This is a follow-up post to my original post, Foursquare and Libraries – Anything There?

Lots of you left some great ideas in the comments, so I thought I’d do a little copy/paste and highlight some of them … because they’re really very cool ideas!

So – here are what some of YOU are doing with Foursquare:

• Colleen Greene: Pollak Library (at Cal State Fullerton) is using it in beta mode, adding in a bunch of To Do items and Tips for students (i.e., get a Titan Card, set up their borrowing privileges, check their circulation record, use one of our AV or Group study rooms, visit the latest exhibit, etc.). our Social Media Team is exploring the idea of prizes. I am also teaching our campus social media working group how to use it and incorporate it into a campus culture.
• Jason Clark: Saw this in a tweet from NYPL which talks about the kernel of an idea – summer reading meets foursquare . A friendly reading competition in the mobile space? Job description provides some more detail. While this isn’t true foursquare integration, it points to how foursquare could lead to/inspire new library apps and services.
• Brad Czerniak: Canton Public Library offers a weekly prize to their Mayor. Just a concept. This week it’s a #totebag http://twitpic.com/ynn7x
• libmario: Harvard and UNC recently teamed up with Foursquare to encourage social engagement with the campus community ,including faculty. Innovative way to encourage learning and connections that could be extended to libraries. – http://mashable.com/2010/01/12/harvard-foursquare/

And one interesting sidenote. Sometimes, people can be a bit negative about our libraries while adding tips to Foursquare. For example, Stephen Francoeur said “Saddened to see that one tag already added to my library: shitty wifi. Hope to find a way to turn that perception around.”

We’ve had one of those, too. Jason D. added this To Do list item to my library’s entry: “Late fees are being enforced, so to help you remember to take your books in, sign up for email reminders via tscpl.org.” Not sure that’s really a negative comment, but it makes us sound a bit like “enforcers of the evil late fee” or something…

Anyway, yet another use for Foursquare – see what customers say about you in the Tips and To Do lists sections (then see if you can improve or fix those things).

Feel free to friend me in Foursquare!

Foursquare is a location-based game. From Foursquare’s website: “We’re all about helping you find new ways to explore the city. We’ll help you meet up with your friends and let you earn points and unlock badges for discovering new places, doing new things and meeting new people.”

Basically, Foursquare works like last.fm or librarything, but instead of sharing music you’ve listened to or books you’ve read, you’re sharing places you’re visiting, and aggregating that list out to your friends.

To play, install an app on your phone, via an iPhone or Android app (a Blackberry one is in the works). You can also use the mobile version of their website for other phones that have web access. Then go visit places … like a coffee shop, a restaurant … basically wherever it is that you go. Once there, “check in” with the app. Checking in gives you points and badges. If you visit a place more than anyone else, you become the “mayor” of that place (until your title is swiped by someone else).

Friend people, and see your points tallied with everyone on your friends list. In the process, you can also create to-do lists and tips at each place you visit, and suggest things for your friends to try or do. Every time you do something, it can be shared with your Twitter and Facebook friends.

So … how does this relate to libraries again?

Well… here are some ideas for your library or organization on Foursquare:

1. Add your library as a place, or edit the entry if someone else has already added it. You can enter your street address (Google map is included, phone number, and your library’s Twitter name.
2. Add tags relevant to the library. For example, I have added the tags library, books, music, movies, and wifi to my library’s Foursquare entry. If you are in the area (Foursquare is a location-based service, so it knows where you are) and search for wifi – guess who’s at the top of the list? Yep – the library.
3. Add Tips and To Do lists. When you check in to a place, you have the option to add tips of things you can do there, and you can create To-Do lists of things you want to do there. For libraries, both are helpful – it’s a way to broadcast your services to Foursquare players. To Do lists are handy, because you can make the list and other players can add those To Do list items to their lists, too. When they do something on those lists, they gain points. Think of it as a fun way to get people doing stuff at your library! Just think – someone could gain points by getting a library card – how cool is that?
4. Add your big events. Then, you can have an event check-in with prizes for the first person who checks in, etc.
5. Shout outs. These are a type of status update, and can be sent to Twitter and Facebook. So do stuff, then shout out that you’ve done them.

Ok – so Foursquare is definitely fadish right now, and is mainly played by Twitter and Facebook users. But it’s also a great way to connect with a very active, involved online mobile community – and pretty much every city and town has that these days.

