Gamification: A thought for those who don’t want it.

Stamp 895383 960 720 Gamification A thought for those who don 8217 t want it

One of the blockers for gamification is often staff feeling insulted in some way by it. Whether it is because they feel the money could have been better spent, that the concept is beneath them or just that they are resistant to any change at all.

It is true that gamification is often used in enterprise when someone feels there is a need to increase productivity in some way. That may be by using metrics delivered from a gamified environment to map pain points, or areas where there could be productivity increases. It could be by improving the training materials, or making them more palatable. The point is, these are all things that employees have to buy into for them to work. Read More ...

Do Things Just Because They Amuse You

Even ninja title Do Things Just Because They Amuse You

Anyone who knows me, knows that I often do stuff simply because it amuses me. A good example of that is the title of my book, Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play. I went through dozens of iterations whilst trying to come up with a name. In the book there is an official reason for the name – which is partially true. My daughters crazy imagination and desire to be a pink unicorn with wings was the key inspiration for the name. However, there is another less obvious and far less grown up reason.

Not long before, I wrote the book, I was trying to work out a way for people to be able to reference the User Types Hexad in academic papers. A few people had issues referencing from a website, turns out the academic world is not so keen on blogs. Anyway, I decided to write a paper and submit it with a little help.  Long story short, the paper was rejected. In a wonderful leap of circular logic, the fact that the user types were already on my blog, meant they were not original work and so a paper was not an option. Whilst trying to figure out another plan, I was told that often it was far more acceptable to cite a book than a blog. So, I decided to get the book done. Read More ...

Posts of 2015 – Gamification and much more!

2015 Posts of 2015 8211 Gamification and much more

So, as is tradition, here is a round up of 2015. What a year!!! Research papers, Gamification World Congress, a new book, poetry and loads of exciting projects have made this a most excellent year. Between you and me, next year will be even better!

As with every year, the User Types Hexad has been really popular, but this year my most popular content by far has been the 47 Gamification elements, mechanics and ideas – an old post I pinned! Shows the power of the homepage 🙂 Other big hits this year have been my reaction to Gartner forgetting about gamification (The Hype is Over – Gamification is Here to Stay) and my essay on the 4 essential neurotransmitters in gamification! Read More ...

Being Kind When Discussing Gamification

Minecraft Being Kind When Discussing Gamification

I talk to people about gamification quite a lot! The conversation usually starts with a little curiosity, then some scepticism and if I have done well, enthusiasm.

One thing that happens in probably 9 out of 10 conversations is a little section I like to call “No, it’s not about making games”. You all know this one. The person you are talking to suddenly has a moment of revelation as the think they have understood what you are talking about and say “Oh yeah. Minecraft!”. Read More ...

The Dislike Button – I was wrong

Facebook dislike 1024x336 The Dislike Button 8211 I was wrong

A long time ago, I wrote a short bit on why I wanted to be able to dislike comments on Facebook (and anywhere else for that matter). In my mind (at the time) I was trying to put across the point that we live in a world where we are not allowed to be negative for fear of offending people.

My vision of a dislike button would have lead to a world where the useless or unhelpful crap that filled much of social media could be slowly trained out. By that I mean that trolls and the like would learn that if everything they post can be disliked and hidden, that they would just crawl away and die. Read More ...