Seth Godin as always has some great stuff to say - and today it rings home to me perhaps more than other days.
"Do what you were trained to do: wait for a good, generous, munificent, tasteful, smart boss or client to tell you what to do.
If that doesn't happen, blame the system, blame the boss, blame the client. If the work is lousy, it's the client's fault. If the boss doesn't see or understand your insight, that's his fault. You are here to serve, and if they don't get it, well, that's too bad for all concerned.
What you might consider: Lead up. (Thanks to Pat Tierney for the phrase).
A great designer gets great clients because she deserves them. One of the ways that she became a great designer was by leading her clients to make good decisions, to have better taste, to understand her insight and have the guts to back it. That doesn't happen randomly. It happens when someone leads up.
A successful middle manager gets promoted when she takes the right amount of initiative, defers the right amount of credit and orchestrates success. That success might happen despite (not because) of who her bosses are, and that's just fine, because she's leading up.
In many ways, we get the bosses and clients we deserve. If they're holding you back, change them.
We have an astonishing amount of freedom at work. Not just the freedom to call meetings, make phone calls and pitch ideas, but yes, the freedom to quit, to find a new gig, to pick the clients we're going to take on and to decide how we're going to deal with a request from someone who seems to have far more power than we do. "Yes, sir" is one possible answer, but so is leading from below, creating a reputation and an environment where the people around you are transformed into the bosses you deserve.
When you do this with intention, it gets easier and easier. From afar, it seems impossible, and it will be until you commit to it.
Do it on purpose
Tell stories that resonate with those in charge
Demand responsibility, don't worry about authority
Reflect credit, embrace blame
Earn the right by taking small steps
Convene, organize, learn, teach and lay the foundation
If they don't get it, go somewhere that does [slash] hire better clients, regardless of the fee"
Wise words Seth - wise words.
Here I might take my lead from a chap called Phil Jones but that is another story.
Monday 20 May 2013
Wednesday 15 May 2013
If you're a learner - would you like 65% off learning with Udemy? And .... if your a trainer... What if you could earn six figures teaching to a quarter million users on a single online learning platform?
What if you didn’t even need a blog or audience of your own to bring your courses to the masses and earn a living from them?
Well, people are doing just that with Udemy.com. Which I joined a couple of years back - but my goodness - like everything in life you get out of it what you put in.
In case you are unfamiliar with Udemy, it is a website that enables anyone to teach and learn online. Launched in 2010, Udemy tries to democratize online education by making it fast, easy and free to create online courses. Oh and if you are here for the code - then it's at the bottom of the blog.
If you are a trainer and interested in the platform - then read on :)
First thing I will say is that when it was born - Udemy was UGLY. Sorry but it was and this is why I didnt do much with it.
However, without me, Udemy has done rather well in the last two years as it now:
Gets over 500,000 unique visitors a month
Has over 250,000 users in under 3 years
Can help you deliver your own course (free or paid)
Is redefining learning online
And has launched a b2b offering which is really rather clever too
And lets you (the trainer) keep 70% of the revenue from your courses (or 85% if you directly refer the customer to the course).
Not only this but Udemy now says that a quarter of its approved instructors will finish the year with more than $10,000 from sales of their self-created courses on subjects ranging from web development and entrepreneurship to yoga and photography.
Believe you me that is a LOT more than my own online video marketing course Your Marketing Trainer will make this year!
The company declined to share the total number of instructors offering classes on Udemy but said the figure has climbed 300 percent in the last year. About 60 percent of all instructors on the site are “approved,” meaning their courses meet a checklist of standards and can be searchable by students online. The site has attracted about 400,000 registered students, which is about a 520 percent increase from last year.
“[Teaching] doesn’t just have to be a service that is hourly work,” said Dinesh Thirupuvanam, VP of marketing for Udemy. “It can have more scale and that can reach more people.”
On Udemy, anyone can create a video-based course on a range of topics – from web design and entrepreneurship to yoga and photography. Instructors can choose to offer them for free, but the average price for a course is $19 to $199. Many of the top classes draw about 500 students, with some reaching students in the low thousands. For each class, Udemy takes 30 percent of the earnings.
Thirupuvanam said dozens of instructors in all kinds of disciplines are making upwards of $10,000 but the highest earners tend to teach more technical topics (Microsoft Excel and Python, for example) or business and entrepreneurship. The most popular instructors, he continued, are especially passionate and knowledgeable about their material. And they put in about 30 to 40 hours or more to prepare the curriculum, produce high-quality video and interact with students via message boards. Instructor Victor Bastos, for example, has earned $325,000 over the past 12 months from his class on web development. But even a class on the “art of black and white photography,” taught by photographer David Nightingale, has made $31,000 in just four months.
Still, success depends on several factors, including demand for topic, the experience of the teacher, student reviews and, importantly, the instructor’s own marketing efforts. Which I must confess for myself I did nothing at all.
But like all search social engines and platforms, Udemy’s algorithms will flag classes that are gaining traction on the site and then the startup will promote them to students via email and better placement in the marketplace. But it’s on the instructors to take early steps to get the first few students and reviews.
Earlier this week, New York based peer-to-peer learning marketplace Skillshare similarly reported impressive earnings for instructors of its online classes. Both platforms offer online video-based classes on professional and creative skills, but Skillshare also includes offline classes and even its online classes offer students live interactions with instructors and peers. And on Thursday, CourseHero, a startup offering different online education tools from flashcards to study guides to courses, also launched a marketplace enabling subject matter experts to make money from their knowledge.
As online education grows, it’s encouraging to see not just platforms like Udacity and Coursera that let professors and educational institutions reach millions more online, but learning marketplaces that allow all kinds of people with expertise to earn compensation for teaching. And the growing success of sites like Udemy and Skillshare point to a future of more open education and opportunities for lifelong learning.Whereas sites like memrise - i think point to an amazing future of learning with a more gamified experience.
Udemy, which was launched in 2010, has raised about $4 million from 500 startups, Lightbank and MHS Capital, as well as individual investors like Yelp cofounder Jeremy Stoppelman and Square COO Keith Rabois.
Funny to think I had emails with the owners back in the day as they started off. I really was a very early adopter.
But maybe its time to stop being right intellectually online - and get involved online as well.
