The document discusses the benefits of meditation for reducing stress and anxiety. Regular meditation practice can help calm the mind and body by lowering heart rate and blood pressure. Studies have shown that meditating for just 10-20 minutes per day can have significant positive impacts on both mental and physical health over time.
Katy Lindemann - Metaphwoar! - Why great planning is like cookingKaty Lindemann
A talk for Metaphwoar!, an event about using metaphors to change perspectives, about how great planning is like cooking.
Full presentation with notes here:
http://www.katylindemann.com/metaphwoar/
A talk given at the she says digital conference SCAMP, all about work in progress. I spoke about Chromaroma, a pervasive social game which I'm working on with Mudlark. Full notes available at http://www.katylindemann.com/shesays/
Katy Lindemann - Battle Of Big Thinking 2009Katy Lindemann
3 min presentation in the Open Mic (Under 30 Big Thinkers) section of the APG Battle of Big Thinking 2009 [and yes you may notice that it's a slimmed down version of my 'Demystifying Social Media in 7.5 mins talk!]
2024 State of Marketing Report – by HubspotMarius Sescu
https://www.hubspot.com/state-of-marketing
· Scaling relationships and proving ROI
· Social media is the place for search, sales, and service
· Authentic influencer partnerships fuel brand growth
· The strongest connections happen via call, click, chat, and camera.
· Time saved with AI leads to more creative work
· Seeking: A single source of truth
· TLDR; Get on social, try AI, and align your systems.
· More human marketing, powered by robots
ChatGPT is a revolutionary addition to the world since its introduction in 2022. A big shift in the sector of information gathering and processing happened because of this chatbot. What is the story of ChatGPT? How is the bot responding to prompts and generating contents? Swipe through these slides prepared by Expeed Software, a web development company regarding the development and technical intricacies of ChatGPT!
Product Design Trends in 2024 | Teenage EngineeringsPixeldarts
The realm of product design is a constantly changing environment where technology and style intersect. Every year introduces fresh challenges and exciting trends that mold the future of this captivating art form. In this piece, we delve into the significant trends set to influence the look and functionality of product design in the year 2024.
Katy Lindemann - Metaphwoar! - Why great planning is like cookingKaty Lindemann
A talk for Metaphwoar!, an event about using metaphors to change perspectives, about how great planning is like cooking.
Full presentation with notes here:
http://www.katylindemann.com/metaphwoar/
A talk given at the she says digital conference SCAMP, all about work in progress. I spoke about Chromaroma, a pervasive social game which I'm working on with Mudlark. Full notes available at http://www.katylindemann.com/shesays/
Katy Lindemann - Battle Of Big Thinking 2009Katy Lindemann
3 min presentation in the Open Mic (Under 30 Big Thinkers) section of the APG Battle of Big Thinking 2009 [and yes you may notice that it's a slimmed down version of my 'Demystifying Social Media in 7.5 mins talk!]
2024 State of Marketing Report – by HubspotMarius Sescu
https://www.hubspot.com/state-of-marketing
· Scaling relationships and proving ROI
· Social media is the place for search, sales, and service
· Authentic influencer partnerships fuel brand growth
· The strongest connections happen via call, click, chat, and camera.
· Time saved with AI leads to more creative work
· Seeking: A single source of truth
· TLDR; Get on social, try AI, and align your systems.
· More human marketing, powered by robots
ChatGPT is a revolutionary addition to the world since its introduction in 2022. A big shift in the sector of information gathering and processing happened because of this chatbot. What is the story of ChatGPT? How is the bot responding to prompts and generating contents? Swipe through these slides prepared by Expeed Software, a web development company regarding the development and technical intricacies of ChatGPT!
Product Design Trends in 2024 | Teenage EngineeringsPixeldarts
The realm of product design is a constantly changing environment where technology and style intersect. Every year introduces fresh challenges and exciting trends that mold the future of this captivating art form. In this piece, we delve into the significant trends set to influence the look and functionality of product design in the year 2024.
