Intersting Article:All the World’s a Game, and Business Is a Player

[jadmperry]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/24/t...e-and-business-is-a-player.html?smid=pl-share

The badges concept seems to be close to the XF trophies. I can see some interesting possibilities for encouraging behavior and, for those forums that are monetized, making some additional money from smart implementation.

(The article shows some good examples- length of time on a thread, how far you read or scroll on the page, etc.).

 

[Morgain]

Thanks Jadmperry. Personally I'm allergic to the whole screaming WIN POINTS culture that leaps at me. I am sick of telling shops at the till I don't want their tacky points cards for example.
I also only use the XF award system on one of my sites and I slightly spoof it. We have "Sparkles" and you easily get 100s of them. So just fun.

However I do think this has a place with children and young people with immature psychology. Nor is it all immaturity. They can't possibly understand long term goals like academic and training qualifications, and why homework is so life changing vital. So I think here with under 21s there is a place for reward points and I do use it among the young people we tutor.

The case of Emma and exercise was very interesting, and also Kyle Kroll.

... a service called Zamzee to encourage Emma to be more physically active.
Throughout the day, Emma wears a small motion sensor that records her activity level and rewards points for a brisk walk, an impromptu dance party in the living room and any other activity that gets her pulse thumping.
In her home in Salem, Ore., recently, Emma showed off the digital treats that the service’s Web site uses to inspire her, including a Persistence badge and Level 3 bronze medal status.
She can also use the virtual currency that she earns through exercising to get tangible rewards, like a video game system, from the site. “It’s very, very effective,” said her mother, who is studying to be a nurse.

After graduating from high school, Mr. Kroll said, he was unhappy, overweight, living at home and playing World of Warcraft at least six hours a day. He turned things around after starting to work out at a gym regularly with the help of a fitness app on his iPhone called Fitocracy, in which badges are awarded by a robot named Fred.
Mr. Kroll, who has lost about 75 pounds, says he plays video games less frequently now, but he still enjoys the gamelike challenges that the app sets for him at the gym. He said the game gave him “the same satisfaction of getting points and leveling up” that he gets from games.

Kyle's weight loss is truly impressive. Reward points are effective with weight struggle because anyone who is significantly overweight has a gruelling long haul fight to change body state and habits. Biologically and psychologically, there is no personal equipment whatsoever that helps. In fact everything natural in the body and brain resists weight loss bitterly because in evolutionary terms it has been life threatening to lose weight. The struggle is a constant misery which reduces sufferers to a childish needy level similar to addiction. Reward points could be a big help here.

 

[Morgain]

https://www.zamzee.com/

Wish there were an adult version!

 

[Morgain]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/t...-tracks-physical-activity-inconsistently.html

This is a quite thoughtful critique, based on an adult sports version by Nike.

 

[Morgain]

Review of several more adult versions. Some you can input what you eat too.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/t...f-calories-lost-or-gained.html?pagewanted=all

I tried to check The BodyMedia Fit but it doesn't service the UK.

A big problem for me is my main exercise is swimming and the gadgets aren't waterproof. So I need one that lets me manually input s swim session.