I do so love to train people in digital marketing - and have at least 17 different workshops I could put online.
Oh and by the way here is 65% off any* course with coupon code MAYNSL65.
Discover a course today. Thanks Udemy - remember it what you know as well as who you know....
Well, people are doing just that with Udemy.com. Which I joined a couple of years back - but my goodness - like everything in life you get out of it what you put in.
In case you are unfamiliar with Udemy, it is a website that enables anyone to teach and learn online. Launched in 2010, Udemy tries to democratize online education by making it fast, easy and free to create online courses. Oh and if you are here for the code - then it's at the bottom of the blog.
If you are a trainer and interested in the platform - then read on :)
First thing I will say is that when it was born - Udemy was UGLY. Sorry but it was and this is why I didnt do much with it.
However, without me, Udemy has done rather well in the last two years as it now:
Gets over 500,000 unique visitors a month
Has over 250,000 users in under 3 years
Can help you deliver your own course (free or paid)
Is redefining learning online
And has launched a b2b offering which is really rather clever too
And lets you (the trainer) keep 70% of the revenue from your courses (or 85% if you directly refer the customer to the course).
Not only this but Udemy now says that a quarter of its approved instructors will finish the year with more than $10,000 from sales of their self-created courses on subjects ranging from web development and entrepreneurship to yoga and photography.
Believe you me that is a LOT more than my own online video marketing course Your Marketing Trainer will make this year!
The company declined to share the total number of instructors offering classes on Udemy but said the figure has climbed 300 percent in the last year. About 60 percent of all instructors on the site are “approved,” meaning their courses meet a checklist of standards and can be searchable by students online. The site has attracted about 400,000 registered students, which is about a 520 percent increase from last year.
“[Teaching] doesn’t just have to be a service that is hourly work,” said Dinesh Thirupuvanam, VP of marketing for Udemy. “It can have more scale and that can reach more people.”
On Udemy, anyone can create a video-based course on a range of topics – from web design and entrepreneurship to yoga and photography. Instructors can choose to offer them for free, but the average price for a course is $19 to $199. Many of the top classes draw about 500 students, with some reaching students in the low thousands. For each class, Udemy takes 30 percent of the earnings.
Thirupuvanam said dozens of instructors in all kinds of disciplines are making upwards of $10,000 but the highest earners tend to teach more technical topics (Microsoft Excel and Python, for example) or business and entrepreneurship. The most popular instructors, he continued, are especially passionate and knowledgeable about their material. And they put in about 30 to 40 hours or more to prepare the curriculum, produce high-quality video and interact with students via message boards. Instructor Victor Bastos, for example, has earned $325,000 over the past 12 months from his class on web development. But even a class on the “art of black and white photography,” taught by photographer David Nightingale, has made $31,000 in just four months.
Still, success depends on several factors, including demand for topic, the experience of the teacher, student reviews and, importantly, the instructor’s own marketing efforts. Which I must confess for myself I did nothing at all.
But like all search social engines and platforms, Udemy’s algorithms will flag classes that are gaining traction on the site and then the startup will promote them to students via email and better placement in the marketplace. But it’s on the instructors to take early steps to get the first few students and reviews.
Earlier this week, New York based peer-to-peer learning marketplace Skillshare similarly reported impressive earnings for instructors of its online classes. Both platforms offer online video-based classes on professional and creative skills, but Skillshare also includes offline classes and even its online classes offer students live interactions with instructors and peers. And on Thursday, CourseHero, a startup offering different online education tools from flashcards to study guides to courses, also launched a marketplace enabling subject matter experts to make money from their knowledge.
As online education grows, it’s encouraging to see not just platforms like Udacity and Coursera that let professors and educational institutions reach millions more online, but learning marketplaces that allow all kinds of people with expertise to earn compensation for teaching. And the growing success of sites like Udemy and Skillshare point to a future of more open education and opportunities for lifelong learning.Whereas sites like memrise - i think point to an amazing future of learning with a more gamified experience.
Udemy, which was launched in 2010, has raised about $4 million from 500 startups, Lightbank and MHS Capital, as well as individual investors like Yelp cofounder Jeremy Stoppelman and Square COO Keith Rabois.
Funny to think I had emails with the owners back in the day as they started off. I really was a very early adopter.
But maybe its time to stop being right intellectually online - and get involved online as well.
I do so love to train people in digital marketing - and have at least 17 different workshops I could put online.
Oh and by the way here is 65% off any* course with coupon code MAYNSL65.
Discover a course today. Thanks Udemy - remember it what you know as well as who you know....
Tuesday 14 May 2013
I love the #deadgiveway tune - along with 11 million other people but does this "meme" count as culture? And could my advertising the meme damage race relations?
So are meme's really that powerful that I should stop my charles ramsey appreciation facebook page?
I don't know but reading into it a little more perhaps my harmless fun and exercise in youtube marketing (made for a workshop) might be seen as more than just #greatmarketing but an actual real life statement.
This is what Clair Byrd says about it all and she is the Director of Content and Community for Scoop.it. For her musings on social tech, writing, and cute owl pictures, follow her on Twitter (@theclairbyrd).
"The ubiquitous internet meme comes in many forms — from iterations on top of iterations of a viral video to a random picture of a cute animals with an ironic white Impact caption. They also seem to proliferate like one of those animals with an ironic white Impact caption, if you know what I mean.
The internet meme often gets a bad rap. It gets called a waste of time, a waste of energy, and a waste of brain bandwidth.. really just more noise in an already cacophonous environment. But is this really true? Is meme only a waste of time or is there significantly more to the humble internet meme?
A case for meme
“Culture” is defined as “the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties, especially by education.” Culture varies significantly across the world, just as significantly as the moral and intellectual faculties between people vary, and grows strong in places that foster education between people of like-mind and similar values.
By this definition, the internet is becoming its own global culture. There are (of course) differences, but in essence, the internet is allowing people to come together and develop their intellectual (consider communities like Quora, topic-based communities, etc) and moral (consider the group Anonymous or the internationally-adopted web blackout in protest of the US SOPA bill) faculties.
It is difficult to associate any major internet movement with a particular people or existing unique culture. The internet and the spread of cultural artifacts through its many channels are as diverse as all the people in the world — and through this diversity there is unity forming around similar values (freedom, democracy and expression).
