Gamification

Games can help motivate people in otherwise nongame scenarios and engage users in high interaction. For decades, animated strategy games have helped introduce MBA students to complex economic scenarios. More recently, marketing has been using gamification to connect users with products and sales channels. Software teams use gamification for collaborative experiences, learning, and knowledge sharing. Here, Dirk Basten explores gamification applications and underlying technologies. I look forward to hearing from both readers and prospective column authors about this column and the technologies you want to know more about.