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The Holy Trinity of Technology Convergence: #Virtual Worlds, #Augmented Reality and #Gamification

4/30/2015

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#Virtual Worlds

In the mid 2000's there was a huge hype on internet and in the media that the "3D Internet" had arrived. It created a huge discussion of sometimes great controversy:

"With hindsight, much of the coverage was ridiculous: a fairly clunky-looking virtual world where people could hang around, interact and create and/or sell virtual goods, we were told, was "the future of the internet" (CNN), "the future of the operating system" (InfoWorld) and possibly "the future of the academic conference" (The Guardian)." (source)
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While Second Life in 2015 has not by far lived up to its promise of having 100 million users or more, let alone over 1 billion, it is the underlying technology that continues to fascinate and hold unspecified promise. Sure, Farmville may have more users, but the kind of functionality that Virtual Worlds like Second Life offer to its users are endlessly greater. What is more, the platform is still around and not only that, something interesting is going on:

"This was another record-breaking month for OpenSim, with new highs in regions, users, and active users on the 303 active worlds."

For those who are new readers, OpenSim is a free, open source virtual world platform that’s compatible with the Oculus Rift. 

It allows people with no technical skills to quickly and cheaply create virtual worlds, and then teleport to other virtual worlds. 

Those with technical skills can run OpenSim worlds on their own servers for free, while commercial hosting starts at less than $5 a region — compared to $300 a region for the same land in Second Life."

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#AugmentedReality

Augmented reality is a term that too can create quite a lot of confusion; what is it, actually? Different people may have a different understanding of what this term represents. So let's have a look at it's definition from Wikipedia:

"Augmented reality (AR) is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality."


So whether we are talking about Google Glass, Microsoft Hololens, Oculus Rift or a simple football game on TV where the score is shown, all of it is, in fact, augmented reality.


This trend of 'enhancing one's current perception of reality', is basically done by using what is in essence virtual world technology, applying it as an 'overlay' on top what we actually are looking at.


So there is a relationship between virtual world technology and augmented reality, and in my opinion it is that virtual world environments are the design tools of choice for augmented reality designers. A powerful and engaging combination, where designers are able to 'live through' and 'test' there designs, as well as collaboratively design, new environments faster than ever before.

Which brings us to the third leg upon which this 'Holy Trinitry of Technology Convergence' is standing:

#Gamification

Another somewhat controversial yet fast growing area in software development at the moment, is the use of 'gaming technology' in non-gaming contexts. This is called gamification. And also here it is observed that there are many different points of view as to what actually the potential, the scope, the impact or even it's usefulness is.

Is it a hot marketing gimmick, or is there something more substantial to it? Fact of the matter is that in order for a user interface to be engaging, many designers are seeking to get their users 'addicted' to whatever it is that is being built. Be it a computer game, a corporate website, a music or video service, the object is typically to keep the user coming back as often as possible and spend as much time as they can.

Now the question arises, "What better way to do that than to make it act like a game?" And indeed, as it turns out, there is no other digital product out there where users spend more time, more often, than in computer- or 'video'- gaming.

So much so, that already, it is safe to say that the gaming industry as a whole is already bigger than (Hollywood-)Film, or even the www.

So why is that?

Epic Meaning

Could it be, perhaps, because virtual world technology, augmented reality and gamification are, combined, together holding the promise of new technology to provide us with a better future? One that millions of people hope will help to build us better societies by using the benefits of new technology? Where we can say goodbye to the almost obsolete computer mouse at last?

At the same time, the advancements in technology are also controversial in and of themselves, and a backlash can be witnessed with privacy concerns and security, the situation of which which is begging for a solution in and of itself.

While the 3 technologies listed above are converging, there are also other technology areas that are rapidly growing such as Robotics and 3D printing. 

However, both Robotics and 3D printing, in my mind, are deriving from Virtual Worlds Technology, as these first are invented these days not on pen and paper, not made out of clay, wood or stone, but inside a collaboarative 3D Software and Interaction design environment, such as Second Life or OpenSIM, and many others. 

Who knows, maybe some new platform, the next twitter or facebook, will just appear out of nowhere some day.

So in order to master technology design, one has to develop at least a deep understanding of #Virtual Worlds, #Augmented Reality and #Gamification. 

Want to be a game designer for a day? Book your workshop today!
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50 shades of user engagement...

2/20/2015

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Feature image source: Gargasz.info

Overcoming the problem of making the soft stuff, hard!

This is the first of a series of articles on user engagement.

In this kick off article we are looking at the overall ways of addressing end user engagement within organizations or application users.

In today’s tech dominated world, we tend to forget the most important variable within the game. The human being behind the machine. There is a legendary recording of comedian George Carlin about the modern man, which summarizes many of the problems that our modern, technological society faces, in 4 hilarious minutes:

“I have been uplinked and downloaded, I have been inputted and outsourced and all the upside of downsizing and all the downside of upgrading, I’m a high-tech lowlife. A cutting edge-state of the art bicoastal multitasker and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond.” – Extract from “The modern man”, George Carlin

How can we cope with the continually increasing demands and overall economic insecurity that we all face?