Meme, by definition, is “an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture.” Meme is not necessarily specific to the internet — it simply became a household name through the Cheezburger Network. We could define many important cultural evolutions as “meme,” such as 3D imaging in modern film or technology in the classroom. These — now commonplace — ideas have spread from person to person inside of a unique culture.
I propose that internet meme is the currency of a blooming global culture. Internet meme can, and does, educate morality (consider the macings at UC Davis and the massive adoption that meme saw) as well as intellectual pursuits (consider the Advice Mallard), and while there is a ton of crap in the world of internet meme, the same can be said for most more traditionally accepted cultural mediums (has anyone seen this Nic Cage film?!).
The internet is irrevocably changing the way we interact with traditional media that define what “culture” is for us. What is art in this new environment? Do you have to be a classically-trained musician to create culturally-significant music? How is cinema, food, and literature changing due to advances in internet technology? What ultimately count as legitimate “cultural” artifacts and what doesn’t?
While the internet is creating its own culture in cyber space, there is invariably spill over to the real world. People reference internet memes in casual conversation around dinner i.e. they sign #deadgiveaway or do the thumbs up sign (if you don't know what this means - it's all about Charles Ramsey) People share meme experiences with friends and loved ones, and use meme as illustrations of concepts among their peers.
They use meme to make points in arguments, to create conversations, to shame, to uplift, and to showcase triumphs and defeats. This, to me, bears greater cultural significance than simple entertainment on the interwebs™. Internet meme is most assuredly spreading ideas, behaviors, and styles between people — locally and virtually.
So a meme counts as culture in the greater global evolution of human culture?
And if so should I really be pushing a meme out there just because I love the #deadgiveaway tune (along with 11,751,434 other people.)
But the underlying theme some believe to be racist as one of the catchphrases - is:
"I knew somethin was wrong when a
little pretty white girl
ran into a black man's arms"
Which is very funny - but I think that because I am black and I have a white wife - who is pretty.
Maybe I feel bad as I not only set up a fanclub for the video and charles ramsey but I know that I will use the "learnings" from all this into one of our great marketing youtube training days.
I don't know either way - it no longer sits well with me so I will delete the facebook account - tomorrow (promise....)
Best go and copy and paste all the learning data shots then :)
8 things to do every day that will make you happier taught to me by the rather wonderful Paulo Coelho
8 things to do every day that will make you happier taught to me by the rather wonderful Paulo Coelho
These are just tiny excerpts from the post by Barking up the wrong tree
Ok how many of these do you do every day - I am getting to do at least 4
1) Thank someone
First thing in the morning, send an email thanking or praising someone. Research shows this can brighten your day.
2) Spend money — on someone else
Harvard professor Michael Norton, author of Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending, talks about this in this video: http://www.sternspeakers.co/speakers/michael-norton
3) Give 5 hugs
In a one-of-a-kind study, students at Pennsylvania State University were assigned to two groups. The first group was instructed to give or recevie a minimum of five hugs per day over the course of four weeks and to record the details. The hugs had to be front-to-front (nonsexual) hugs, using both arms of both participants; however, the length and strength of hug, as well as the placement of hands, were left to their discretion. Furthermore, these students couldn’t simply huge their boyfriends or girlfriends half a dozen times; they had to aim to hug as many different individuals as possible. The second, the controls, was instructed simply to record the number of hours they read each day over the same four weeks.
People assigned to give or receive hugs 5 times a day ended up happier than the control group.From Sonja Lyubomirsky’s book
4) Do stuff you’re good at
People who deliberately exercised their signature strengths on a daily basis — those qualities they were uniquely best at, the talents that set them apart from others – became significantly happier for months.
5) Do 5 little nice things for others
…individuals told to complete five acts of kindness over the course of a day report feeling much happier than control groups and that the feeling lasts for many subsequent days, far after the exercise is over. To try this yourself, pick one day a week and make a point of committing five acts of kindness. But if you want to reap the psychological benefit, make sure you do these things deliberately and consciously—you can’t just look back over the last 24 hours and declare your acts post hoc.
6) Create something to look forward to
One study found that people who just thought about watching their favorite movie actually raised their endorphin levels by 27 percent. Often, the most enjoyable part of an activity is the anticipation. If you can’t take the time for a vacation right now, or even a night out with friends, put something on the calendar—even if it’s a month or a year down the road. Then whenever you need a boost of happiness, remind yourself about it.
7) Spend time with friends
Having a better social life is the happiness equivalent of making an extra $131,232 a year:
There is substantial evidence in the psychology and sociology literature that social relationships promote happiness for the individual. Yet the size of their impacts remains largely unknown. This paper explores the use of shadow pricing method to estimate the monetary values of the satisfaction with life gained by an increase in the frequency of interaction with friends, relatives, and neighbours. Using the British Household Panel Survey, I find that an increase in the level of social involvements is worth up to an extra £85,000 a year in terms of life satisfaction. Actual changes in income, on the other hand, buy very little happiness.
8) Before bed, write down three good things that happened today
Every night for the next week, set aside ten minutes before you go to sleep. Write down three things that went well today and why they went well. You may use a journal or your computer to write about the events, but it is important that you have a physical record of what you wrote. The three things need not be earthshaking in importance (“ My husband picked up my favorite ice cream for dessert on the way home from work today”), but they can be important (“ My sister just gave birth to a healthy baby boy”).
These are just tiny excerpts from the post by Barking up the wrong tree
Ok how many of these do you do every day - I am getting to do at least 4
1) Thank someone
First thing in the morning, send an email thanking or praising someone. Research shows this can brighten your day.
2) Spend money — on someone else
Harvard professor Michael Norton, author of Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending, talks about this in this video: http://www.sternspeakers.co/speakers/michael-norton
3) Give 5 hugs
In a one-of-a-kind study, students at Pennsylvania State University were assigned to two groups. The first group was instructed to give or recevie a minimum of five hugs per day over the course of four weeks and to record the details. The hugs had to be front-to-front (nonsexual) hugs, using both arms of both participants; however, the length and strength of hug, as well as the placement of hands, were left to their discretion. Furthermore, these students couldn’t simply huge their boyfriends or girlfriends half a dozen times; they had to aim to hug as many different individuals as possible. The second, the controls, was instructed simply to record the number of hours they read each day over the same four weeks.