Can AI do good? at 'offtheCanvas' India HCI preludeAlan Dix
Invited talk at 'offtheCanvas' IndiaHCI prelude, 29th June 2024.
https://www.alandix.com/academic/talks/offtheCanvas-IndiaHCI2024/
The world is being changed fundamentally by AI and we are constantly faced with newspaper headlines about its harmful effects. However, there is also the potential to both ameliorate theses harms and use the new abilities of AI to transform society for the good. Can you make the difference?
7 Alternatives to Bullet Points in PowerPointAlvis Oh
So you tried all the ways to beautify your bullet points on your pitch deck but it just got way uglier. These points are supposed to be memorable and leave a lasting impression on your audience. With these tips, you'll no longer have to spend so much time thinking how you should present your pointers.
Dive into the innovative world of smart garages with our insightful presentation, "Exploring the Future of Smart Garages." This comprehensive guide covers the latest advancements in garage technology, including automated systems, smart security features, energy efficiency solutions, and seamless integration with smart home ecosystems. Learn how these technologies are transforming traditional garages into high-tech, efficient spaces that enhance convenience, safety, and sustainability.
Ideal for homeowners, tech enthusiasts, and industry professionals, this presentation provides valuable insights into the trends, benefits, and future developments in smart garage technology. Stay ahead of the curve with our expert analysis and practical tips on implementing smart garage solutions.
Unleash Your Inner Demon with the "Let's Summon Demons" T-Shirt. Calling all fans of dark humor and edgy fashion! The "Let's Summon Demons" t-shirt is a unique way to express yourself and turn heads.
https://dribbble.com/shots/24253051-Let-s-Summon-Demons-Shirt
You could be a professional graphic designer and still make mistakes. There is always the possibility of human error. On the other hand if you’re not a designer, the chances of making some common graphic design mistakes are even higher. Because you don’t know what you don’t know. That’s where this blog comes in. To make your job easier and help you create better designs, we have put together a list of common graphic design mistakes that you need to avoid.
Hello everyone! I am thrilled to present my latest portfolio on LinkedIn, marking the culmination of my architectural journey thus far. Over the span of five years, I've been fortunate to acquire a wealth of knowledge under the guidance of esteemed professors and industry mentors. From rigorous academic pursuits to practical engagements, each experience has contributed to my growth and refinement as an architecture student. This portfolio not only showcases my projects but also underscores my attention to detail and to innovative architecture as a profession.
How Race, Age and Gender Shape Attitudes Towards Mental HealthThinkNow
Mental health has been in the news quite a bit lately. Dozens of U.S. states are currently suing Meta for contributing to the youth mental health crisis by inserting addictive features into their products, while the U.S. Surgeon General is touring the nation to bring awareness to the growing epidemic of loneliness and isolation. The country has endured periods of low national morale, such as in the 1970s when high inflation and the energy crisis worsened public sentiment following the Vietnam War. The current mood, however, feels different. Gallup recently reported that national mental health is at an all-time low, with few bright spots to lift spirits.
To better understand how Americans are feeling and their attitudes towards mental health in general, ThinkNow conducted a nationally representative quantitative survey of 1,500 respondents and found some interesting differences among ethnic, age and gender groups.
Technology
For example, 52% agree that technology and social media have a negative impact on mental health, but when broken out by race, 61% of Whites felt technology had a negative effect, and only 48% of Hispanics thought it did.
While technology has helped us keep in touch with friends and family in faraway places, it appears to have degraded our ability to connect in person. Staying connected online is a double-edged sword since the same news feed that brings us pictures of the grandkids and fluffy kittens also feeds us news about the wars in Israel and Ukraine, the dysfunction in Washington, the latest mass shooting and the climate crisis.
Hispanics may have a built-in defense against the isolation technology breeds, owing to their large, multigenerational households, strong social support systems, and tendency to use social media to stay connected with relatives abroad.
Age and Gender
When asked how individuals rate their mental health, men rate it higher than women by 11 percentage points, and Baby Boomers rank it highest at 83%, saying it’s good or excellent vs. 57% of Gen Z saying the same.
Gen Z spends the most amount of time on social media, so the notion that social media negatively affects mental health appears to be correlated. Unfortunately, Gen Z is also the generation that’s least comfortable discussing mental health concerns with healthcare professionals. Only 40% of them state they’re comfortable discussing their issues with a professional compared to 60% of Millennials and 65% of Boomers.
