I am a freelancer with Shaping Tomorrow where they are attempting to apply gamification, using gaming techniques and methods in non-gaming contexts. Here’s a look at what ST has done so far http://www.shapingtomorrow.com/content.cfm?webtext=155. It’s like a daily top score list which reduces the chances of the service playing favorites to those who use the site all day one day a week/ month.
I just realized that despite writing about gamification and promoting the concept I’ve never experienced corporate gamification anywhere other than Shaping Tomorrow. Being a freelancer adds a totally different dimension to the game than if I were an employee. I like their gamification application, but I’m not sure what I would think of it if I were salaried especially if I worked for someone like Wal-Mart or one of the other early adopters. While it is a great way for me to get my name out to potential clients as a freelancer, I could imagine employees being quite cynical and further disengaging from their employers.
Do you have any experience with gamification in your organizations whether as an employee or a change agent? How well did the gamification succeed among the various levels of employees? Naturally some people are more easily engaged than others, but were there any categories of employees who engaged the game more readily than other categories? And do you have any insights as to why that might be? What place do you think games really play in the internal future/ futures of organizations?
Aiglatson Foresight Research 
Dennis,
I was listening to your John Seely Brown video, and I noticed this article on Shaping Tomorrow. I am aso a contributor, but for different reasons, as I am far behind you on the futures front, so I thought I would tell you how I have reacted to it.
First, I certainly noticed your name and a couple of other futures professionals at the top pretty frequently. That led me to pay more attention to your posts, and now your website. Ultimately, I will likely share posts on Facebook where I focus my social efforts (although I follow many on Twitter).
Since I have to post etc. in ST when I have the time and am still far down the learning curve, I’ve tried to figure out what the most important variables are, not to game the system, but to use the gaming as way to learn. What is most important? What can I do better? Lack of other feedback or interaction with other ST members inhibits my participation somewhat, so I find the gaming to be very helpful, which is the reward system I care most about.
I spend considerable time on the site reading insights and trends of others, so I’ve often wondered, if I am getting ready to post some insights others have already posted, should I do so? If so, to what purpose?
On to other organizations. The Millennium Project, where I interned over a decade ago, and continue to contribute, has just begun to use gamification for some purposes. I found the passion (or lack thereof) from various node leaders very interesting, touching on the whole question of using games in scholarly pursuits. I’m definitely going to explore that further and keep an eye on how the different countries incorporate the gaming into their thinking.
Lastly, thank-you for posting this, and for sharing your knowledge. It is most appreciated every single day.
Christy, Thank you for the comments!
“I spend considerable time on the site reading insights and trends of others, so I’ve often wondered, if I am getting ready to post some insights others have already posted, should I do so? If so, to what purpose?”
I think you should feel free to add any insight you find interesting. First, you are able to add your own analysis to it that may be different from another contributor’s. If you’re adding an insight about the same topic as someone else but from a different source, the other source may provide a different perspective to the same topic. Plus, the site is so vast and constantly updated that some contributors may miss some insights which your double posting could help prevent. However, I think the most important reason to not worry about double posting is that the number of insights about a certain topic indicate its perceived importance. Naturally, we all want our perspective and work to be uniquely beneficial to a reader, client, or organization, but that just isn’t the case most of the time. We have to be patient and wait for an unpublished inspiration and publish it as quickly as the quality of our work will allow while keeping a good hand to our scanning.
I’d love to hear more about how The Millenium Project is incorporating gamification and its effect and acceptance rate.
Dennis,
Thank-you so much for the explanation. That makes sense; I thought it just wouldn’t be helpful, but now I see! I will let you know what I find out
about the MP gaminfication, and thought I’d also mention to you that the
Pardee Center for Longer Range Futures at Boston University has also used
games to explore strategies for the climate crisis. I thought this was
interesting due to the complexity of the issue. I’ll get back to you when
I have more information, and again, thank-you so much for the assistance.
these were on the