Happy Monday! There were quite a few conferences last week that highlighted gamification and motivation. If you lost track of the news or recaps, be sure to catch up below.

Gamification: What Motivates Users to Play in Non-Game Contexts Business2Community 5/4/2012 We have talked about intrinsic motivation on mygamification.com before as one of the key concepts to understand in gamification. A new study done by Queensland University of Technology delves deeper into the ‘self-determination theory’ a theory that claims autonomy, competence and relatedness are necessary for intrinsic motivation (and internal satisfaction). This is a great read for anyone interested in the psychology of motivation.

Gamification’s not just about silly badges, it can make you healthier and smarter The Next Web 5/2/2012 At The Next Web conference last week, gamification expert Gabe Zicherman gave a great talk about the power of gamification to make self-improvement. While he discusses the success and possibilities available with gamification, he also makes the point that gamification is “not just about crappy badges.”

Onboarding is the most crucial element in gamification Vator News 5/4/2012 The Vator Spark conference also took place last week, bringing together some of the top minds in gamification including our CEO Keith Smith. Keith talked about monetizing gamification and the importance of onboarding new users in that process. On new members, Keith said, “Be able to communicate your service and benefits quickly so you don’t lose new members.”

The Death of Gamification Business2Community 5/4/2012 While the title might be a bit negative for what we normally post, we couldn’t ignore this article on gamification. Andrzej Marczewski has done quite a few positive pieces on gamification and this one is really no different. He cautions against over complicating gamification and making what should be a quick and fast way to influence behavior a complex system that drives users away. “What you have to keep in mind is what best suits the needs of the users, clients, task or whatever. If all that is needed is a badge or two, then use them.” We totally agree! Gamification can often be very simple and publishers should really look at what they seek to achieve and how to do so simply.

Bike Challenge and Endomondo empower cyclists with data SF Gate  5/2/2012 Measurement of health success is a trend that has been on the rise for quite some time. With heart rate monitors, running log apps and other various tools, users can easily keep track of nearly all levels of fitness and health usually with a bit of gamification as well. But all this data can become overwhelming and meaningless if it is not delivered in a way that everyday users can understand. Endomondo, a Swedish mobile app uses GPS to track various physical activities and provide real time feedback in a meaningful (re: how many cheeseburgers you have burned) way.  The app also has numerous ‘challenges’ nationally and locally for users to participate in and share with their friends when completed. Measurement and motivation combined in one app? Awesome.

Posted in: Blog, Game Mechanics, Gamification, Gamification Tips, Loyalty, Monetization

Hello, my name is Carlos Gonzalez. I am a Social Media curator and manage the social media for many different clients and brands. I assist BigDoor with their social media goals. I have been socially promoting a gamification design studio in Park City, Utah for about two years now. I have remained focused in this niche of “gamification”, as the industry is relatively new, and frequently share my personal thoughts on my blog, gamifiXation.com. BigDoor has invited me to write a guest blog, and so I thought I’d share one of my favorite examples of gamification that works.

I often monitor the threads on Twitter regarding gamification, and see many posts from folks looking for examples of gamification. Yes, the word “gamification” has caught a big buzz in the last year, but it is nothing new at all. Some of the most successful companies online have relied on game mechanics to self monitor their large online communities. The most obvious example, eBay, which has successfully used game mechanics since day one. However, the usage of game mechanics in eBay’s strategy is rarely mentioned in any eBay news.

Status and leader boards are also nothing new, (you were probably introduced to them in Kindergarten). When game mechanics are implemented well, they create engagement and accountability within the online community (I didn’t want to read those books, but I was definitely not going to let my classmates beat me on the status board!). One of the first things I check on eBay before I buy something is the feedback score of the seller -basically the seller’s status. If the seller has a bad rating, especially on an item I am interested in –then I am less likely to buy. These type of game mechanics and online community self-policing saves eBay a lot of dollars in customer service. On eBay, you can’t buy your favorite badge or rating, you have to earn it.

While eBay has a great program for existing users, I also love catching examples of great gamification that influences potential users to become active community members. Starbucks is a prime example of a major franchise chain that is doing it right. Great gamification means a GREAT User Experience (on AND offline). You can always count on the wi-fi working flawlessly at a Starbucks location.

Today’s marketers need to understand the value of a Social Media Impression. A good game keeps you coming back to play. Because of the lousy experience I received at the last non-Starbucks coffee I tried –I never went back. Starbucks,  on the other hand –has their free wi-fi blasting 24-7 and is very consistent. They know how to keep customers happy and returning to their stores. While their online experience is smooth, I believe BigDoor could do some cool stuff with the Starbucks landing page to create stronger engagement and social loyalty to the site (such as implementing BigDoor Quests). However, I have to say –the Starbucks iphone app kicks ass and does a great job of using game mechanics (progress bars, badges, and points) to keep people playing.