People assigned to give or receive hugs 5 times a day ended up happier than the control group.From Sonja Lyubomirsky’s book
4) Do stuff you’re good at
People who deliberately exercised their signature strengths on a daily basis — those qualities they were uniquely best at, the talents that set them apart from others – became significantly happier for months.
5) Do 5 little nice things for others
…individuals told to complete five acts of kindness over the course of a day report feeling much happier than control groups and that the feeling lasts for many subsequent days, far after the exercise is over. To try this yourself, pick one day a week and make a point of committing five acts of kindness. But if you want to reap the psychological benefit, make sure you do these things deliberately and consciously—you can’t just look back over the last 24 hours and declare your acts post hoc.
6) Create something to look forward to
One study found that people who just thought about watching their favorite movie actually raised their endorphin levels by 27 percent. Often, the most enjoyable part of an activity is the anticipation. If you can’t take the time for a vacation right now, or even a night out with friends, put something on the calendar—even if it’s a month or a year down the road. Then whenever you need a boost of happiness, remind yourself about it.
7) Spend time with friends
Having a better social life is the happiness equivalent of making an extra $131,232 a year:
There is substantial evidence in the psychology and sociology literature that social relationships promote happiness for the individual. Yet the size of their impacts remains largely unknown. This paper explores the use of shadow pricing method to estimate the monetary values of the satisfaction with life gained by an increase in the frequency of interaction with friends, relatives, and neighbours. Using the British Household Panel Survey, I find that an increase in the level of social involvements is worth up to an extra £85,000 a year in terms of life satisfaction. Actual changes in income, on the other hand, buy very little happiness.
8) Before bed, write down three good things that happened today
Every night for the next week, set aside ten minutes before you go to sleep. Write down three things that went well today and why they went well. You may use a journal or your computer to write about the events, but it is important that you have a physical record of what you wrote. The three things need not be earthshaking in importance (“ My husband picked up my favorite ice cream for dessert on the way home from work today”), but they can be important (“ My sister just gave birth to a healthy baby boy”).
Monday 13 May 2013
Is analytics and apps (especially gaming) where the money really is?
Should I really go into mobile games analytics?
Today I have been juggling a lot of things. One being my increasing work load and my increasingly frustrations.
One of them being about an idea about games analytics and the fact that many UK games developers don't use analytics tools enough.
Believe you me I know this from a 3 month stint in a UK mobile games company and getting to know the industry.
Another thing worries me about the mobile games industry - is the ecology of the ecosystem it is part of i.e. mobile apps.
So this infographic caught my eye and I want to remember it:
I love this and then read something even more inticing.
Which might move me into the creative part of it all once more - a great article by Karsten Strauss,from Forbes.
ILKKA PAANANEN says the best way to make money in mobile gaming is to stop thinking about making money. Think about fun instead. Fighting a mild case of flu and jet lag from a San Francisco flight back home to Helsinki, Paananen says that companies that place revenue above fun (we’re talking to you, Zynga) will ultimately fail. “It really is that simple–just design something great, something that users love,” says the 34-year-old.
Paananen is CEO of Supercell, a startup that has had astonishing growth almost overnight. It has only two titles in Apple AAPL +0.57%‘s App Store–a tower defense game called Clash of Clans and a social-farming game called Hay Day–but it grossed $100 million last year and $179 million in the first quarter of 2013 alone. Supercell netted $104 million in the quarter, after expenses and Apple’s 30% cut.
The growth curve steepens: With daily revenue now at $2.4 million, Supercell is already at a run-rate of more than $800 million for 2013 and could reach $1 billion. That would make it more than twice the size of Electronic Arts’ mobile games division, which has 900-plus iOS apps. Supercell now attracts 8.5 million daily players who play an average of ten times per day.
These gaudy stats attracted a $130 million financing round in February led by Index Ventures, which invested $52.5 million, along with Institutional Venture Partners and Atomico. All shareholders, including Accel Partners (an earlier investor), sold 16.7% of their holdings to the newcomers, pegging the company value at $770 million. That much cash at once can flood the engine of a little company, and will make a VC-worthy return far more difficult. Paananen admits the round was not entirely necessary, more an opportunity to give shareholders a quick payout as both a “thank-you” for hard work and to shrug off any pressure to go public. At the very least, it will pay for much-needed space. There’s an ever growing pile of shoes defrosting near the front door.
Index’s Neil Rimer, whose firm scored with Skype and Dropbox, is convinced Supercell may be as big a deal as any he has seen: “Once in a while you get the opportunity to invest in a studio that has some kind of proprietary technology or alternative take on the market–like a Pixar or a DreamWorks–where they can apply a different methodology and generate a stream of hits over a period of time.”
Most game studios have an autocratic executive producer green-lighting the work of designers and programmers. Supercell’s developers work in autonomous groups of five to seven people. Each cell comes up with its own game ideas. They run their ideas by Paananen (he can’t remember ever nixing a proposal), then develop those into a game. If the team likes it, the rest of the employees get to play. If they like it, the game gets tested in Canada’s iTunes App store. If it’s a hit there it will be deemed ready for global release. This staged approach has killed off four games so far, with each dead project a cause for celebration. Employees crack open champagne to toast their failure. “We really want to celebrate maybe not the failure itself but the learning that comes out of the failure,” says Paananen.
Supercell is new but has a veteran executive team. Paananen and a Supercell cofounder, Mikko Kodisoja, sold their maiden startup Sumea in 2004 for $6 million in cash and another $12 million in stock to Digital Chocolate and stayed for six years before venturing out with three colleagues to start Supercell. “It felt that we had to build something from scratch again.”
Supercell secured $12 million in a 2011 venture round led by Accel at a $52.3 million valuation, then changed strategy, dropping all other game platforms to focus on tablets, namely the iPad. The company released Clash of Clans and Hay Day in the summer of 2012. By year’s end both games had held top-five positions in the App Store longer than any other game that year, and Clash of Clans was the biggest moneymaker more often than any other app to date.
