Posts
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Who am I talking to?
Time and again I’ve come back to the goal of trying to blog more. This always seems like a good idea until I actually get to the point of writing a blog post. Typically a few things are true by that time:
- It’s super late (like right now, as I write this at midnight).
- I probably have no idea what to write about
- Or, I’ve decided to write about some super grandiose topic, like “Risk prioritization” (maybe that post will be here some day).
The biggest trouble in deciding what to write (besides kicking my brain into gear so late) seems to be that I’m not sure who I’m talking to. All day I can respond to support tickets, customer emails, and co-workers and never spend more than a few seconds deciding what to say. Put me in front of some “blank paper” and the paper will typically stay blank.
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Ingress: A Case Study in Gamifying my World
This post centers on a mobile game called Ingress. Like lots of mobile games, this is a great game to play while traveling around to waste some time. Unlike most other mobile games, Ingress is a game that you have to play while traveling and helps you discover the world.
There is a fairly elaborate sci-fi story and world behind the game, but ultimately it boils down to a world-wide game of capture the flag(s). The “flags” in this case are historical markers, public buildings, park signs, murals, and anything else that is publicly accessible and significant culturally or artistically (you can even submit suggestions!). Once you have found portals, you can attack them to remove the other team’s control, claim them for your team, get items from them, and link them to other portals.
Like almost all games that you play online, the entire thing is almost completely pointless. You run around interacting with your phone to control imaginary “portals” and gain imaginary points. Everything is just made up.
Yet, thousands of people around the world play this game actively, to the point that they will travel hundreds and thousands of miles to participate in special events around the world as part of the game. There is obviously something about the game that hooks people.
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WordPress.com: The Story of "No"
I love taking client ideas and making it work. Come to me with a problem, and I want to find a solution in your budget.
To help fit in more budgets, I tend to use open source tools. Beyond the great cost, they provide lots of flexibility. I can adapt them to fit any problem. I can use them as a great starting point.
When a client arrives with a solution (as opposed to a problem), things can sometimes get a little dicier.
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