Race Affects Attitudes
As seen in previous research conducted by ThinkNow, Asian Americans lag other groups when it comes to awareness of mental health issues. Twenty-four percent of Asian Americans believe that having a mental health issue is a sign of weakness compared to the 16% average for all groups. Asians are also considerably less likely to be aware of mental health services in their communities (42% vs. 55%) and most likely to seek out information on social media (51% vs. 35%).
AI Trends in Creative Operations 2024 by Artwork Flow.pdfmarketingartwork
This article is all about what AI trends will emerge in the field of creative operations in 2024. All the marketers and brand builders should be aware of these trends for their further use and save themselves some time!
Can AI do good? at 'offtheCanvas' India HCI preludeAlan Dix
Invited talk at 'offtheCanvas' IndiaHCI prelude, 29th June 2024.
https://www.alandix.com/academic/talks/offtheCanvas-IndiaHCI2024/
The world is being changed fundamentally by AI and we are constantly faced with newspaper headlines about its harmful effects. However, there is also the potential to both ameliorate theses harms and use the new abilities of AI to transform society for the good. Can you make the difference?
7 Alternatives to Bullet Points in PowerPointAlvis Oh
So you tried all the ways to beautify your bullet points on your pitch deck but it just got way uglier. These points are supposed to be memorable and leave a lasting impression on your audience. With these tips, you'll no longer have to spend so much time thinking how you should present your pointers.
Dive into the innovative world of smart garages with our insightful presentation, "Exploring the Future of Smart Garages." This comprehensive guide covers the latest advancements in garage technology, including automated systems, smart security features, energy efficiency solutions, and seamless integration with smart home ecosystems. Learn how these technologies are transforming traditional garages into high-tech, efficient spaces that enhance convenience, safety, and sustainability.
Ideal for homeowners, tech enthusiasts, and industry professionals, this presentation provides valuable insights into the trends, benefits, and future developments in smart garage technology. Stay ahead of the curve with our expert analysis and practical tips on implementing smart garage solutions.
Unleash Your Inner Demon with the "Let's Summon Demons" T-Shirt. Calling all fans of dark humor and edgy fashion! The "Let's Summon Demons" t-shirt is a unique way to express yourself and turn heads.
https://dribbble.com/shots/24253051-Let-s-Summon-Demons-Shirt
You could be a professional graphic designer and still make mistakes. There is always the possibility of human error. On the other hand if you’re not a designer, the chances of making some common graphic design mistakes are even higher. Because you don’t know what you don’t know. That’s where this blog comes in. To make your job easier and help you create better designs, we have put together a list of common graphic design mistakes that you need to avoid.
Hello everyone! I am thrilled to present my latest portfolio on LinkedIn, marking the culmination of my architectural journey thus far. Over the span of five years, I've been fortunate to acquire a wealth of knowledge under the guidance of esteemed professors and industry mentors. From rigorous academic pursuits to practical engagements, each experience has contributed to my growth and refinement as an architecture student. This portfolio not only showcases my projects but also underscores my attention to detail and to innovative architecture as a profession.
How Race, Age and Gender Shape Attitudes Towards Mental HealthThinkNow
Mental health has been in the news quite a bit lately. Dozens of U.S. states are currently suing Meta for contributing to the youth mental health crisis by inserting addictive features into their products, while the U.S. Surgeon General is touring the nation to bring awareness to the growing epidemic of loneliness and isolation. The country has endured periods of low national morale, such as in the 1970s when high inflation and the energy crisis worsened public sentiment following the Vietnam War. The current mood, however, feels different. Gallup recently reported that national mental health is at an all-time low, with few bright spots to lift spirits.
To better understand how Americans are feeling and their attitudes towards mental health in general, ThinkNow conducted a nationally representative quantitative survey of 1,500 respondents and found some interesting differences among ethnic, age and gender groups.
Technology
For example, 52% agree that technology and social media have a negative impact on mental health, but when broken out by race, 61% of Whites felt technology had a negative effect, and only 48% of Hispanics thought it did.