One rabid Clans fan, a Finnish government official, organized a cruise to Stockholm for his 50 Clan friends. A relative of one of the company founders had his car break down and, while waiting for assistance, started playing Clans on his phone and used its chat feature to get a teammate to pick him up.
The games attract players because they’re simple to play and chock-full of immersive details such as bloated farm pigs that draw a chuckle, fish leaping up from a cartoon stream and Clash of Clans characters that resemble Hulk Hogan or Mr. T riding a warthog. “The game should feed the player some emotions,” said Kodisoja.
Players pay the game back with money, time or both. In Hay Day, you can spend to speed up production of eggs and milk, or upgrade silos and barns. In Clash of Clans, players can buy gems to speed the production of troops and convert them into gold or elixir to upgrade buildings, walls and troops.
What's a farm without chickens?
Paananen says the games are not designed to be “pay-to-win.” You can also obtain resources through committed gameplay. Some of the world’s leading players haven’t spent a dime, but Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter found himself on the losing end of most of his Clans battles until he began spending money. “The economy that they’ve built in the game is structured so that you never have quite enough,” says Pachter.
Paananen says Supercell’s plans over the next three years include Android games, Asian expansion, more global hits and “probably” an IPO. That could be a good thing for Supercell workers. In April the board voted to give stock options to all employees, not just to the senior folks. “We thought, ‘This is not in line with our values. We should give equity to everybody.”
Now this is the kind of company I would like to work for - or even build :)
So it sounds like mobile, mobile games and social mobile games might be where the money really is - even though I shouldnt think about it :)
Today I have been juggling a lot of things. One being my increasing work load and my increasingly frustrations.
One of them being about an idea about games analytics and the fact that many UK games developers don't use analytics tools enough.
Believe you me I know this from a 3 month stint in a UK mobile games company and getting to know the industry.
Another thing worries me about the mobile games industry - is the ecology of the ecosystem it is part of i.e. mobile apps.
So this infographic caught my eye and I want to remember it:
I love this and then read something even more inticing.
Which might move me into the creative part of it all once more - a great article by Karsten Strauss,from Forbes.
ILKKA PAANANEN says the best way to make money in mobile gaming is to stop thinking about making money. Think about fun instead. Fighting a mild case of flu and jet lag from a San Francisco flight back home to Helsinki, Paananen says that companies that place revenue above fun (we’re talking to you, Zynga) will ultimately fail. “It really is that simple–just design something great, something that users love,” says the 34-year-old.
Paananen is CEO of Supercell, a startup that has had astonishing growth almost overnight. It has only two titles in Apple AAPL +0.57%‘s App Store–a tower defense game called Clash of Clans and a social-farming game called Hay Day–but it grossed $100 million last year and $179 million in the first quarter of 2013 alone. Supercell netted $104 million in the quarter, after expenses and Apple’s 30% cut.
The growth curve steepens: With daily revenue now at $2.4 million, Supercell is already at a run-rate of more than $800 million for 2013 and could reach $1 billion. That would make it more than twice the size of Electronic Arts’ mobile games division, which has 900-plus iOS apps. Supercell now attracts 8.5 million daily players who play an average of ten times per day.
These gaudy stats attracted a $130 million financing round in February led by Index Ventures, which invested $52.5 million, along with Institutional Venture Partners and Atomico. All shareholders, including Accel Partners (an earlier investor), sold 16.7% of their holdings to the newcomers, pegging the company value at $770 million. That much cash at once can flood the engine of a little company, and will make a VC-worthy return far more difficult. Paananen admits the round was not entirely necessary, more an opportunity to give shareholders a quick payout as both a “thank-you” for hard work and to shrug off any pressure to go public. At the very least, it will pay for much-needed space. There’s an ever growing pile of shoes defrosting near the front door.
Index’s Neil Rimer, whose firm scored with Skype and Dropbox, is convinced Supercell may be as big a deal as any he has seen: “Once in a while you get the opportunity to invest in a studio that has some kind of proprietary technology or alternative take on the market–like a Pixar or a DreamWorks–where they can apply a different methodology and generate a stream of hits over a period of time.”
Most game studios have an autocratic executive producer green-lighting the work of designers and programmers. Supercell’s developers work in autonomous groups of five to seven people. Each cell comes up with its own game ideas. They run their ideas by Paananen (he can’t remember ever nixing a proposal), then develop those into a game. If the team likes it, the rest of the employees get to play. If they like it, the game gets tested in Canada’s iTunes App store. If it’s a hit there it will be deemed ready for global release. This staged approach has killed off four games so far, with each dead project a cause for celebration. Employees crack open champagne to toast their failure. “We really want to celebrate maybe not the failure itself but the learning that comes out of the failure,” says Paananen.
Supercell is new but has a veteran executive team. Paananen and a Supercell cofounder, Mikko Kodisoja, sold their maiden startup Sumea in 2004 for $6 million in cash and another $12 million in stock to Digital Chocolate and stayed for six years before venturing out with three colleagues to start Supercell. “It felt that we had to build something from scratch again.”
Supercell secured $12 million in a 2011 venture round led by Accel at a $52.3 million valuation, then changed strategy, dropping all other game platforms to focus on tablets, namely the iPad. The company released Clash of Clans and Hay Day in the summer of 2012. By year’s end both games had held top-five positions in the App Store longer than any other game that year, and Clash of Clans was the biggest moneymaker more often than any other app to date.
One rabid Clans fan, a Finnish government official, organized a cruise to Stockholm for his 50 Clan friends. A relative of one of the company founders had his car break down and, while waiting for assistance, started playing Clans on his phone and used its chat feature to get a teammate to pick him up.
The games attract players because they’re simple to play and chock-full of immersive details such as bloated farm pigs that draw a chuckle, fish leaping up from a cartoon stream and Clash of Clans characters that resemble Hulk Hogan or Mr. T riding a warthog. “The game should feed the player some emotions,” said Kodisoja.
Players pay the game back with money, time or both. In Hay Day, you can spend to speed up production of eggs and milk, or upgrade silos and barns. In Clash of Clans, players can buy gems to speed the production of troops and convert them into gold or elixir to upgrade buildings, walls and troops.
What's a farm without chickens?
Paananen says the games are not designed to be “pay-to-win.” You can also obtain resources through committed gameplay. Some of the world’s leading players haven’t spent a dime, but Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter found himself on the losing end of most of his Clans battles until he began spending money. “The economy that they’ve built in the game is structured so that you never have quite enough,” says Pachter.
