Topic: Gaming. Its apparently the future.

[micah]

The last couple days i've come across a few different articles on gaming as the next step in marketing and engagement.

this first short (5 Min) Ted talk says that if the the first decade of the 21st century was the decade of social media, then this second decade will be that of gaming:  http://www.socialmediaphilanthropy.com/2011/01/14/another-2011-prediction-the-ongoing-evolution-of-gaming/

Today, I just watched a very interesting (hour long) Google Talk along the same lines.  Its very interesting, both as a targeted "consumer" being "gamed" and as a web developer trying to engage end-users.   

I, for one, always think of "games" as entertainment only  -- like video games or board games -- but this really opens my mind to the potential for social gaming...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O1gNVeaE4g

[ober]

I've heard and seen a lot about this.  I think we're going to see a redefinition of 'gaming'.  I see it as a new way to embed a rewards system into daily events where it doesn't already exist.  Look at some of the more cutting edge sites/stores that have already latched onto this idea.  Any site that uses status levels or ways to achieve different types of recognition falls into these categories in a way.

I think a huge place where this could be used is in learning.  My daughter uses the Wii to play games and it's slowly teaching her how to read because she has to figure out what words are to do certain tasks.  And most of the games she plays causes her to learn a new skill or something.  We're looking into other educational games on the Wii because she enjoys doing them and it's an easy interface for her.

[Perspective]

I think the word "game" is overloaded in this context. There is an entire field called "game theory" which is basically just economics. Agents interacting trying to maximize reward and minimize cost. It's obviously more complicated than that to apply these ideas to real life, but that idea of a "game" is a key part of economics. This is why google auctions off keywords instead of just selling them for example. They make a lot more money with the game variation (an auction is a classic game example).

I agree though, as more and more commercial stuff ends up online, games of this nature will be used even more to maximize profits.