Value to the User vs Value to You

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Value to the system Value to the User vs Value to You

Here is a little excerpt for the book for you, you know that book that I am still editing but hope to have published in the next 2 weeks…!

Whist basing the value of the reward on a user’s personal investment is important, it is also important not to lose sight of why you were gamifying the system in the first place.

Normally it is because there are certain actions or activities that you want to encourage the user to perform and complete. That being the case, you have to sometimes consider how valuable the action is to you, not just how much effort it is for the user. Read More ...

What would you change?

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Change 1443010847 What would you change

I was asked a great question the other day. If you could go way back, what would you change?

It  got me thinking at the time and I have had it in my mind ever since. At the time I said that I would probably change nothing. The truth is that what I have experienced in my life is what has made me who I am. For the most part, I am pretty happy with how it all turned out!

That is a wishwashy answer though. I then started to think about what I would changed if I was being forced and I did think of something. My A-Levels (the exams you sit at 18). I took Chemistry, Physics and Biology and I was dreadful at them all. I would go back and try to take Computing, Ceramics and Physics if I had the chance again! Read More ...

Shipping, Fantasy vs Reality and the Dark Tetrad

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Evil 1442669978 Shipping Fantasy vs Reality and the Dark Tetrad

I recently discovered a really strange phenomenon called Shipping. This is the creation of fantasy relationships between celebrities that may have been in films together or on TV together. For instance there are a group who call themselves Damie Shippers. They have created a fantasy world where Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson. from Fifty Shades of Grey, are really trying to be a couple. This is despite Dornan being happily married to Amelia Warner. They are not the only ones, they just happen to be the ones I have explored! Read More ...

The Dislike Button – I was wrong

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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 ...

10 Minute Shake Up from NHS and Disney

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Photo 23 08 2015 09 13 17 10 Minute Shake Up from NHS and Disney

Over the summer, the NHS lead programme Change4Life, ran a great campaign aimed at getting kids to do a little bit of excercise. It was called “10 Minute Shake Up” and was done in partnership with Disney.

For starters this is a great idea and one that I whole heartedly support. But the idea was just part of it, the execution is why I have decided to write about it. It was a beautifully realised gamified event.

A few weeks before the summer holidays started, an advertising campaign began for the 10 Minute Shake Up. It invited parents to sign up, for free, to get a pack for their child. Each pack was based on one of four Disney franchises: Toy Story, Big Hero Six, Frozen and Monsters Inc. Read More ...