While technology has helped us keep in touch with friends and family in faraway places, it appears to have degraded our ability to connect in person. Staying connected online is a double-edged sword since the same news feed that brings us pictures of the grandkids and fluffy kittens also feeds us news about the wars in Israel and Ukraine, the dysfunction in Washington, the latest mass shooting and the climate crisis.
Hispanics may have a built-in defense against the isolation technology breeds, owing to their large, multigenerational households, strong social support systems, and tendency to use social media to stay connected with relatives abroad.
Age and Gender
When asked how individuals rate their mental health, men rate it higher than women by 11 percentage points, and Baby Boomers rank it highest at 83%, saying it’s good or excellent vs. 57% of Gen Z saying the same.
Gen Z spends the most amount of time on social media, so the notion that social media negatively affects mental health appears to be correlated. Unfortunately, Gen Z is also the generation that’s least comfortable discussing mental health concerns with healthcare professionals. Only 40% of them state they’re comfortable discussing their issues with a professional compared to 60% of Millennials and 65% of Boomers.
Race Affects Attitudes
As seen in previous research conducted by ThinkNow, Asian Americans lag other groups when it comes to awareness of mental health issues. Twenty-four percent of Asian Americans believe that having a mental health issue is a sign of weakness compared to the 16% average for all groups. Asians are also considerably less likely to be aware of mental health services in their communities (42% vs. 55%) and most likely to seek out information on social media (51% vs. 35%).
AI Trends in Creative Operations 2024 by Artwork Flow.pdfmarketingartwork
This article is all about what AI trends will emerge in the field of creative operations in 2024. All the marketers and brand builders should be aware of these trends for their further use and save themselves some time!
A report by thenetworkone and Kurio.
The contributing experts and agencies are (in an alphabetical order): Sylwia Rytel, Social Media Supervisor, 180heartbeats + JUNG v MATT (PL), Sharlene Jenner, Vice President - Director of Engagement Strategy, Abelson Taylor (USA), Alex Casanovas, Digital Director, Atrevia (ES), Dora Beilin, Senior Social Strategist, Barrett Hoffher (USA), Min Seo, Campaign Director, Brand New Agency (KR), Deshé M. Gully, Associate Strategist, Day One Agency (USA), Francesca Trevisan, Strategist, Different (IT), Trevor Crossman, CX and Digital Transformation Director; Olivia Hussey, Strategic Planner; Simi Srinarula, Social Media Manager, The Hallway (AUS), James Hebbert, Managing Director, Hylink (CN / UK), Mundy Álvarez, Planning Director; Pedro Rojas, Social Media Manager; Pancho González, CCO, Inbrax (CH), Oana Oprea, Head of Digital Planning, Jam Session Agency (RO), Amy Bottrill, Social Account Director, Launch (UK), Gaby Arriaga, Founder, Leonardo1452 (MX), Shantesh S Row, Creative Director, Liwa (UAE), Rajesh Mehta, Chief Strategy Officer; Dhruv Gaur, Digital Planning Lead; Leonie Mergulhao, Account Supervisor - Social Media & PR, Medulla (IN), Aurelija Plioplytė, Head of Digital & Social, Not Perfect (LI), Daiana Khaidargaliyeva, Account Manager, Osaka Labs (UK / USA), Stefanie Söhnchen, Vice President Digital, PIABO Communications (DE), Elisabeth Winiartati, Managing Consultant, Head of Global Integrated Communications; Lydia Aprina, Account Manager, Integrated Marketing and Communications; Nita Prabowo, Account Manager, Integrated Marketing and Communications; Okhi, Web Developer, PNTR Group (ID), Kei Obusan, Insights Director; Daffi Ranandi, Insights Manager, Radarr (SG), Gautam Reghunath, Co-founder & CEO, Talented (IN), Donagh Humphreys, Head of Social and Digital Innovation, THINKHOUSE (IRE), Sarah Yim, Strategy Director, Zulu Alpha Kilo (CA).
Trends In Paid Search: Navigating The Digital Landscape In 2024Search Engine Journal
The search marketing landscape is evolving rapidly with new technologies, and professionals, like you, rely on innovative paid search strategies to meet changing demands.
