Gabe Zichermann on Gamification at #TNW2012

May 4, 2012 in Brilliance with 0 Comments

The Next Web 2012 Conference took place in Amsterdam at the end of April, and as most conferences that I don’t get a chance to attend, I later go back and look at videos from the conference. This morning I came across a great keynote!   Gabe Zichermann provided an incredible talk at the TNW conference as he looked at the world of Gamification. What is gamification?

Here is the definition from Wikipedia:

Gamification is the use of game design techniques[1], game thinking and game mechanics to enhance non-game contexts.

 

We love badges, we love rewards, how does this all play into our world? How do you use this technique to engage people?

I don’t mean.. Create someone else’s game for your industry, but rather how do you find what works best for your industry to bring engagement to another level. There is a great story of a teacher who uses this to engage his students!

**pre-warning**

This video is 35 minutes long so be aware that it is a bit of an investment to watch it but well worth your time!

 

Nike Hits the NFL

April 27, 2012 in Creativity, Sports with 0 Comments

Did you watch the NFL Draft last night? If you were joining in during the first hour, you would have seen that there were no commercials. This was due to the fact that Nike, GMC, and Bud Light had sponsored the event so they made it a lockdown on commercials all while owning the first 10 min with coverage pointing to them as sponsors and their own commercials.

One particularly stood out to me, Nike.

As you may know, Nike took over the contract for NFL jersey’s this year and are beginning to reshape the look of different teams. Nike had already impacted the landscape of college jersey’s with the ever changing Oregon Ducks. So how does Nike launch into this avenue? With a killer commercial that features some of the lightly changed jerseys and the impact of subtle hints at what is to come.

 

Be on the lookout for some teams that will probably change their look in the coming future!

Around the World

April 26, 2012 in General with 0 Comments

Google Analytics is an amazing tool. I can tell how many people have visited this site, how long the average person stayed on, how they got here, which type of device they are viewing this from, and even what country they are from. In the last month, there have been views of this site from 44 different countries. That is amazing!

So here is my question.. Where are you reading this from? Comment below and let us know where you are from and show that the world is a little bit smaller than we realize!

 

The Art of the Title Sequence

April 26, 2012 in Brilliance, Creativity with 0 Comments

The start of any show or movie can set the tone of the entire watching experience. If you have enjoyed great title sequences, then you’ll love this video!

 

This clip is from the PBS show Off Book. It looks like a great show on the artistic side of movies, print, etc..

 

Reset your New Years Resolutions and Win A Free DVD

April 25, 2012 in Creativity with 0 Comments

Warner Bros. Pictures is proud to announce the release of the hit romantic comedy New Year’s Eve on DVD and Blu Ray May 1st!  This all star comedy stars Ashton Kutcher, Michelle Pfeiffer,  Katherine Heigl, Sofia Vergara, Hilary Swank, Sarah Jessica Parker, Zac Efron, Jon Bon Jovi, and Josh Duhamel!

April is a perfect time to think about all those resolutions you made that may have been placed on the backburner.  With the New Year’s Eve Resolution Reset Blog App you can double check and make sure you are on the right path to making your resolutions come true!

  • Take The Quiz!  Are you on your way to making the most out of 2012? Take this quiz and find out if you are a Resolution Renegade!?
  • Personal New Years Eve Tips! We want you to make your resolutions come true, so to help you achieve your goal we will get you some awesome tips to jump-start your resolution this year!
  • Enter the Contest! Comment on this post sharing your longest held resolution to be entered to win a Blu Ray copy of New Year’s Eve. (Enter by May 13th to win)
  • Get Social! Spread the word about the New Years Eve. Tweet to your audience with the #ResolutionReset hashtag!

 

Why Your Advertising Matters to My Kids

April 25, 2012 in Brilliance with 2 Comments

There was an interesting insight that I came across tonight, a brands advertising impacts my kids. Some would say that advertising negatively impacts children; and with many brands I would say that you could agree. The ads around alcohol, self-image, and other areas of vanity can be highly destructive people of all ages. But this is much more set for a future post about the impact of advertising on the population, but for tonight something that stuck out to me was far different.

Many brands have figured out the fact that if connect kids with your product, and it is a positive experience, then they will begin to build loyalty to your brand. This spoke very true when the latest iPhone commercial came on. Here it is:

It’s a fun showing of the features of the iPhone 4s with Siri. Now, you may have not had the best experience with Siri, but the way that commercial portray’s it is pretty sweet. Now the phrase that came from my daughter showed how Apple is pulling her in all while marketing to me. She finished watching the commercial and then said “wow.. that is really cool”. This phrase was said with a stunned demeanor of amazement and they began to create a loyal fan for the future.

Now granted, I don’t help in this process because we own all macs in our home and I am a raving Apple fan.

Either way, as kids grow up they form their own opinion about the things they want to buy, some even go towards the opposite of their parents just out of pure spite. No matter how they view what their parents want, they will form their own opinion so if a brand captures them early and they can tend be pulled in to stay with that brand. Well that plus a large input into the “cool factor”. hahaha..

Just a few fun thoughts out of my house tonight!

Tired of Mundane Living?

April 23, 2012 in Brilliance with 0 Comments

Breathe in the masterful work for Bryon Rossi, Seth Stark, and the arts team at Kensington Church

 

Are You Confident to Show Off Your Product?

April 21, 2012 in Creativity with 0 Comments

I like it when companies go to big extremes to show off their products. SMART wanted to show off the acceleration of their car so they began to look at how to do this. Why not gather a lot of people and turn your cars into a giant sized video game. Not only any video game but one of the original video games.

Brilliant advertising by SMART.

 

Story of Surrender

April 21, 2012 in Thoughts with 0 Comments

Waving the white flag is so hard. Why is it so hard? Is it because we care what others think of us? Yes, we never really outgrow the Jr. High phase of life. This is why it is hard to surrender. This and our own control. How could someone smarter than us lead our lives down a path that is right for us? Trust me. These are questions and statements that I think through quite a bit, even in this phase of life.

This story of Juliet’s life is one answering these types of questions.


 

Thank you to Juliet and Soul City Church for sharing this story. The more we hear about how others are carrying through life, the more energy and help that it gives us to go after what we need to.

If you are in the great city of Chicago. Stop by Soul City Church. Not only is this a good place, but these are great friends!

The Battle Rages On.. Cubs vs. Sox

April 13, 2012 in Brilliance, Sports with 0 Comments

This video is hilarious!

“This C is for Chicago”

Love it! Go Cubs!!

 

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