Gamification - A concept, and an aid, to make people aware about social issues, such as WEE, in an interesting and an eganging way on Knowledge Gateway.
(Nobody raised the issue of our reach being still very limited, as 50-100 people actively involved in discussions is a very less amount in my opinion. So, I would like to share a concept with you guys which might helps us reach extensivelyy)
A lot of you might ask what is gamification!?
Wikipedia says, "Gamification is the use of game thinking and game mechanics to engage users in solving problems.Gamification is used in applications and processes to improve user engagement, return on investment, data quality, timeliness, and learning." And, "A core gamification strategy is rewards for players who accomplish desired tasks. Types of rewards include points, achievement badges or levels, the filling of a progress bar, and providing the user with virtual currency."
The most widely known example of the gamification is Foursquare. We all know how people are hooked to it. Gamification, basically, leverages, human nature to compete and achieve for getting tasks accomplished. Some of other websites like SuperBetter, eMee, Fitocracy, Nike+, Keas, et. al. have successfully created apps and websites top engage people in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and the results are more than overwhelming.
I think, at the Knowledge Gateway's website, some concepts of gamification should be adopted to engage people and make them interested about WEE. A game-like structure will not only create a buzz all around the globe, slowly and gradually, but attract people from all walks of life to get involved with the initiative. Even a simple point-based track record game can go a long way. So, I request the team to think about designing forums around the idea of gamification. And, also I request my fellow comrades to come up with ideas as for how to make these discussions available to masses and more engaging.
Interesting concept for spreading awareness! I worked for an online skill based volunteering and they were also trying to look for ways to keep online volunteers hooked to helping NGOs for a long duration. In my view:
- There can be various levels which people can across upon completion of some tasks. All tasks on the platform will have points connected to them - more influential/ impactful tasks having higher points.
- The rewards at each level should inspire people to across it and also make the required time commitment.
- The Top 2 levels could include some 'aspirational' reward from UN Women like a chance to attend annual UN Women conferences, one day meets with important officials, internships with UN Women/ Empower Women etc.
And the focus should be on Quality rather than quantity of work so would require a dedicated resource to build, implement and monitor this activity.
Brilliant idea I would love to follow this up so as to learn more.
Wow! What a brilliant idea. This should also include children so that they grow up knowing the WEE concepts.
What a great idea! I used gamification at my former company when we launched a new communities platform for discussion lists, posting articles, etc. Not many people knew how to use the platform or would take advantage of its cool features, and we introduced friendly competition so people could start using the platform, and would continue using the platform as they became more familiar with it. Some concepts we could try are to incentivize everyone to complete their profiles, upload pictures, and start a few discussions. The Empower Women team had a great idea of doing this month-long rally for prospective Global Champions, as that not only enhances the EW platform and facilitates the exchange of ideas and information, but allows those interested to post as much or as little as they want, with the goal of becoming a Global Champion.
This is brilliant Tejas, thanks for sharing. I really love to learn more about gamification and its applications
Hi Tejas!
I think this is a very good idea of increasing traffic in the website and encourage members to comment and discuss on issues. I raised this point during a recent webinar with Benjamin and the KG team and I think the KG team is in the process of introducing new ways of increasing traffic.
I would also like to add to this by saying that, we can actually rank the topics of discussions on the basis of the comment being posted in them. By this I mean, if a comment is posted in a particular topic, that topic will automatically come up on top of the page and in this way we don't have to search for the topic we created in the "Open Ideas and Discussions" and we would also get to know immediately whether our topic received a comment or not.
Dear Tejas, I really like your idea! Btw, Harvard Univeristy has a lab and they develop scenario-based games and most of games involve social elements. I will upload Eric Gordon's presentation on gamification and share with the community. Would you be interested in exploring this concept deeper? Look forward to continuing the conversation.
With best regards,
Ifoda
Here are some resources from where you can get to know more about gamification:
http://www.yukaichou.com/gamification-examples/what-is-gamification/
http://www.drdobbs.com/web-development/gamification-the-art-of-attracting-and-k/240003409
http://www.amazon.com/For-Win-Thinking-Revolutionize-Business/dp/1613630239