It’s important that you’re ready to implement new strategies in 2024.
Check this out and learn the top trends in paid search advertising that are expected to gain traction, so you can drive higher ROI more efficiently in 2024.
You’ll learn:
- The latest trends in AI and automation, and what this means for an evolving paid search ecosystem.
- New developments in privacy and data regulation.
- Emerging ad formats that are expected to make an impact next year.
Watch Sreekant Lanka from iQuanti and Irina Klein from OneMain Financial as they dive into the future of paid search and explore the trends, strategies, and technologies that will shape the search marketing landscape.
If you’re looking to assess your paid search strategy and design an industry-aligned plan for 2024, then this webinar is for you.
5 Public speaking tips from TED - Visualized summarySpeakerHub
From their humble beginnings in 1984, TED has grown into the world’s most powerful amplifier for speakers and thought-leaders to share their ideas. They have over 2,400 filmed talks (not including the 30,000+ TEDx videos) freely available online, and have hosted over 17,500 events around the world.
With over one billion views in a year, it’s no wonder that so many speakers are looking to TED for ideas on how to share their message more effectively.
The article “5 Public-Speaking Tips TED Gives Its Speakers”, by Carmine Gallo for Forbes, gives speakers five practical ways to connect with their audience, and effectively share their ideas on stage.
Whether you are gearing up to get on a TED stage yourself, or just want to master the skills that so many of their speakers possess, these tips and quotes from Chris Anderson, the TED Talks Curator, will encourage you to make the most impactful impression on your audience.
See the full article and more summaries like this on SpeakerHub here: https://speakerhub.com/blog/5-presentation-tips-ted-gives-its-speakers
See the original article on Forbes here:
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2016/05/06/5-public-speaking-tips-ted-gives-its-speakers/&refURL=&referrer=#5c07a8221d9b
ChatGPT and the Future of Work - Clark Boyd Clark Boyd
Everyone is in agreement that ChatGPT (and other generative AI tools) will shape the future of work. Yet there is little consensus on exactly how, when, and to what extent this technology will change our world.
Businesses that extract maximum value from ChatGPT will use it as a collaborative tool for everything from brainstorming to technical maintenance.
For individuals, now is the time to pinpoint the skills the future professional will need to thrive in the AI age.
Check out this presentation to understand what ChatGPT is, how it will shape the future of work, and how you can prepare to take advantage.
A brief introduction to DataScience with explaining of the concepts, algorithms, machine learning, supervised and unsupervised learning, clustering, statistics, data preprocessing, real-world applications etc.
It's part of a Data Science Corner Campaign where I will be discussing the fundamentals of DataScience, AIML, Statistics etc.
Time Management & Productivity - Best PracticesVit Horky
Here's my presentation on by proven best practices how to manage your work time effectively and how to improve your productivity. It includes practical tips and how to use tools such as Slack, Google Apps, Hubspot, Google Calendar, Gmail and others.
The six step guide to practical project managementMindGenius
The six step guide to practical project management
If you think managing projects is too difficult, think again.
We’ve stripped back project management processes to the
basics – to make it quicker and easier, without sacrificing
the vital ingredients for success.
“If you’re looking for some real-world guidance, then The Six Step Guide to Practical Project Management will help.”
Dr Andrew Makar, Tactical Project Management
Unlocking the Power of ChatGPT and AI in Testing - A Real-World Look, present...Applitools
During this webinar, Anand Bagmar demonstrates how AI tools such as ChatGPT can be applied to various stages of the software development life cycle (SDLC) using an eCommerce application case study. Find the on-demand recording and more info at https://applitools.info/b59
Key takeaways:
• Learn how to use ChatGPT to add AI power to your testing and test automation
• Understand the limitations of the technology and where human expertise is crucial
• Gain insight into different AI-based tools
• Adopt AI-based tools to stay relevant and optimize work for developers and testers
* ChatGPT and OpenAI belong to OpenAI, L.L.C.