I recently decided to visit a Starbucks to pay with my iPhone for the first time. Confident that my money wouldn’t go to waste, I uploaded $20 to my Starbucks iPhone app and began to play.

Without even realizing it, I had become a green level member, well on my way to gold, and in the process become even more hooked on Starbucks (or maybe caffeine?). While Starbucks does a fantastic job using gamification in their mobile app; the possibilities of gamification on their website, rewards site, and integration with the app from the web, are limitless. BigDoor’s experience in web gamification, could beef up the gamified program Starbuck’s already has with mobile and create a more engaged and loyal web audience. Like the app’s encouragement to join the rewards program, Starbuck’s website has a great potential for a landing page that encourages web users to join, engage online, download the app and start drinking more Starbucks.

Thanks for reading, would love to hear of some feedback and gamification examples you’ve come across in the comments!

Posted in: Advertising, Badges, Blog, Game Mechanics, Gamification, Gamification Tips, Loyalty, mobile, Monetization, Social Media, Technology, User engagement, Virtual Currency

This weekend BigDoor’s co-founder and CEO, Keith Smith shared his thoughts about core metrics that really matter with the online publication Geekwire.  Keith walked through the four KPI’s that every site should focus on: Loyalty, Engagement, Virality and Revenue. As Keith stated in the article, “The simplicity provided by these 4 golden metrics allows us to focus on the key drivers of our business, no matter the size and scale of our audience.”

Posted in: Blog, Loyalty, Monetization, Our Thesis, Social Media, Startups, Success

We’re really excited about this Infographic that our designer Chad put together. We’ve been talking about the private beta of our Engagement Economy and today we reveal some early results. At BigDoor we have built a framework that focuses on the four things that matter most to online publishers: Frequency, Engagement, Virality and Revenue. Check out the results!

Posted in: BigDoor news, Blog, Gamification, Loyalty, Monetization, Success

We wanted to share a great post on AdAge Digital from Judy Shapiro, the Chief Brand Strategist at CloudLinux. In “Why ‘Commerce’ Shouldn’t Be a Dirty Word in Tech Marketing” Judy explores social commerce and, how in it’s current state, the biggest piece missing is the sale: “Why does it seem like “cool” marketing technology and “commerce” are mutually exclusive?”

She makes several really great points in her post – we of course had to highlight her mention of BigDoor:
“Some of the cleverest tech companies are recognizing the huge market potential of merging local, mobile and social to drive commerce……take the example of a company called BigDoor. This is a tech company that creates mini toolbars based on gaming theory so every action lets visitors earn points redeemable for products. It’s the first toolbar I have seen that drives commerce forward (double hooray since most mini toolbars just enhance the share function).”

Thanks to Judy for the mention! You can check out more on her blog here.

Posted in: Blog, Monetization, Publishers, Technology, User engagement, Widgets

Today our Co-Founder and CEO Keith Smith and our Director of Monetization and Implementation Tommy Lee are attending Ad:Tech San Francisco. We’re really excited to announce the launch of the BigDoor Engagement Economy with Cost Per Quest! The BigDoor Engagement Economy is a new way for sites to engage their users while monetizing their content. One of the initial pieces is Cost Per Quest, an entirely new, performance based, ad format meant to reward end users for their time and attention while engaging deeply with online brands. Quests are a critical component of BigDoor’s Engagement Economy and are sold to advertisers on a Cost Per Quest (CPQ) basis.

The BigDoor Engagement Economy is currently in private beta mode. Last week, in partnership with SpectrumDNA Quests launched with UGO Entertainment. The incredible team at SpectrumDNA worked their magic and has truly created a gamified experience that’s intrinsically a social loyalty program incorporating interaction with news and information, as well as a rewards system that is original, native and meaningful.

We talk to websites all the time and get the question about our rumored “hidden fees.” We truly believe gamification should be a profit-center for web publishers and app developers, not a cost-center so we offer our technology for free. However, in order to provide publishers a free platform as well as enable them to make money by using gamification, we realize we need a solution that works not only for publishers and end-users, but also for advertisers as well. We think that any solution that gives advertisers traffic, can make publishers money, and reward users can be an Epic Win! The BigDoor Engagement Economy will roll out to a broader network of publishers by Summer 2011.

Online website owners interested in learning more about our Engagement Economy and Cost Per Quest advertising pilot program can contact us. Additionally, those attending San Francisco’s ad:tech 2011 are encouraged to meet with Keith Smith (keith@bigdoor.com; @ChiefDoorman) and Tommy Lee (tommy@bigdoor.com; @pikopoki) during the event, April 11-13, 2011.

