Gamification

GamificationFor PublishersLinda Ruth PSCS Consulting www.pscsconsulting.com (603-924-4407Nicole Yankelovich WonderBuilders Inc. www.wonderbuilders.com 505-695-2237

Clip: http://youtu.be/2lXh2n0aPyw 1

Magazine Publishing

Convergent MediaPrintDigitalAudioVideoImagesAppsGames

Linda Ruth, www.pscsconsulting.com 603-924-4407 Nicole Yankelovich www.wonderbuilders.com 505-695-223710 years ago publishers stood on the brink of video. We knew it was important, but hadnt decided how or why to use itor even if we would use it at all.

Today publishers face the next step of opportunity. If we are to remain leaders in convergent mediaor even relevant in the world of convergent mediagamification is the next step.

2Enter: GamificationEvery CEO of every company needs to understand gamification. Bing Gordon, CEO of venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers

Play is one of the most important parts of human culture and affects the way we learn, work, and live. Janet Murray, Professor, Graduate Program in Digital Media at Georgia Institute of Technology

Games are powerful, and gamification employs lessons from psychology, design, strategy and technology. Kevin Werbach, Professor of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

And, from The Wall Street Journal: Gamification is a powerful emerging business concept.

Linda Ruth, www.pscsconsulting.com 603-924-4407 Nicole Yankelovich www.wonderbuilders.com 505-695-22373ConsumptionPassiveVicariousOld MediaMagazinesInteractivityActiveExperientialNew MediaGames and Gamification

The Next StepDoes your audience consume your media?or engage with it?Linda Ruth, www.pscsconsulting.com 603-924-4407 Nicole Yankelovich www.wonderbuilders.com 505-695-2237The aim of poetryto teach and delightis the aim of all media. Everything we do falls into the categories of information and entertainment; every media product falls somewhere along that spectrum.

Weve moved past reading to consumingconsuming the article, the video, the image.

But consumption has its limitations, and the most fatal of these limitations is the lack of engagement. As we move from print to convergent media, we also must move from consumption to interactivity.

Some stats: Today the USA has 183 million active gamers. Almost half are women. One quarter of them are over 50.

61% of CEOs, CFOs and senior executives take daily game breaks; the games business is $66 billion in UStwice that of Hollywood box office. In the US, $2 billion is spenton virtual goods.

Gaming is media gone interactive, media which is active, experiential, which engages.4Why will people spend $1.00 to send a virtual gift on facebook but not to read a news story?

Linda Ruth, www.pscsconsulting.com 603-924-4407 Nicole Yankelovich www.wonderbuilders.com 505-695-2237Content publishers struggle to find ways to encourage their audience to consume their product. Games publishers have mastered that challenge. What makes gaming so immersive, so addictive, in a way that content consumption aspires to be?

Dolphin Training: Random Interrupted Reinforcement (RIR) from BF Skinners Operant Conditioning. Rewards are very effective in encouraging a behaviorbut only if applied in a variable, unexpected way.

Game designer James Portnow explains Operant Conditioning as the reason some people would choose to spend a day at a slot machine pushing a button and walk off with $100 in their pockets rather than spend that same day puashing a button in a factory for the same $100.

The brain loves a surprise. Variable rewards unlock little kicks of dopamine. Its one reason that your site visitors will stay on your site longer, engage in desired behaviors more often, and return more frequently if you add gaming elements to your site.

5Gamification isThe use of game mechanics in a non-game environment

The intersection of psychology and technology

Linda Ruth, www.pscsconsulting.com 603-924-4407 Nicole Yankelovich www.wonderbuilders.com 505-695-2237The goal of gamification is to take the elements that make gaming so rich and immersive, so sticky, in some cases so addictive, and apply them in a non-gaming environment. Its applying the principles of gaming to your products and websites to create engagement, loyalty, repeat visitorsto build your audience.

Behavioral psychology is one piece. Cognitive psychology is another. While behavioral psychology describes how people will respond, cognitive psychology goes deeper, to find what they are actually looking for.

Three drivers of human behavior are:the desire to build competence the desire for autonomy, or agencythe player makes the choices, and the desire for relatedness.

Games elements are designed to do all three: Competenceyou master certain competencies that progress you along your way; autonomyyou create and structure, to some degree, your own path; relatednessyou engage in community.

6Is Gamification Trivial?

Linda Ruth, www.pscsconsulting.com 603-924-4407 Nicole Yankelovich www.wonderbuilders.com 505-695-2237Is it trivial to create an environment that allows a publisher to drive, measure and reward high-value behaviors? Is there a value in increasing engagement and adding motivation?

Leading companies including Microsoft, Nike, American Express, Samsung and Deloitte use gaming principles in training, development, and sales.

In 10 days gamers crowdsourced by the University of Washington solved a molecular puzzle that stumped scientists for years and could hold the key to finding a cure for AIDS.

By 2014 more than 70% of Global 2000 organizations will have at least one gamification app according to technology analysts at Gartner Inc.

7Examples of Successful GamificationLinda Ruth, www.pscsconsulting.com 603-924-4407 Nicole Yankelovich www.wonderbuilders.com 505-695-2237

Linked In profile bar: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=154276&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile

Who uses Foursquare? Ask group, give points. Who remembers what Foursquares predecessor was? Dodgeball had an engagement gap. There was no progressionyou either checked in or you didnt. Foursquare added the gamification and it took off.