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Why Gamification Matters

2/4/2015

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Living Life 

What if life were a game? If life were a game, we would all be going about our daily lives trying to score points. We would feel obligated to learn the rules of the game, and we would go out of our way trying to avoid losing points. 

We would still be having fun at play, but only in a structured manner, as not obeying the rules could result in losing points. What a silly world we would live in if life were seen as a game! 

Wait a second.. To some extent, life itself does appear a bit like a game, does it not? 

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Gamification for the win for "Best Social Strategy" Awards

4/13/2014

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Jump aboard of SharePoint! Smooth onboarding and End User adoption through the power of Gamification

12/20/2013

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I salute you fellow office heroes...

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Yammer and SharePoint - Empowering the paradigm shift from working in silos towards working out loud!

12/13/2013

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Salutations fellow office heroes...

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A glimpse into the stone of seeing - The future of SharePoint

12/6/2013

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Greetings fellow office heroes...

Recently I've been asked to participate as a panelist at a Tweet Jam hosted by my fellow Knight Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet). The topic of this Tweet Jam is about the future of SharePoint. A very interesting topic indeed, since there are different rumours about SharePoint and its future out there.

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Pakistan – Learning from the Edgelands

12/5/2013

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Asif and Sara at the Badshahi Mosque – from an outing we took during my recent visit
by Ian Gee

In this blog I want to explore my experience of learning from the edgelands. It is my belief that places and organisations have edgelands, where things happen outside the norm. If you look hard enough and open yourself up to the experience you are likely to find new ideas and innovation. You can find a more detailed exploration of this idea on my website. http://www.edgelandsconsultancy.co.uk

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Speaking at the European SharePoint Conference 2014 in Barcelona

11/25/2013

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I salute you fellow heroes...

This time some announcement which might be of interest for some of you. If you happen to be in Barcelona in beginning of May 2014 and you happen to be at the European SharePoint Conference, I'd be delighted to have you attending my session about "Raising End-User Productivity with Social EnterPrise and Gamification in SharePoint".
The conference will be from the 5th to the 8th of May 2014.

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Gamification - Use the force of Games to become a Superhero Part 2 - Gamification of SharePoint 2013 Intranets

11/18/2013

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I salute you fellow heroes...

As promised in my last blog article about Gamification, I would this time focus more on how Gamification could be used in practice in the example of a Gamified Intranet based on SharePoint 2013. As you may have figured, in my daily work, I currently have a lot to do with SharePoint, I find it natural to figure out ways how SharePoint Intranets could be made more engaging, social driven and even more exciting. Because of that, my good fellow Knight Sir Chris Müller (@Scolab) and I sat down and figured out some ways how to do that. 
We'd be happy to hear your comments and thoughts about our way to tackle this challenge.

May the force be with you!

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Gamification - Use the force of Games to become a Superhero! Part 1

11/10/2013

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I salute you fellow heroes...

This time I will tell about one of my favourite topics ever nowadays. Gamification! This is the first part of an article talking about what Gamification is all about and how it can be used in classic Intranets (in example on SharePoint) to amplify end user engagement and boost productivity. Is Gamification the silver bullet in information portals? It might be, if it's used right. Let's have a look...

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The Tyranny of Transitions

11/10/2013

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by Ian Gee

Like many of my fellow OD practitioners, I have made good use of Elizabeth Kubler Ross’s work “On Death and Dying” in my practice. In particular, her work on transitions and taking this from the realm of death and dying and relating it to the stages people go through as they deal with organisational change and transformation. I have designed exercises and interventions to help people understand what stage in the change process they are at, how to move between stages and if they are stuck, how to unstick themselves and get back into ‘flow’. I am sure you all know her model and like me have worked to develop it and apply it in your practice.

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Clash of the Titans: Yammer VS SharePoint Social features

11/4/2013

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Hail thee fellow information worker heroes...

Since the days are getting darker and colder we can definitely say "Winter is coming", a fellow SharePoint Knight and myself sat together on a round table, shared some tales of our battles and glorious victories over some cold ale and firewater of smoke and peat. Unfortunately due to the rules of my fellow Knights lords, I shall not say his name in here but I may tell from the wisdom he shared with me. We shall name him "The mystic black knight." :-)

This time we tell about Yammer VS SharePoint 2013 Social features.

May peace favour your swords fellow heroes.

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The daily SharePlanet is now online!

10/31/2013

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Hail thee fellow heroes of SharePoint

In order to spread some news and tales around SharePoint, Yammer and Office 365, I have created a digital newspaper called SharePlanet! My main goal is to gather all the newest and most relevant information around SharePoint, Yammer and Office 365. Hopefully this is to any use for you.

Have a look and share it in your network. Also let me know if you know of good content sources.

You have my thanks! :-)

Enjoy the tales of SharePlanet!

Ser Jussi
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The productivity matrix

10/28/2013

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Hail thee fellow information worker heroes...