Here are a couple of other articles on Foursquare:

• Nonprofit Tech 2.0 blog – This was my jumping-off point – great article, great blog!
• Cecily Walker’s blog – good ideas from the folks at Vancouver Public Library
• Dave Burrows blog – also from Vancouver Public Library
• Kenley Neufeld on his experiences using Foursquare.

We’ll see how it goes – if you’re curious, feel free to follow me on Foursquare!

Update – check out my follow-up post, Foursquare and Libraries – Definitely Something There!

Ever wanted to make a game, but didn’t know where to start? Here’s one way -download the Unreal Developer Kit from NVIDIA. More from their site:

NVIDIA now offers the Unreal® Development Kit, a free version of the award-winning Unreal® Engine 3, the software development framework used to create computer and video games, 3D simulations, TV shows, films and more.

Anyone can download UDK and work with the same game development tools used to create blockbuster games, architectural walkthroughs and digital movies. UDK ships with the latest version of the Unreal® Editor, with its unrivaled content creation toolset and rapid prototyping functionality. It can be found on NVIDIA’s Developer Zone site at http://developer.nvidia.com/object/udk.html or at the UDK home site, www.udk.com.

Read more about it here.

Jenny Levine, ALA

1850s – libraries in Britain – pool halls in libraries, 1880s early chess club in a library

2005 or so – entering Eighth Age of librarianship – a participatory age.

Redefining what we mean by reading (Second Life avatar reading a book, avatars listening to someone else read a book in SL)

Gaming has been in the library (1850s) longer than KIDS have been in the library!

“stare at the screen all day” – it’s not passive – it’s active, and two-way

“he just sits there all day long…” – balance is the issue – shouldn’t read all day, play sports all day, game all day – gaming is not the problem – balance is

What would happen if video games would have been invented before books? – books are tragically isolating… no interaction, etc (Steven Johnson quote)

“aren’t social” – video games are actually very social.

“they already play videogames at home” (Eli Neiberger) – well, why do we do storytime at the library, if you can read at home? The library adds value to it… same thing with the library and gaming. We’re one of the last non-commercial facilities out there!

“Gaming is too loud…” Our libraries are loud, too!

“Libraries are about books” – and crocheting, and music, and etc etc etc – not just books anymore

“violent video games” – 85% of games are rated for everybody

Numbers – define gaming: any type of game. Summer reading is the biggest game in the library!

Who’s a gamer? Everyone pretty much – average age of gamer – 35 – middle-aged women are the largest demographic of gamers

talking about teaching a college-level statistics course for athletes – using Madden Fantasy Football

Gaming is a social experience for teens – gamers tend to be more civically engaged than non-gamers.

Games as readers advisory (from Beth Galloway): if you like to play Halo, here’s what you might enjoy reading…

Some libraries are offering Senior Spaces that have gaming as an introduction to technology. They use the Wii or the XBox, teens show the seniors how, then the seniors move to computer tech from there.

Check out my library’s new Teen Center! A little more about it: “The Edge, our new Teen Center, has opened! What can you do at The Edge? Well… lots: meet with friends, play games, read, study, do stuff on the web, watch movies, and listen to music. We also hope to have live performances by garage bands, Guitar Hero competitions and crazy karaoke.”

Read more about it here. Kudos to my library for building something that’s pretty cool.

You HAVE to watch the amazing cool music video Michael Porter and I made!!! Here it is:

And go to Michael’s blip.tv account for a larger version of the video. Want the MP3? Find it here and at last.fm

Go read Michael’s post for the nitty-gritty details (and this post for the lyrics and credits). Here are some song details…

This was a really fun song to write and record. I honestly wasn’t sure Michael’s idea would work when he first suggested it to me, but then I’m game for just about anything, so thought “let’s try it and see what happens!” And Michael’s a great friend and writing partner (we write the Public Libraries Magazine column “Internet Spotlight” together), so if everything else went down the tubes, I knew we would at least have a fun time of it. But as we started writing the lyrics, rhythms and melody lines started bouncing around in my head… and I realized this would be easy to pull off.

Other details:

• The music is a mix of GarageBand instruments, my own guitar playing, and three samples of theremins and other whistle-like sounds.
• And Michael Porter and I sang/rapped the thing
• recorded and mixed in Garageband, in my basement

Samples used:

• Spooky whistle G#3
• Ghost Fx
• theremin low to very high
• all found on freesound.org

If you’re going to be at Computers in Libraries 2008 on Sunday (April 6!!!), then stop by this cool new event (swiped from Aaron’s blog):

What: Gaming (& Gadgets!) Night
Where: CIL 2008, Jefferson Room
When: Sunday, April 6th, 5:30-8:00 pm
How much: FREE
Who: You and other people interested in gaming

Jenny Levine and I have given a few gaming workshops at past Computers in Libraries and Internet Librarian conferences. After the sessions we’ve opened up the room to anyone interested in playing some games and/or learning about gaming. It’s proven to be a popular and really fun time, so this year Information Today has turned the post-workshop gameplay into a featured event. With refreshments even!