Hi! I’m Katy and I’m a creative geek – I work as a communications strategist at a company called Naked Communications, and I’m really chuffed to be here with such a fantastic array of wonderful speakers
Confession time - despite what the programme says, this talk isn’t actually about robots. Well, ish. I did a talk at Russell Davies’ fantastic Interesting 2009 conference a few weeks ago about my favourite robots and why they were ace. The lovely Toby Barnes asked if I’d do a longer version for Playful 09, and I obviously jumped at the chance to be a part of such an awesome line up. But one maxim for Interesting is that you’re supposed to talk about something that isn’t really about your job. And I am most definitely NOT a robot expert. I’m just a geek with a passion for robots. But at Playful you’ve got a day full of people who are truly experts in their field. So I’d feel like a bit of a fraud standing up here talking for 20 mins about robots.
But actually what I do for a living involves trying to stimulate behaviour change. I’m a communications strategist, and in my job we do a lot of work with the government, trying to encourage people to change their behaviour. Like trying to encourage people have safer sex by carrying and using condoms. Or encouraging people to develop a savings habit and improve their financial knowhow. Or encouraging teens to study maths and science. Stuff like that
Actually some of my favourite robots are great examples of how something really playful can actually stimulate a change in behaviour. Which got me thinking.
Tweenbots was an art project by Kacie Kinzer at NYU which used playful robotic design to examining the random kindness of strangers. She designed these fantastic tiny smiling cardboard robots that rely on the help of pedestrians to get to their destination. The Tweenbots roll at a constant speed, in a straight line and are dependent on humans to steer them in the right direction to reach their final location (which is printed on a flag attached to the robot’s body). And the results were pretty bonkers. Over the course of the following months, throughout numerous missions, the Tweenbots were successful in rolling from their start point to their far-away destination assisted only by strangers. Every time the robot got caught under a park bench, stuck against a curb, or became trapped in a pothole, some passerby would always rescue it and send it toward its goal. Never once was a Tweenbot lost or damaged. Often, people would ignore the instructions to aim the Tweenbot in the “right” direction, if that direction meant sending the robot into a perilous situation. One man turned the robot back in the direction from which it had just come, saying out loud to the Tweenbot, “You can’t go that way, it’s toward the road.” Cynical urbanites were shocked out of their rushed, inward-focused, routines as they made their way through the city, by tiny smiling cardboard robots. They brought out the very best in people.
This is a giant robot from the Japanese TV series Gundam - it's 18m high and weighs 35 tonnes. The Japanese are obsessed with robots. I think Japan may well be my spiritual home. Patrick Galbraith, ethnographer at the University of Tokyo and author of The Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider's Guide to the Subculture of Cool Japan, says that no series is more beloved than Gundam and makes a really interesting observation: "In Japan, they skipped all that negativity after the industrial revolution, and really, what they have is technology and mechanics as the hope for the future. "In Gundam, you see a young man get on board a giant robot, he reads a tech manual and he says, 'I can fly this thing and save the world' - and in fact, he does. "I think that hopefulness is what the Japanese see in robots." He reckons that the playful and hopeful nature of robots like the one in Gundam elicited a positivity which totally gripped the Japanese. Culturally, they became much more comfortable with innovative techology as part of their everyday lives, and much more open to the possiblities of a positive future which technological innovation would bring - creating a culture utterly obsessed with pushing the boundaries of innovation.
These weren’t specifically designed to change behaviour. They were designed to be fun and playful. So let’s think about what play actually is. Johan Huizinga was a Dutch historian, cultural theorist who wrote a pretty seminal text in 1938 called Homo Ludens or "Man the Player”. He explores how essential play is to culture and society, and argues that play is absolutely fundamental to the human condition and has permeated all cultures from the beginning. We’re born to play.
Because playing is how we learn. We’re all here because of the skills and knowledge we learned through playing as small children. But learning through play doesn’t stop at childhood. So how can we use playful design and playful experiences to actively encourage behaviour change?
Henry Jenkins talks about games as a “gateway drug to learning’ – and we all know that games are absolutely brilliant at changing behaviour. The fantastic work that Alice Taylor and Matt Locke do at Channel 4 Education is absolutely testament to this.