Paananen says Supercell’s plans over the next three years include Android games, Asian expansion, more global hits and “probably” an IPO. That could be a good thing for Supercell workers. In April the board voted to give stock options to all employees, not just to the senior folks. “We thought, ‘This is not in line with our values. We should give equity to everybody.”
Now this is the kind of company I would like to work for - or even build :)
So it sounds like mobile, mobile games and social mobile games might be where the money really is - even though I shouldnt think about it :)
Thursday 9 May 2013
Ok Charles Ramsey is a internet sensation - but what can we learn from it all?
Ok it took, what, all of a day (two days if you are based in Europe) for Charles Ramsey to become a household name. The newly minted Internet legend who helped kidnapping victim Amanda Berry make the 911 call heard 'round the world has put a smiling face on a story of unspeakable horrors with his funny TV interviews. (See them all on the NEW Charles Ramsey Facebook appreciation page.)
Although three women and a child were rescued in Cleveland this week, the stories of their kidnappings are really just the tip of the iceberg for Berry and her fellow captives, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight.
But... I dare say that's what has made Charles Ramsey and his ebullience during TV interviews go viral. He's a hero with a great attitude and a hearty sense of humor.
And this is what we should learn from it - BE YOURSELF AND BE A HERO - even if the world isn't looking.
And yes, no matter what people want to say, Ramsey is a hero. He's a guy who saw something off and decided not to turn the other way but to put himself out there and help Amanda Berry.
By heading next door with another neighbor (Angel Cordero, who has come forward to try to claim his own bit of the spotlight), by offering her a phone to call 911 and staying there until police came, he changed the course of these three women's lives -- for the better.
He also unwittingly made himself a public figure, a man who is being both celebrated and (sadly) mocked today, but he hasn't backed down. From his pledge to turn any reward for finding the missing women over to the women themselves to his insistence that he is NOT a hero, Ramsey is a man who deserves all the applause he's getting today.
And I have decided that this kind of hero deserves more - so I am making a store for Charles Ramsey - with #deadgiveaway merchandise to get him money he deserves.
And the more canny amongst you will also see this as a #greatmarketing exercise - which it is in part.
But it is more than that - it is to hopefully keep alive his memory - as just take a look at some of the quotes that made us grin along with him:
From his now famous interview with local station WEWSTV, which has even been auto-tuned - and the Charles Ramsey song is now part of the T-shirt rannge #deadgiveway
1. On recognizing Amanda Berry's name:
When she told me, it didn't register ... Until I got to calling 911, and then I'm like, I'm calling 911 for Amanda Berry? I thought this girl was dead!
2. On alleged suspect Ariel Castro:
My neighbor ... you got some big testicles to pull this off, bro.
3. On seeing Amanda:
Bro, I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man’s arms. Something is wrong here. Dead giveaway.
4. Again on seeing Amanda:
Either she's homeless or she got problems. That's the only reason why she runnin’ to a black man.
From Ramsey's interview with Anderson Cooper 360:
5. On the 911 operators:
We're both calling 911. Now she gets through and I get through. She deal with a moron, me, too.
6. On the cops responding:
They got there so fast because I said moron. Because I said hey, Amanda Berry is right in front of me right now. Here's what she got on and I told him white tank top, blue sweatpants, nice tennis shoes, nice ponytail. What else? Oh, right. She's panicking, idiot. Put yourself in her shoes. Like I said, Amanda Berry, that don't ring no damn bells, you being a cop and all?
7. On how the ordeal has affected him:
See, that's why now I'm having trouble sleeping. See, up until yesterday, the only thing that kept me from losing sleep was the lack of money. See what I'm saying? So now that that's going on, and I could have done this last year, not this hero stuff, just do the right thing.
8. On being a hero:
Bro, I'm a Christian, an American, and just like you. We bleed same blood, put our pants on the same way. It's just that you got to put that -- being a coward, and I don't want to get in nobody's business. You got to put that away for a minute.
9. On why he ran to help:
You have to have cojones, bro ... That's all what it's about. It's about cojones on this planet.
10. On the reward:
I tell you what you do, give it to them. Because if folks been following this case since last night, you been following me since last night, you know I got a job anyway. Just went picked it up, paycheck.
How can you not love a guy like that? He's got heart, grit, and a sense of humor!
And he even turns down the money from the reward. But he can't turn down our money - as it's just for him - Charles Ramsey.
Buy a Tshirt - keep the dream #deadgiveaway alive - be a hero - be yourself - and have fun doing it!!!
Although three women and a child were rescued in Cleveland this week, the stories of their kidnappings are really just the tip of the iceberg for Berry and her fellow captives, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight.
But... I dare say that's what has made Charles Ramsey and his ebullience during TV interviews go viral. He's a hero with a great attitude and a hearty sense of humor.
And this is what we should learn from it - BE YOURSELF AND BE A HERO - even if the world isn't looking.
And yes, no matter what people want to say, Ramsey is a hero. He's a guy who saw something off and decided not to turn the other way but to put himself out there and help Amanda Berry.
By heading next door with another neighbor (Angel Cordero, who has come forward to try to claim his own bit of the spotlight), by offering her a phone to call 911 and staying there until police came, he changed the course of these three women's lives -- for the better.
He also unwittingly made himself a public figure, a man who is being both celebrated and (sadly) mocked today, but he hasn't backed down. From his pledge to turn any reward for finding the missing women over to the women themselves to his insistence that he is NOT a hero, Ramsey is a man who deserves all the applause he's getting today.
And I have decided that this kind of hero deserves more - so I am making a store for Charles Ramsey - with #deadgiveaway merchandise to get him money he deserves.
And the more canny amongst you will also see this as a #greatmarketing exercise - which it is in part.
But it is more than that - it is to hopefully keep alive his memory - as just take a look at some of the quotes that made us grin along with him:
From his now famous interview with local station WEWSTV, which has even been auto-tuned - and the Charles Ramsey song is now part of the T-shirt rannge #deadgiveway
1. On recognizing Amanda Berry's name:
When she told me, it didn't register ... Until I got to calling 911, and then I'm like, I'm calling 911 for Amanda Berry? I thought this girl was dead!
