motivation

User Types – an expansion to consider

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Gamification glossary User Types 8211 an expansion to consider

I have not mentioned User Types for at least a couple of blog posts – so though it was time to mess with your heads a little.

When I first started the user types, there were four intrinsic types (Socialiser, Free Spirit, Achiever, Philanthropist) which represented the four intrinsic motivators I speak about in RAMP (Relatedness, Autonomy, Master, Purpose). There was also one extrinsic type called the Player.

I later moved to eight types by expanding the player into four basic types that mirrored similar actions to the intrinsic types, but for rewards. These new types were; Networker, Exploiter, Consumer and Self Seeker. Read More ...

Engagement – What are we talking about?

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10309649 10153344097952619 1236186563670714891 n Engagement 8211 What are we talking about

Engagement. A word that is thrown about in gamification with all the abandon of a child dancing and singing to Frozen…

The thing is, what exactly are we talking about? What is engagement.

As ever, I took to the dictionaries to see what the word on the street is. Looking up engagement is a fruitless task as you get such gems as

A formal agreement to get married

And

The action of engaging or being engaged

However, looking up engage is a far more satisfying experience.

[with object] Occupy or attract (someone’s interest or attention) Read More ...

Why User Types?

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Me presenting the gamification user types hexad Why User Types

Second post in a day, not very SEO clever, I know.

I wanted to take a moment to explain my view on User and Player types and their use in gamification.

First up, some bullets so you get the idea quickly.

What User Types are not;

  1. Perfect
  2. Applicable to every situation or project
  3. The same in all contexts
  4. Pure science

What User Types are;

  1. A tool in an overall toolkit
  2. Easy to use and get your head around
  3. Useful if you understand their limitations
  4. In my case based on motivation (eg Self Determination Theory), observation and research

I created the my User Types, because I wanted to use something in my thinking and design that focused on users, but was not built for games. I had been using Bartle’s types, but they just did not fit well with gamification – this is something he repeatedly tells people! It was also very hard to talk to people in enterprise about killers (i.e. people who take pleasure in the harm they can cause others). I also wanted to approach my types from the perspective of what motivated people rather than how they behaved. Read More ...

Making motivation worse with Gamification

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Man with head on desk 300x201 Making motivation worse with Gamification

When people talk about gamification, it is pretty certain the word “motivation” will pop up. “We want to engage and motivate our people, gamification is definitely going to be the answer for that!”.

The trouble here is that gamification is AN answer, not always THE answer.

People lack motivation in job for a number of reasons, often self perpetuating reasons. Whatever their reason, they are often viewed as poor at their job and an irritant. It is easier to view low motivation as an issue with an individual than with the company or setting. Read More ...

A few gamification tips

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20140414 090949 A few gamification tips

Whilst I am away for a few days, I though I would fill the gap with a quick post for you all. A few gamification tips.

  • Define your goal, you can’t expect anything to work if you have no reason to use it.
  • Extrinsic rewards like points and badges are useful for short term engagement only. They do not make a fully gamified system.
  • Intrinsic motivation is what you are aiming for. Consider RAMP (Relatedness, Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose).
  • Find out what the user wants and design around that. Sure, you have goals, but the user won’t buy into it unless if satisfies their needs in some way.
  • You can’t force fun. What you think will be fun, many will find insulting, patronising or down right enraging.
  • Gamification is not a magic bullet. You may see sudden increases in activity, but overall you will get small percentage increases. This is good as it is better than what you had!
  • Measure. If you don’t measure, you can’t report back on ROI and you will not be able to prove it works.
  • Fail, but learn from it. If something doesn’t work, try something else. There is no magic formula for engagement.
  • Ask for help. There is a huge community out there of people who want to help you – ask them.
  • Don’t believe everything you read, even the big analysts can be wrong. However, read everything!
  • Add monkeys or monkey ninjas. Everyone loves monkeys and everyone loves ninjas.
    • Read More ...