BuzzGame

A curation of the blog over at simonstaffans.com, together with interviews with some very sharp minds from different areas of the multiplatform storytelling fie

ABC News
Video Game Puts Players in Shoes of Syrian Rebels
ABC News
A new video game based on Syria's civil war challenges players to make the hard choices facing the country's rebels.

2013 full of video gamesSt. Cloud TimesOne of the most talked-about games at the 2012 E3 video game expo was Sony's “The Last Of Us,” a new adventure from Naughty Dog (of “Uncharted” fame).

Gamification uses gaming mechanism in a non-traditional gaming context. Its potential impact to generate brand awareness and encourage consumer engagement makes it popular in many businesses including tourism. According to WTM Report (2011), gamification is a major trend for the coming years in tourism. It represents a new industry frontier which this project will pioneer.

When thinking about gamification think outside badges and points and think of ways you can incorporate recognition in your own b2b marketing plan.

Even though gamification is much more than badges, many people continue to think of it as just that. So in order to challenge you to think outside the box about gamification, I am going to look at it through a scientific lens to show how the concept is rooted in a distinct human trait: the desire for recognition of our achievements.

Recognition:
Though there are altruistic acts that occur every day – there are a lot of acts that we do because we have to. What’s interesting though, is that even though we have to, we often want recognition for them. What’s even more interesting is that we will often judge others as not deserving recognition (e.g. it’s their job and they get paid for it – now they want a thank you too?) even though we ourselves think we are worthy of it.

What to Do:
Think about how you feel when you are recognized. Well guess what? That’s how most everyone else feels too. So think about this idea of recognition. How can you recognize your customers? Again – you are doing exceptional work that is deserving of their continued partnership – but that isn’t the point.

Even more, we are all inundated with so many messages on a daily basis – most of which come from non-human sources – and it is causing us to long for the days of human contact and social interaction. (That’s why social networks are so successful.) And if you can show that you are recognizing them, it adds back that idea of humanity that many people today are longing for.

It Works.
The fact is, gamification works. People like being able to see their points and badges add up. But the points and the badges are the end result of the larger issue: they like the recognition that recognizes their achievement. And they like it so much they keep coming back for more so it creates loyalty.

So again, when thinking about gamification think outside badges and points and think of ways you can incorporate recognition in your own b2b marketing plan. Maybe the answer is badges – but maybe it isn’t.

Image: Flickr/MoreSatisfyingPhotos.com Abusive customers. Low pay. Tuberculosis infections. Customer support can be a miserable job. Software makers ha (Kan #gamification je klantenservice SLECHTER laten functioneren?

Cities are the ground zero for digital innovation. The urbanization of the world now takes place in the digital era, where connectivity is a core feature of urban functions. Smart Cities are supposed to be networked cities where ICTs are a vehicle for community intelligence, for sustainable ecologic and social growth, as well as participatory actions and civic engagement. Technologies must be adaptable to urban environments, and the city must be hackable, changeable and suitable for digital/real participation, loosing –in quite reasonable terms – the the top-down schemes for urban planning and city management.