After having told my 1 2 3 tales about information worker productivity with SharePoint, this tale will go now a level higher and leave the SharePoint focus a bit on the side. Now I would like to give you an overview on the metrics of information worker productivity. Where can be the pain points and where you would need to apply certain measures to make your working environment more effective on personal, team and organisational level. All this I would like to present to you in "tadaaaa" one simple matrix, where you can see all the interconnections at once. 

May peace favour your swords fellow information working heroes...

Behold the Matrix!

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The power of Social in SharePoint 2013 part 2

10/23/2013

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Hail thee fellow heroes of information worker productivity!

In the first part of this article we looked into the general benefits of adopting social networking to an Organization. In this article we look into how SharePoint 2013 becomes a core driver for corporate social networks.

May peace favour your swords fellow information worker heroes…

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The power of social in SharePoint 2013 part 1

10/20/2013

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Form thy own kingdom!

Hail thee fellow heroes of information worker productivity.

Everyone talks about social networking and social media nowadays. This new media definitely rocks our boats in our daily lives. This blog article looks at the power of social networking and how it could be used within the organization to boost productivity. In the first part we look at social networking benefits in general, while the second article focuses more on the social networking features of SharePoint 2013. 

Now relax, get some cold ale and enjoy. ;-)
May peace favour your swords fellow information worker heroes…

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The conquest for information worker productivity part 3

10/14/2013

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Hail thee fellow SharePoint information worker heroes!

This is the 3rd part of the "Conquest for information productivity" Article. In the first post, I wrote about conginitive readiness, so having the knowledge how to slay the dragon to save the princess. In the second article I wrote about having the right tools to accomplish your quest of honour. In the 3rd and last part of this article I will write about the mindset or attitude which ultimately will drive you forward to plunge your sword into the heart of the dragon of SharePoint un-productivity. :-)

May peace favour your swords, fellow heroes...

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The conquest for information worker productivity part 2

10/8/2013

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About the SharePoint infrastructure

In the first part of this article I was talking about how it is important to use SharePoint the right way in order to become productive. It sounds obvious right? However the most obvious things are not always the easiest to reach. It’s like seeing the princess in the tower, guarded by the fierce and evil dragon. Now in the second part of this article I will focus more on the Infrastructure. On the things I need to have with me in order to slay the dragon, climb the tower and rescue the princess from her horrible fate. So let’s pick up the sword and start our adventure.

May peace favor your swords fellow heroes…

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The conquest for information worker productivity

10/7/2013

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Quest one: Raising Information Worker productivity with SharePoint Part 1

As a freshly anointed SharePoint Knight it is my duty and honor to share insight from my daily battles out there mostly fighting valiantly and fiercely against un-productivity and false use of information management tools. My first quest is about how the evil and dark villain of low SharePoint End User adoption and productivity could be defeated.

May peace favor your swords fellow heroes…

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Empire Avenue Premium Account: An Enterprise Perspective

8/2/2013

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"Team Nokia, you guys have been absolutely stellar and an excellent example on how a corporate SM outfit can conduct business. I do not use a Nokia phone, and had no interest, but in terms of Brand recognition you guys have simply kicked ass with your Empire Avenue works." (12-3-2012)

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Sentiment isn’t just for Sympathy Cards! 

5/15/2013

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Guest Post by Ian Gee from The Illusion of Work

We now live in a world with so much data readily available that I sometimes think it is hard to know where to start! Little Data can be intimidating let alone what do we now do with Big Data! My last blog post ‘Making the Soft Stuff Hard’ was an exploration of the challenges this places on our practice. Your comments have really stimulated my thinking. I want to take this exploration a bit further and look at how the web and social media might offer us some new opportunities and possibilities as well as raise some challenges, in terms of data gathering and its use.

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MoM 2013

3/21/2013

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Reulf - Augmented Reality Music Video

3/14/2013

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Really love this video, so nicely made!
"In a black & white Paris, little creatures with paintbrush decide to brighten up the city...
Reulf is a student project directed by Quentin Carnicelli, Charles Klipfel & Jean-François Jégo as part of their graduate program in "Arts et Technologies de l'Image" at the University of Paris VIII.
Music "Reulf" composed by Robert le  magnifique & Olivier Mellano.

Photos and artworks : toutcourt.fr/reulf"

Reulf from Charlesque on Vimeo.

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What you can learn about you from Wolfram Alpha's Facebook Report

3/13/2013

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48 countries, 321 cities
Figure 1. "Wolfram|Alpha, the world's first and only computational knowledge engine, uses its expert-level knowledge and algorithms to answer questions, generate reports, and do analysis across thousands of domains. And the newest domain is your own life and social network, as seen through your Facebook!"
Wolfram Alpha's Facebook Report is now available to anyone with a Facebook account. Of course I had to go ahead and give it a try, wondering what I could learn from it. Quite a lot actually. Apparently I have friends in no less than 48 countries, residing in no less than 321 cities (see figure 1.). How do you mean the world is a village?

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