But rather than looking at games as a structured and specific activity wholly designed around play, I’d like to think a bit more about the regular everyday stuff we do, and how we can game real life – make the everyday mundane things we do more like games, and how this can change behaviour One very obvious way is through game mechanics like scoring.
Iain Tait did an awesome talk at last year’s Playful all about high scores and their importance in the world. So I don’t want to repeat what he said, mainly because he did a much better job than I could ever do. But a playful integration of high scores into everyday life, outside of specific structured game play, is still an amazing way to change how people behave, and in particular to get people to do things they don’t want to do.
Like cleaning. Doing the housework is really crap and it’s hard to get the motivation to get off your arse and do the vacuuming. There’s an immediate benefit of not living in a shithole that SHOULD motivate us to get off our arses and get stuck into the cleaning, but we’re simple creatures and there are generally lots more fun things we could be doing other than housework.
Sorry, I had to get another robot in. The Japanese (obviously) have come up with a humanoid robot to lend a hand with housework. It kicks the arse out of the roomba when it comes to robot-assisted housework. But until we’ve all got house robots to do the cleaning for us, we’ll probably have to think of another way to get us to do the cleaning.
So until then, turning cleaning into a game isn’t a bad way to go. At last year’s Gamecamp, Justin Hall bemoaned the fact that he gets rewarded in game play, but doesn’t get the satisfaction of such rewards in his everyday life. Which is exactly what Chore Wars is designed to do – you earn “experience” points for completing household chores – the more points, the more you advance in the game, hence the more housework you do, the more you’re rewarded.
Take another behaviour. Like trying to encourage people to drive more efficiently to reduce their fuel consumption.
So yes, you’ve guess it. Turning it into a game is a pretty effective way to encourage this behaviour. The Fiat Eco EcoDrive captures relevant data while you’re driving onto a USB stick which plugs directly into your car. You then upload this data to your computer and it gives you detailed information about how efficiently you’ve been driving, including the CO2 emission level for each trip, and analyses your driving style to provide tips and recommendations on how to modify how your drive to get a better score and reduce your CO2 emissions (and save money on fuel to boot) What’s pretty cool is that it encourages you to beat your own scores – you can set yourself a CO2 reduction target for a specific journey or over a set period of time. And like a Nike+ for driving, the Fiat EcoDrive website lets you compare your scores with other Fiat drivers to try and beat them to get the highest score, and become the most efficient driver – as well as visualising the collective impact of your high scores in reducing carbon emissions. Pretty nifty.
Getting diabetic kids (and indeed big kids) in the habit of regularly checking their blood sugar is quite a tricky one. Like doing the housework or driving more efficiently, you know what you’re SUPPOSED to do, it’s just actually doing it that’s the problem
Hence the Bayer Didget tries to turn blood sugar monitoring into a game. It’s all about the high scores. The Didget is a glucose meter that plugs directly into a Nintendo DS, and rewards consistent testing habits with points – which can then be used to unlock new game levels and customise your gaming experience (like purchasing extra items in a given game). You earn points through regular daily testing, and get bonus points the longer you stick with the testing regimen over time and for scoring within your target range for your blood sugar level. As Mr Forsyth said, points mean prizes. And to encourage a regular behaviour, gaming mechanics and tangible rewards do the job very nicely indeed.
But actually, despite how great game mechanics like scoring are in encouraging behaviour change, I don’t actually think it’s ALL about the scores (Sorry Iain)
Maybe it’s just about making stuff more fun in the first place
And yes this is a shameless excuse just to use a picture of a kitten with a lime on his head in a presentation.
Fun is……well, fun. Raph Koster wrote an awesome book called ‘A Theory of fun for Game Design’ which I’m sure lots of you will be very familiar with, which examines what fun actually is, what makes things fun, and why it’s important. Fun is stuff that’s enjoyable. It’s about giving you a boost and stimulating your physical pleasure receptors. And, crucially, it’s the means by which we retrain our brain to learn new patterns of behaviour. So actually, if we want to encourage behaviour change, and get people to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do, or even want to do, isn’t it just about designing playful and enjoyable experiences?