Posted in: Advertising, API, BigDoor news, Blog, Conferences, Gamification, Monetization, Partners, Technology, User engagement

We wanted to let everyone know about this amazingly cool experiment Brad Feld is currently testing on his site. For those of you who don’t already know Brad, he’s the managing director at Foundry Group who invests in software and Internet companies (including Zynga). He was recently named the
“Most Respected Venture Capitalist”and he’s also one of our investors. For the next 30 days Brad will use the BigDoor MiniBar on his site to offer 30 minutes of his time as a reward for anyone who wants to exchange 10,000 Feld Gelt for the opportunity to speak with him. With the help of BigDoor’s MiniBar (white-labeled on Brad’s site), users have five easy options to earn Feld Gelt, including Check-in when visiting Brad’s site; Adding a comment to any blog post on the site; Sharing or Tweeting posts; ‘Like’ any post from the MiniBar and most importantly, the best way to earn Feld Gelt is when users click on links you have shared or Like links in your Facebook feed. Users can get started working their way up the Leaderboard for a chance at 30 minutes with Brad!

Update: Brad’s deal was so popular that it took about eight minutes to sell out! Brad mentioned there might be a new deal and we’ll update with any new details!

Posted in: API, Blog, Gamification, Gaming, Loyalty, Monetization, Startups, Technology, Virtual Currency

Tommy Lee, BigDoor’s Director of Monetization and Implementation, will be attending the GDC Conference next week! On Monday, February 28th, Tommy will be attending the Serious Games Summit track including “Pioneers, Promise and Possibilities,” and “Serious Game Summit Playfest (SGS Health).”

Additionally on Tuesday, March 1st, Tommy will be attending “Gamification 201;” “Deeper Problems, Deeper Gamification;” “Hyperlocal Game Design;” “We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Badges,” and the Great Gamification Debate.

If you’ll be attending GDC we’d love the opportunity to meet with you during the conference, just send an email to tommy@bigdoor.com. If you’re not able to make it to San Francisco, Tommy will be reporting back on Twitter @pikopoki or just follow us @bigdoormedia.

Posted in: Blog, Conferences, Development, Gamification, Monetization, Technology

see more Epic Fails

So often in highly competitive marketplaces competitors find themselves in a race to the bottom.

This is certainly true on the Internet for both publishers and advertising networks. For publishers the name of the game is getting as many eyeballs looking at your site at the lowest cost. For advertising networks it’s about creating a profitable margin between the publishers who are constantly getting pitched better rates and advertiser’s who are always looking to cut their payouts.

With some notable exceptions, the eyeball, the actual user of the site, gets lost in the equation. We think the publishers who create the best and most interactive user experiences should be rewarded. Aligning advertising rates with the interactivity of a publisher’s user experience is the challenge that we, here at BigDoor, are working on right now.  We like to call this the Loyalty Economy.

Rather than racing to the bottom, we want to be involved in helping our publisher’s race to the top. Racing to the top is about creating win-win-win monetization strategies that reward user loyalty and participation, rewarding interaction between publishers and users and building on that relationship to create value for trusted advertisers.

Recent events have amply demonstrated that when values are improperly aligned online advertising can become a vicious cycle of manipulative and deceptive advertising begetting poor user experiences begetting cynical and manipulative users.

If values are properly aligned then trusted advertising should beget better user experience which begets engaged and happy users in a virtuous cycle – a mutuality of value for everyone involved in the process.

–Patrick Murck

Posted in: Advertising, Blog, Loyalty, Monetization, Virtual Currency

There has been a lot of talk recently about virtual currency, and rightly so.  Points based systems took off in Asia years ago, and as is often the case the U.S. is just now catching up.  It is our thesis that rewards (points, virtual currency, coins – whatever you want to call them) lie at the heart of a shift that is going to substantially alter the online entertainment industry.

The Challenge

There is a well documented macro trend under-way in U.S. consumer behavior as it relates to how we entertain ourselves.  People are shifting their time from more traditional media (Newspapers, magazines, CDs, television and theaters) to the online world.  Whether part of the cause, or in reaction to this move – the online world has built an amazing entertainment infrastructure within just the last few years.  We’ve invested countless millions into in systems and content in order to make sure that users can be connected, entertained and can even personally express themselves in this exciting new world.  We’ve improved the experience and are making the online world a truly great place for massive consumer entertainment.  The problem is we are still using offline models for monetization.  Until recently, in-content ads (that nobody wants to click on if they are in “entertainment mode”) and subscription models were the only two significant monetization methods employed by online entertainment related properties.  But a new model is coming, and if we are going to make the online world a sustainable and healthy ecosystem for consumer entertainment, we have to embrace and evolve our methods of monetization to match these new experiences.
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Posted in: Blog, Loyalty, Monetization, Virtual Currency