downhill, you might just be awarded the platinum award. What does that get you? Why, a little picture of a trophy, of course. What were you expecting?
http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/26/nissan-leaf-rates-you-against-other-drivers-creates-a-high-scor/
DOD Launches Casual Games site
http://clc.dau.mil/games
from Armed with Science
On December 1st, 2010, Defense Acquisition University (DAU) launched the first ever Department of Defense casual games site with 13 mini games designed specifically to enhance Acquisition workforce education.
DAU’s Global Learning Technologies Center became determined to launch a site of this nature when it was realized that DAU students were similar in demographic to users of other casual games sites. The rationale behind the site was to serve as a place where professionals in the Acquisition workforce could go to play games that were related to the “core competencies” that are central to Acquisition. The result was a game site that mirrors some of the functionalities that most sites use today, including the ability to create a login to store, rate, and comment on games as well as collect badges for achievements in play.
from Armed with Science
On December 1st, 2010, Defense Acquisition University (DAU) launched the first ever Department of Defense casual games site with 13 mini games designed specifically to enhance Acquisition workforce education.
DAU’s Global Learning Technologies Center became determined to launch a site of this nature when it was realized that DAU students were similar in demographic to users of other casual games sites. The rationale behind the site was to serve as a place where professionals in the Acquisition workforce could go to play games that were related to the “core competencies” that are central to Acquisition. The result was a game site that mirrors some of the functionalities that most sites use today, including the ability to create a login to store, rate, and comment on games as well as collect badges for achievements in play.
Monday, December 27, 2010
MiX: Here's a Resolution Worth Working On: Have More Fun
MiX
Happy Holidays!
As we close out 2010 and look forward to the New Year, let’s take a look at a well honored tradition – the New Year’s resolution.
Celebrating the New Year is perhaps one of the oldest traditions we know of. Over 4000 years ago, the ancient Babylonians celebrated the new moon on March 23rd. Years later, in 153BC, the Roman Senate selected the god Janus to represent the beginning of the calendar year. In 46BC, Julius Caesar established the Julian calendar, securing January 1st as the official start of the year.
read more
Happy Holidays!
As we close out 2010 and look forward to the New Year, let’s take a look at a well honored tradition – the New Year’s resolution.
Celebrating the New Year is perhaps one of the oldest traditions we know of. Over 4000 years ago, the ancient Babylonians celebrated the new moon on March 23rd. Years later, in 153BC, the Roman Senate selected the god Janus to represent the beginning of the calendar year. In 46BC, Julius Caesar established the Julian calendar, securing January 1st as the official start of the year.
read more
Friday, December 17, 2010
How Video Games Are Infiltrating--and Improving--Every Part of Our Lives
Fast Company
Pretty soon, every soda can and cereal box could have a built-in CPU, screen, and camera, along with Wi-Fi connectivity. And at that point, the gaming of life takes off. "You'll get up in the morning to brush your teeth and the toothbrush can sense that you're brushing," Schell said. "So, 'Hey, good job for you! Ten points' " from the toothpaste maker. You sit down to breakfast and get 10 points from Kellogg's for eating your Corn Flakes, then grab the bus because you get enviro-points from the government, which can be used as a tax deduction. Get to work on time, your employer gives you points. Drink Dr Pepper at lunch, points from the soda maker. Walk to a meeting instead of grabbing the shuttle, points from your health-insurance provider. Who knows how far this might run? Schell said. He offered psychedelic scenarios, like the one in which you recall a dream from the previous night where your mother was dancing with a giant Pepsi can: "You remember the REM-tertainment system, which is this thing you put in your ear that can sense when you enter REM sleep, and then [it] starts putting little advertisements out there to try and influence your dreams." If the ads take hold, you win big points for discounts at your local grocery store. "Then there's your office mate," Schell continued, "and he's like, 'Check out this new digital tattoo' " that he got from Tatoogle AdSense, and when you show him yours, you realize you're both wearing Pop-Tart ads. You get paid for the ads, plus 30 additional points just for noticing.
Full article
Pretty soon, every soda can and cereal box could have a built-in CPU, screen, and camera, along with Wi-Fi connectivity. And at that point, the gaming of life takes off. "You'll get up in the morning to brush your teeth and the toothbrush can sense that you're brushing," Schell said. "So, 'Hey, good job for you! Ten points' " from the toothpaste maker. You sit down to breakfast and get 10 points from Kellogg's for eating your Corn Flakes, then grab the bus because you get enviro-points from the government, which can be used as a tax deduction. Get to work on time, your employer gives you points. Drink Dr Pepper at lunch, points from the soda maker. Walk to a meeting instead of grabbing the shuttle, points from your health-insurance provider. Who knows how far this might run? Schell said. He offered psychedelic scenarios, like the one in which you recall a dream from the previous night where your mother was dancing with a giant Pepsi can: "You remember the REM-tertainment system, which is this thing you put in your ear that can sense when you enter REM sleep, and then [it] starts putting little advertisements out there to try and influence your dreams." If the ads take hold, you win big points for discounts at your local grocery store. "Then there's your office mate," Schell continued, "and he's like, 'Check out this new digital tattoo' " that he got from Tatoogle AdSense, and when you show him yours, you realize you're both wearing Pop-Tart ads. You get paid for the ads, plus 30 additional points just for noticing.