2. On alleged suspect Ariel Castro:
My neighbor ... you got some big testicles to pull this off, bro.
3. On seeing Amanda:
Bro, I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man’s arms. Something is wrong here. Dead giveaway.
4. Again on seeing Amanda:
Either she's homeless or she got problems. That's the only reason why she runnin’ to a black man.
From Ramsey's interview with Anderson Cooper 360:
5. On the 911 operators:
We're both calling 911. Now she gets through and I get through. She deal with a moron, me, too.
6. On the cops responding:
They got there so fast because I said moron. Because I said hey, Amanda Berry is right in front of me right now. Here's what she got on and I told him white tank top, blue sweatpants, nice tennis shoes, nice ponytail. What else? Oh, right. She's panicking, idiot. Put yourself in her shoes. Like I said, Amanda Berry, that don't ring no damn bells, you being a cop and all?
7. On how the ordeal has affected him:
See, that's why now I'm having trouble sleeping. See, up until yesterday, the only thing that kept me from losing sleep was the lack of money. See what I'm saying? So now that that's going on, and I could have done this last year, not this hero stuff, just do the right thing.
8. On being a hero:
Bro, I'm a Christian, an American, and just like you. We bleed same blood, put our pants on the same way. It's just that you got to put that -- being a coward, and I don't want to get in nobody's business. You got to put that away for a minute.
9. On why he ran to help:
You have to have cojones, bro ... That's all what it's about. It's about cojones on this planet.
10. On the reward:
I tell you what you do, give it to them. Because if folks been following this case since last night, you been following me since last night, you know I got a job anyway. Just went picked it up, paycheck.
How can you not love a guy like that? He's got heart, grit, and a sense of humor!
And he even turns down the money from the reward. But he can't turn down our money - as it's just for him - Charles Ramsey.
Buy a Tshirt - keep the dream #deadgiveaway alive - be a hero - be yourself - and have fun doing it!!!
Wednesday 8 May 2013
Why Gamify? Soon you will have no choice but to....
Today I was talking to a client about gamifaction - not only as it's a great topic but because they are running out of engagement levels (rather apt language use there)
Engagement levels are now so low they are losing employees. The vision for the company is flattering and I fear that the great idea and ideals of the people who started it will be not only lost but the whole enterprise will go under in the next "cabinet" shuffle.
So this post - especially as I just finished my course with @kwerb on Gamifaction with the University of Penn, is rather well timed.
Some call Gamifaction the new secret sauce for engaging with the under 30's.... I don't know about that but I know that I will be training companies in it for a while to come.
Collaboration. Engagement. The Consumerization of the Enterprise.
Today, global businesses are beginning to realize that driving and sustaining an engaged workforce is a necessity to increase efficiency and profits. Yet four out of ten employees worldwide are not engaged, according to an AON Hewitt study, and this lack of engagement is crippling business growth potential.
Software Isn't the Answer
Companies are under immense pressure to find new, effective ways to engage employees — and keep them engaged — to spur growth, reduce turnover, preserve talent and maintain a competitive advantage. Many have turned to software to help create the spark and transform into true digital operations, but a large number of these projects are failing.
Why? Because despite enormous investment in enterprise applications, adoption remains low: this year alone, Gartner claims businesses will spend nearly US$ 300 billion on enterprise software, yet according to a survey by The IT Adoption Alliance, usage of this software is only about 50 percent. That means that some US$ 150 billion will be essentially wasted on software investments.
In the meantime, employees are for a variety of reasons becoming even less engaged. One of the primary causes of employee disengagement is failure of the organization to provide proper recognition for performance, desired behaviors, compliance and contributions.
Another issue: there are many behaviors employees must perform to support a sustainable, efficient workforce, yet businesses have no scalable way to explain the necessary steps to reach optimal performance, nor do they have the tools to reward employees for completing these tasks.
Why Gamification? Why Now?
70 percent of business transformation efforts currently fail due to lack of engagement (just what my new client is feeling right now - even though they don't like to admit it) gamification provides the antidote that can help stop to the hemorrhaging.
According to Gartner, gamification addresses engagement, transparency of work and the connection between employees’ actions and business outcomes, which is why the firm predicts gamification will be the primary mechanism to transform business operations for 70 percent of Global 2000 firms by 2014 and 40 percent of Global 1000 companies by 2015.
Regardless of employee demographics, gamification programs can be customized to incentivize their behavior. For example, younger workers specifically demand more frequent feedback and recognition. Cindy Ventrice, employee engagement researcher and author of Make Their Day notes,
"Those 25 and under have a significant preference for daily feedback. This is challenging for managers. Gamified enterprise software can provide a portion of the feedback required to keep these employees engaged. This gamified system also allows managers to track and reinforce critical behaviors and provide the personal recognition that employees also crave.”
But providing an engaging environment must be cost-effective. Gamification resolves this challenge as well.
Research has shown that once basic needs are met, additional cash rewards do not help motivate employees. In her research, Ventrice found that when employees were asked to estimate the dollar value of workplace recognition, 57 percent reported that the most meaningful recognition cost the organization nothing.
Instead, employee engagement and motivation is better driven by manager and peer recognition. But being named Employee of the Month just doesn't cut it in today’s digital world. Global organizations — from consulting firms Capgemini and Deloitte to major oil, retail and finance businesses to big technology firms — are investing heavily in gamification systems to drive employee productivity and engagement.
Modern businesses must embrace digital transformation across all aspects of their business to thrive in the next decade and beyond," said Maggie Buggie, VP, Digital Transformation, Capgemini Consulting. "Gamification is, at its core, an actionable strategy which analyzes customer and employee behavior across your organization and then creates sophisticated programs to actually change this behavior to benefit the business. If executives are serious about building the Digital Advantage, they should investigate the ability of gamification to play an important role in their business case realization."
Where & How to Gamify Your Business
Virtually every side of business operations can use gamification to drive employee engagement and performance. In fact, many are discovering that the greatest value of gamification is creating a holistic reputation system for their employees that is connected across all touch points.
Engagement levels are now so low they are losing employees. The vision for the company is flattering and I fear that the great idea and ideals of the people who started it will be not only lost but the whole enterprise will go under in the next "cabinet" shuffle.