Trying to engage young people with politics is hard. More than ever young people feel disenfranchised, like politicians don’t care about them, don’t want to listen to them – that there’s no point trying to make yourself heard. Filling in a petition isn’t that sexy. You have to be pretty motivated in the first place to get involved with a campaigning organisation. So how do you encourage young people to engage with politics, and to have their say (and be listened to).
Well, trying to make politics cool is one way. MTV get celebs like good old Puff Daddy to support their Rock the Vote campaign to encourage young people to register to vote. It’s been going for years. That’s one way to do it. But it still doesn’t give young people the sense that they have a voice. And let’s face it, there’s no real immediate payoff.
Enter the Voicebot - a playful project created by Sidekick Studios for the youth volunteering organisation V. It’s a writing robot, connected to the internet, that seeks to deal with issues of democratic deficit and political disengagement. The brief was to create positive perceptions of young people and get their voices heard. Using The Voicebot, young people were able to say what they cared about (through a 140 character message uploaded via the V website) and these messages will be written out, word by word, in real time, inside the Houses of Parliament. Encouraging teens to believe that their voices will be heard is hard. But a playful experience helped. It's a playful ways to encourage young people to make themselves heard. It's a lot more fun than writing to your MP, that's for sure. And in doing so, it created an open, direct channel of communication between Britain’s youth and government - creating a voice for an under represented segment of the population
Obviously obesity is a huge issue and so trying to encourage people to exercise is a massive part of this. Also, be thankful I couldn’t find a high-enough-res picture of Mr Motivator for this slide. That much fluorescent spandex is too much at any time of day…..
Obviously information is important. But to be fair, for most of us, it’s not that we don’t know we ought to be eating more healthily and doing more exercise. It’s just that we’re crap at actually doing it. So advertising messages only really go so far- it’s a lot harder to get us to actually change our behaviour.
But making stuff fun goes a long way. Dance dance revolution got kids (and grown ups) who hated exercise, to start moving. Schools across the US have started to include DDR as part of their PE curriculum. In Norway it’s even been registered as an official sport.
And after making a TV ad which slagged off video games as the root of childhood obesity, the Department for Health has now agreed to partner with Nintendo to make Wii Fit a core part of their Change4Life health & fitness drive. And sometimes it’s just about making the everyday stuff fun. Like taking the stairs. This particular example I’m about to show you is from an awesome initiative called The Fun Theory, which is actually from Volkswagen, looking specifically at how making things fun can help change behaviour. I’m sure lots of you have seen this, as it’s been doing the rounds, but I thought I’d keep it in just in case any of you had missed it, and because I really really liked it. I should also point out that the actual idea in this film isn’t actually a wholly new idea, Chris O’Shea has written about lots of other similar ideas on his blog at PixelSumo.com, which I highly recommend you check out - so it’s not entirely groundbreaking. But it does show very vividly the amazing difference that making something FUN can make:
Or recycling – like exercise, we know we SHOULD be doing it, but we just aren’t so good at actually DOING it.
Obviously making it easier for people to recycle has an enormous effect. If the infrastructure is in place and it’s easy to do, that makes a huge difference, But the infrastructure has improved, we’ve got more frequent doorstep collections and bins everywhere and we’re still not recycling anywhere near enough of our household waste.
Rewarding people is one way. Companies like Recyclebank try to incentivise recycling. It’s been going in the US for a few years and recently launched in Maidenhead for its first UK trial. Recycling rates in one of the first neighborhoods that RecycleBank served rose from 7% to 90% in a matter of months. George Osborne has said he believes the carrot approach (paying people to recycle) is more effective than the stick (fining them if they don’t) and has claimed the Conservatives would look to implement this as part of their environmental policy. No doubt it’s more effective, giving people a tangible and meaningful reward – but it still costs money and effectively requires an ongoing investment. If you stop paying, will people stop recycling?
So how about making it more fun? Obviously this isn’t scalable for the mass market in its current form, but it’s an interesting idea – and it works. This is another idea from the VW Fun Theory guys – making recycling fun:
So, I hope this little wander has given you some food for thought – I know I’m preaching to the converted, you guys all recognise the power of play. If we could inject a little more fun into everyday life, the possibilities for what we could change are incredible.
Thanks very much for having me – have a terrific day!