Full article
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Whistle While You Work (but only if you are winning)
Management Innovation Exchange
We're all for smiling at work—that is, until we start losing.
Just watch what happened when the Arizona Cardinals quarterback Derek Anderson was caught smiling and laughing during the Cardinals 27-6 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night football. A short video clip of the lighthearted moment has triggered a bit of a frenzy. Post-game questions about the incident resulted in a tirade from Anderson and set off a storm of discussion in locker rooms and sports talk radio shows all over the country.
Here is a NY Times blog post. Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard spoofed the Anderson episode here.
more....
We're all for smiling at work—that is, until we start losing.
Just watch what happened when the Arizona Cardinals quarterback Derek Anderson was caught smiling and laughing during the Cardinals 27-6 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night football. A short video clip of the lighthearted moment has triggered a bit of a frenzy. Post-game questions about the incident resulted in a tirade from Anderson and set off a storm of discussion in locker rooms and sports talk radio shows all over the country.
Here is a NY Times blog post. Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard spoofed the Anderson episode here.
more....
Friday, November 19, 2010
Forrester: Product Managers Take Note: Microsoft Is Using Serious Games To Product Test (And You Can Too)
Forrester TJ Keitt
In September, Forrester's TJ Keitt published a case study of Microsoft's Windows and Office Communicator (now Microsoft Lync) teams' use of "productivity games."
What are productivity games?
Put simply, they are a series of games produced by a small group of defect testers to encourage rank-and-file Microsoft employees to put software through its paces before it is released to the public.
As many technology product managers can attest, getting employees of your company to take time away from their tasks to run a program in development and report any problems can be a Sisyphean effort: Bug checking doesn't have the allure of being an exciting, sexy job -- but it happens to be necessary.
It will come as a surprise, but since 2006, Microsoft has used five games to look for errors in Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Office Communicator; a sixth game -- Communicate Hope -- is currently in the field to test Microsoft Lync. Why so many games, you ask? Well, they work.
In September, Forrester's TJ Keitt published a case study of Microsoft's Windows and Office Communicator (now Microsoft Lync) teams' use of "productivity games."
What are productivity games?
Put simply, they are a series of games produced by a small group of defect testers to encourage rank-and-file Microsoft employees to put software through its paces before it is released to the public.
As many technology product managers can attest, getting employees of your company to take time away from their tasks to run a program in development and report any problems can be a Sisyphean effort: Bug checking doesn't have the allure of being an exciting, sexy job -- but it happens to be necessary.
It will come as a surprise, but since 2006, Microsoft has used five games to look for errors in Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Office Communicator; a sixth game -- Communicate Hope -- is currently in the field to test Microsoft Lync. Why so many games, you ask? Well, they work.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
How Videogames Trained a Generation of Athletes
Wired Magazine
Just before he reached the end zone, with 17 seconds remaining, Stokley cut right at 90 degrees and ran across the field. Six seconds drained off the clock before, at last, he meandered across the goal line to score the winning touchdown. For certain football fans, the excitement of a last-minute comeback now commingled with the shock of the familiar: It’s hard to think of a better example of a professional athlete doing something so obviously inspired by the tactics of videogame football. When I caught up with Stokley by telephone a few weeks later, I asked him point-blank: “Is that something out of a videogame?” “It definitely is,” Stokley said. “I think everybody who’s played those games has done that” — run around the field for a while at the end of the game to shave a few precious seconds off the clock. Stokley said he had performed that maneuver in a videogame “probably hundreds of times” before doing it in a real NFL game. “I don’t know if subconsciously it made me do it or not,” he said.
See also: DOUBLE PLAY: ATHLETES’ USE OF SPORT VIDEO GAMES TO ENHANCE ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE
Just before he reached the end zone, with 17 seconds remaining, Stokley cut right at 90 degrees and ran across the field. Six seconds drained off the clock before, at last, he meandered across the goal line to score the winning touchdown. For certain football fans, the excitement of a last-minute comeback now commingled with the shock of the familiar: It’s hard to think of a better example of a professional athlete doing something so obviously inspired by the tactics of videogame football. When I caught up with Stokley by telephone a few weeks later, I asked him point-blank: “Is that something out of a videogame?” “It definitely is,” Stokley said. “I think everybody who’s played those games has done that” — run around the field for a while at the end of the game to shave a few precious seconds off the clock. Stokley said he had performed that maneuver in a videogame “probably hundreds of times” before doing it in a real NFL game. “I don’t know if subconsciously it made me do it or not,” he said.
See also: DOUBLE PLAY: ATHLETES’ USE OF SPORT VIDEO GAMES TO ENHANCE ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE
Sunday, August 15, 2010
When Playing Videogames At Work Makes Dollars And Sense
Forbes
In most workplaces playing videogames will get you fired. But at some companies it may actually get you promoted.
In most workplaces playing videogames will get you fired. But at some companies it may actually get you promoted.
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