So this post - especially as I just finished my course with @kwerb on Gamifaction with the University of Penn, is rather well timed.
Some call Gamifaction the new secret sauce for engaging with the under 30's.... I don't know about that but I know that I will be training companies in it for a while to come.
Collaboration. Engagement. The Consumerization of the Enterprise.
Today, global businesses are beginning to realize that driving and sustaining an engaged workforce is a necessity to increase efficiency and profits. Yet four out of ten employees worldwide are not engaged, according to an AON Hewitt study, and this lack of engagement is crippling business growth potential.
Software Isn't the Answer
Companies are under immense pressure to find new, effective ways to engage employees — and keep them engaged — to spur growth, reduce turnover, preserve talent and maintain a competitive advantage. Many have turned to software to help create the spark and transform into true digital operations, but a large number of these projects are failing.
Why? Because despite enormous investment in enterprise applications, adoption remains low: this year alone, Gartner claims businesses will spend nearly US$ 300 billion on enterprise software, yet according to a survey by The IT Adoption Alliance, usage of this software is only about 50 percent. That means that some US$ 150 billion will be essentially wasted on software investments.
In the meantime, employees are for a variety of reasons becoming even less engaged. One of the primary causes of employee disengagement is failure of the organization to provide proper recognition for performance, desired behaviors, compliance and contributions.
Another issue: there are many behaviors employees must perform to support a sustainable, efficient workforce, yet businesses have no scalable way to explain the necessary steps to reach optimal performance, nor do they have the tools to reward employees for completing these tasks.
Why Gamification? Why Now?
70 percent of business transformation efforts currently fail due to lack of engagement (just what my new client is feeling right now - even though they don't like to admit it) gamification provides the antidote that can help stop to the hemorrhaging.
According to Gartner, gamification addresses engagement, transparency of work and the connection between employees’ actions and business outcomes, which is why the firm predicts gamification will be the primary mechanism to transform business operations for 70 percent of Global 2000 firms by 2014 and 40 percent of Global 1000 companies by 2015.
Regardless of employee demographics, gamification programs can be customized to incentivize their behavior. For example, younger workers specifically demand more frequent feedback and recognition. Cindy Ventrice, employee engagement researcher and author of Make Their Day notes,
"Those 25 and under have a significant preference for daily feedback. This is challenging for managers. Gamified enterprise software can provide a portion of the feedback required to keep these employees engaged. This gamified system also allows managers to track and reinforce critical behaviors and provide the personal recognition that employees also crave.”
But providing an engaging environment must be cost-effective. Gamification resolves this challenge as well.
Research has shown that once basic needs are met, additional cash rewards do not help motivate employees. In her research, Ventrice found that when employees were asked to estimate the dollar value of workplace recognition, 57 percent reported that the most meaningful recognition cost the organization nothing.
Instead, employee engagement and motivation is better driven by manager and peer recognition. But being named Employee of the Month just doesn't cut it in today’s digital world. Global organizations — from consulting firms Capgemini and Deloitte to major oil, retail and finance businesses to big technology firms — are investing heavily in gamification systems to drive employee productivity and engagement.
Modern businesses must embrace digital transformation across all aspects of their business to thrive in the next decade and beyond," said Maggie Buggie, VP, Digital Transformation, Capgemini Consulting. "Gamification is, at its core, an actionable strategy which analyzes customer and employee behavior across your organization and then creates sophisticated programs to actually change this behavior to benefit the business. If executives are serious about building the Digital Advantage, they should investigate the ability of gamification to play an important role in their business case realization."
Where & How to Gamify Your Business
Virtually every side of business operations can use gamification to drive employee engagement and performance. In fact, many are discovering that the greatest value of gamification is creating a holistic reputation system for their employees that is connected across all touch points.
Friday 3 May 2013
Nothing to do with greatmarketing - or isn't it ;) Some great wisdom from ad man - Rory Sutherland
Rory Sutherlands wisdom... and believe you me the man is rather wise and adroit too.
Here are a few of my favourites.
1. Queuing for a nightclub is a good thing, queuing at the airport check-in is a terrible thing.
2. Pay the price of imperfection for the sake of clarity.
3. Our behaviour is not the product of our attitudes; our attitudes are a product of our behaviour.
4. Bright-line rules have their place in society, especially concerning tax evasion.
5. All human choice is path dependent
6. Everyone should read Nate Silver’s book ‘The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail-But Some Don’t’.
7. TripAdvisor is an example of a "reputational feedback" loop, where the consumer can only benefit as service gets better.
8. As the banking system has proven, you can’t trust people who can’t get hurt. We need a means of retaliation to develop any sort of trust.
9. Changing one little thing can have a hugely disproportionately effect, such as the $300 million button from a large e-tailer.
10. The SCARF model, as shown below, is a summary of important discoveries from neuroscience about the way people interact socially. The internet has the potential to tell us a great deal more about human behavior.
It stands for status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness and fairness.
This SCARF concept being very very relevant to the course on "gamifaction" and psychology I am doing. so a RESULT. Nothing to do with greatmarketing - or isn't it ;)
Here are a few of my favourites.
1. Queuing for a nightclub is a good thing, queuing at the airport check-in is a terrible thing.
2. Pay the price of imperfection for the sake of clarity.
3. Our behaviour is not the product of our attitudes; our attitudes are a product of our behaviour.
4. Bright-line rules have their place in society, especially concerning tax evasion.
5. All human choice is path dependent
6. Everyone should read Nate Silver’s book ‘The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail-But Some Don’t’.
7. TripAdvisor is an example of a "reputational feedback" loop, where the consumer can only benefit as service gets better.
8. As the banking system has proven, you can’t trust people who can’t get hurt. We need a means of retaliation to develop any sort of trust.
9. Changing one little thing can have a hugely disproportionately effect, such as the $300 million button from a large e-tailer.
10. The SCARF model, as shown below, is a summary of important discoveries from neuroscience about the way people interact socially. The internet has the potential to tell us a great deal more about human behavior.
It stands for status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness and fairness.
This SCARF concept being very very relevant to the course on "gamifaction" and psychology I am doing. so a RESULT. Nothing to do with greatmarketing - or isn't it ;)
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