%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R ] /Count 1 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 12 0 R /GS2 13 0 R /GS3 14 0 R /GS4 15 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 595.280 841.890] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 1.0.2 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20250118170813+00'00') /ModDate (D:20250118170813+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 595.280 841.890] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 868 >> stream xV]o0}ﯸyc  * 6N-RuWmlxH6_tD v>z5HDp£&9\D Ϻ`kֶU]2LsP0-[0~tB Xkm7dXG$Qvn%8u6E`8̖4u(ND$eqWwqi0LUPyp?B9ƟBm-՝Gdg"TWP"|LՐ:E5, fxqÉH[G𷩆^ -7 i!*d4vz:{R`#ov _tGPW1#^ G{{\xyC^!.d$!.K5Mfs>7G>8QL Qt3zצ#̮nXF2RJUne,Adwg8S-"d $ Ĝʲ8 ê."Lα/8M ,DOhr)c0FI,D]2I,.{o >#Bc^%r~![9%n'Οj$.b[F)%| Ph/OnX$i_뫏> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 13 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 1 >> endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj xref 0 16 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000372 00000 n 0000000401 00000 n 0000000550 00000 n 0000000653 00000 n 0000001593 00000 n 0000001702 00000 n 0000001810 00000 n 0000001918 00000 n 0000002031 00000 n 0000002090 00000 n 0000002149 00000 n 0000002206 00000 n trailer << /Size 16 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[] >> startxref 2263 %%EOF Opinion Archives - Page 18 Of 19 - Gamified UK - #Gamification Expert

Opinion

Meet the distracted, multi tasking and gamified workforce of the future.

by

Recently I was lucky enough to be given an hour to chat with a group of 16 and 17 year olds about Social Media and technology in general.

It started with a general chat about how we communicate in day-to-day life. I was amazed that the first answer I got was “Facebook”. I had twitter, Xbox live, MSN and email before we got to talking! Face to face human interaction. However, as I spoke to them more and more I began to understand why. They take digital communication for granted in the same way we who are older take face to face communication for granted. They thought that was the answer I was looking for. It is just as natural to them.

This intrigued me, so I pursued it with a question I had been discussing earlier with some colleagues. It had revolved around the concept of white noise on social networks. My argument had been that it is human nature to create white noise, the trick is to filter it out. These teenagers said just that. They take in streams and streams of constant chatter from the likes of Facebook, text messages, email and Twitter, but they can just filter out everything except what they want to hear. The difference being, they don’t have to think about it. They just do it!

I brought the conversation around to the idea of distraction. They all agreed that they are a distracted generation. In fact whilst talking to them at least two were on Twitter on their phones! The interesting thing was, when I picked them up on it they were able to repeat every word I had said. Whilst they seemed distracted, they were still absorbing everything I was saying. What surprised me more though was how often they said they looked at their phone or non-school / work related media. At least once every twenty minutes. Each time they spend up to five minutes responding to things. That’s twenty minutes every hour. In a working day, that represents one hundred and fifty minutes (two and a half hours) of “wasted” time each day. However, these people are always on. They don’t see the day in terms of 9 to 5. They see it as a day. If an email comes in at any time of the day, they respond. This is how it will be for their work. Whist they may seem distracted, they will be working later and more hours than ever and never complain as that is just the way it is.

Finally, I brought the conversation to games, much to their delight. I started talking about gamification and the use of game mechanics either to achieve real world objectives or to make mundane tasks more interesting. They got it straight away, but seemed amazed it had a name. For them it was just what they did day to day. Setting small goals to achieve larger tasks.

However, what really interested them was a conversation about how games are going to make them a better work force. Bear with me!

Taking two very popular games, World of Warcraft and Call of Duty. In World of Warcraft one of your aims is to get money. You get money to buy or make new things. These could then be sofl on or used achieve new goals or make it easier to achieve previous goals – thus earning more money. Sound familiar? Basic business. They were learning core principals of how business works from World of Warcraft. Day to day manufacture good or provide services. We earn money by achieving goals. We use that money to buy new things or invest in things that will allow us to achieve different goals or the same goals more efficiently – to earn more money.

Next, I took on Call of Duty. “How on earth can that make you better at working?” they all asked. “You are just shooting bad guys in the face with big guns”. One of them piped up with a gem that I had set myself up for. “Well, you shoot people in the face with weaker guns to start with. Then you earn money by shooting more people, to buy bigger guns to shoot them more efficiently next time.” Brilliant!

However, that was not the point I was trying to make with Call of Duty. I asked them what they did in the game, how they knew what was happening and what they had to do.

They are looking at the main screen to watch for signs of enemy movement. At the same time, they have an eye on the tactical mini map. They also keep an eye on their ammo levels, spike camera displays and teammate positions all whilst listening to environmental sounds and constant chatter on a headset. At the same time, they are using a joy pad with 5 times as many buttons as the good old NES. Yet they are still utterly focused on their main mission. This constant flow of information is filtered and used as they need it without any thought from them.

They are mutli tasking at a level that was previously reserved only for helicopter pilots.

I have not even mentioned the social skills one learns via online gaming.

This is our next generation of workforce. With this kind of ability to multitask and manage vast streams of information, we should see great things from them. Our job as their managers of the future is to understand this new distracted way of working. We need to learn how to focus this kind of ability and get the best from it. It is no longer good enough to ask for 9 to 5 single task working mentality.

Welcome to the always on. multi tasking slightly distracted work force of the future. As my daughter would say. Deal with it.

PDF Tray Meet the distracted multi tasking and gamified workforce of the future

Google+ app: Plus Cut Down To Size

by

Google+ is hot property right now. Technology bloggers the world over are writing thousands of words a day about it (myself included). Sitting in a kind of partway space between the simplicity of Twitter and the do a bit of everything nature of Facebook, it is a technology that is still finding its true place … Read more

Bath time blogging and walking on the moon.

by
Image Bath time blogging and walking on the moon

Despite the title, this is actually about how amazing technology is and how much we take it for granted!

Right now, I am lying in my bath, typing this up on my iPhone. When I am finished, I will press publish on the WordPress app and moments later these words will become available to millions of people over the internet.
Whilst I am doing that I am also chatting to old friends over Meebo, Live communicator, Twitter and email.

Now, scrub that mental image from your mind and let the basic message sink in. We can communicate with friends and family and potentially connect with millions of other people all from a mobile device like a smart phone. Technology is amazing.

If we rewind just ten years, this would be almost impossible. I say almost. I could be lying here risking life and limb with a giant laptop on my knees, half a mile of telephone wire connected to my 56k modem updating my Geocities website for half a dozen people who may happen upon it via Yahoo!

Technology is all around us, it is an integral part of our lives and it is shaping the way we interact with the world. Use it to drive your business, your leisure and your lives. Take it for granted if you must, but never let yourself become so reliant on it that all of that falls apart should it no longer be available. Remember there was life before technology.

My mum told me about a man she met in the 60’s when she was a nurse. He was very old and very ill, however the words he said to her stuck with her all her life.
“When I was young all most people had were horses and carts. Since then I have lived to see a man walk on the moon and everything in between.”

With the speed at which technology is evolving, what do you think you will live to see?

PDF Tray Bath time blogging and walking on the moon
© 2025 Gamified UK - #Gamification Expert • Built with