8Uses of GamificationSEO/OAONew SubscriptionsRenewalsUser-Generated ContentSales TrainingWebsite engagement and loyalty

Linda Ruth, www.pscsconsulting.com 603-924-4407 Nicole Yankelovich www.wonderbuilders.com 505-695-2237A cornerstone of successful publishing, both online and offline, is audience development. SEO can only take you so far. Publishers are beginning to realize that what they need is a internet-wide approach to building their target audience and branding, and they are finding that approach through OAOOnline Audience Optimization. OAOs umbrella includes a broad use of social media, branding, content sharing, on and off page optimization, and gamification.

Bringing people to your site is not enough. If they drop off the page too quickly, if they take a peek and just move on, these are black marks against you, especially with the latest Google updates.

How to get them to stay? Social media : of the top 10 elements correlating with high search rankings, 7 are social. People who have liked your page on Facebook are 80% more likely to buy your product or subscribe to your publication. How to get your audience to engage more on a social level?

According to Badgeville, 54% of users are inactive in loyalty programs.69% dont use their online communities.As publishers build out their convergent media presence they need to overcome a crippling lack of engagement.

Sample data suggests that a gamified site can lead to a 500% increase in user comments. A 140% increase in time on site.9Gamification ElementsPointsBadgesLeaderboardsLevelsMissionsContestsRewardsAvatars

Linda Ruth, www.pscsconsulting.com 603-924-4407 Nicole Yankelovich www.wonderbuilders.com 505-695-2237

Points: keep score, show progress, show the audience that they are in a gamified environment. Apply points to high-value actions. What actions do you want your audience to take? What actions build your audience engagement, commitment, repeat visits? Liking a page, leaving a comment, re-pinning, sharing, reviewing

Badges: represent achievement, convey style, they signal what is important in the game (or on the site). They are individual.

Leaderboards: give a community context to the site, provide ranking, reputation, status, feedback. They are social.

Levels: indicate progress. Unlocking levels creates progression loops.

Missions: add intrinsic rewardschallenge, strategy.

Contests: add competitive element. Rewards: access, power, stuff.

10Gamification with Virtual WorldsVirtual worlds are synthesized environments with characters called avatars. They can be used in a wide range of contexts such as for explorationLinda Ruth, PSCS Consulting, http://www.pscsconsulting.com 603-924-4407Nicole Yankelovich www.wonderbuilders.com 505-695-2237

11Gamification with Virtual WorldsFor communicationLinda Ruth, PSCS Consulting, http://www.pscsconsulting.com 603-924-4407Nicole Yankelovich www.wonderbuilders.com 505-695-2237

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Gamification with Virtual WorldsAnd for highly interactive activities.Linda Ruth, PSCS Consulting, http://www.pscsconsulting.com 603-924-4407Nicole Yankelovich www.wonderbuilders.com 505-695-2237

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Example Virtual Japanese HouseLinda Ruth, PSCS Consulting, http://www.pscsconsulting.com 603-924-4407Nicole Yankelovich www.wonderbuilders.com 505-695-2237

14Japanese House Example

Linda Ruth, www.pscsconsulting.com 603-924-4407 Nicole Yankelovich www.wonderbuilders.com 505-695-223715Example ESL Photo HuntLinda Ruth, PSCS Consulting, http://www.pscsconsulting.com 603-924-4407Nicole Yankelovich www.wonderbuilders.com 505-695-2237

16Photo Hunt Example

Linda Ruth, www.pscsconsulting.com 603-924-4407 Nicole Yankelovich www.wonderbuilders.com 505-695-223717Gamification =/= Gaming

Gamification =/= Pointsification

Gamification =/= ElementsLinda Ruth, www.pscsconsulting.com 603-924-4407 Nicole Yankelovich www.wonderbuilders.com 505-695-2237You can gamify with no games on your site.

You dont just want to apply points to ordinary activity (example Google News)

The elements of gamingthe points, badges and leaderboardare not the gamification. You have to use these elements in a way that is variable, surprising, challenging and progressive.

Games have to: change over time. Progress the player on the journey. Provide different features, different rewards, as the player progresses, in response to players increasing commitment and skill.

The audience member is the center of the publishing business; the gamer is the center of the game. They have the sense of relatedness, progress, autonomy and control. They are there to learn and to amuse themselves.

Building a business with the player at the center is just this: building an audience-centric business. The key to successful publishing.

18Stuff We Could Not Fit!http://www.slideshare.net/LindaRuth1/gamification-for-publishersSteps to Gamify your Site:ObjectivesDesired BehaviorsRewards Design

Linda Ruth, www.pscsconsulting.com 603-924-4407 Nicole Yankelovich www.wonderbuilders.com 505-695-223719Stuff We Could Not Fit!http://www.slideshare.net/LindaRuth1/gamification-for-publishersPossible PitfallsCookie Cutter ApproachMotivation BacklashLife cycle of gameGaming the SystemOveruseRandom ImplementationRewards =/= fun

Linda Ruth, www.pscsconsulting.com 603-924-4407 Nicole Yankelovich www.wonderbuilders.com 505-695-223720