************

Go read the full post here. I plan on being there!

Title: Alternate Realities

Speaker: Jane McGonigal

Showed “The Lost Ring” – video preview of a game – you can find hundreds of screenshots of this video in flickr, looking for hidden clues

She focused on the game designer’s perspective on the future of happiness

Question – are you in the happiness business?

Our primary product soon will be happiness… (think experience)

Happiness is the new capital

four key principles of happiness:
1 satisfying work to do
2. experience of being good at something
3. time spent with people we like
4. chance to be a part of something bigger

Multiplayer games are the ultimate happiness engine

We can be good at something (in games) that we can’t do in real life

Games give you instant feedback (you never get a “great job at speaking – you gained one speaking experience point”)

better feedback all the time in games – we know how we’re doing

better community – we feel part of something

Quality of Life – for many gamers today, their gaming life is better than their real life.

Bad News:
multiplayer games – it’s like we invented the written word, and we decided to only create books – why are we chaining the game to a PC or console? Why not free it into the real world?

Real world game examples:
Chore Wars – you do household chores, you gain points
Zyked – video games are fun, excersising not so fun – they give points for excercise
Serios – give work mates points for doing stuff at work – helps you set priorities. And you can see where the virtual money is being spent… it shows connections

Citizen Logistics – what if life were like a team activity? Treating everyday reality like a game by doing stuff in the real world

all these are in beta/alpha

to imagine the future, always look backwards

Soap analogy:
1931 – soap kills germs… it took many thousands of years to figure this out! Games are kind of like soap – we should be installing them everywhere. Instead of killing germs, we are killing boredom

Games kill alienation – for people who are socially challenged

games can kill depression by giving you community and a sense of purpose

She’s making the point that it’s not alternative reality – it’s alternate reality – still real, just alternate – another way of experiencing existence

World Without Oil as example – live your real life like this statement was true. People actually converted their cars to non-gas power and made videos of it. It sounds like a social activist kind of thing – figure out how this works, and attempt to do it. It lasted for 32 weeks.

It was alternate reality in real life

10 skills/terms in gaming that help amplify happiness…?

1. mobbability – ability to collaborate on large scales. Think crowd conrtol

2. cooperation radar – who would make good collaborators

3. ping quotient – ability to reach out to others in a network, easy to resspond to them

4. influency – adapt your persuasive abilities to different environments

5. multi capitalism – somem people want money, some want social capital, etc – different types of currency and how can you trade amongst the groups

6. protovation – rapid, fearless innovation – not worried about failing because you’re still learning

7. open authorship – think blogging. comfort with giving content away and knowing it will be changed. Also a design skill – knowing it won’t be broken when people change it

8. signal noise management – they hear lots of signals, and can sort it out

9. longbroading – ability to think in much broader systems

10 emergensight – spot patterns as they pop up

[aside - interestingly, these are all business-related skills or team-building skills with a game-based name...]

how do we start?

start with twitter

nike ipod – it gives you feedback, challenges by friends

sniff collars for dogs – the collar measures speed, “dog friends” etc in real life

Prius – “my car is a video game”

trackstick – records your gps locatin every 5 seconds

new brain scanner thing that shows when you’re tired, angry, etc while in a game

the important stuff:
- most of us in this room will be in the happiness business
- game designers have a huge head start (think experience in gaming, in web, in real life)
- important because they signal the desire, need and opportunity for all of us to redesign reality for real quality of life

Q&A:

Q on how much is good. some people are breaking their broken reality with gaming. Also – some have perfectly happy, normal lives. We won’t replace face-to-face

sf0.org – no online story. It’s about real life stuff.

Liz Lawley did the closing keynote, and had a bunch of good stuff to say.

TerraNova – blog on virtual worlds

TarrorNova – WoW guild made up of people involved with TerraNova

showed a pic of a library science professor who plays WoW

How can we make the real world more like games?

Make tasks delight us!

make us want to get up at 7am to play

collecting: you want to get stuff

points: we want to collect points and get more points than others

feedback: how do we know we’re doing the right thing?

exchanges: implicit and explicit communicative exchanges

customization

Then she gave two live demos – the “first 5 minutes” of WoW and Second Life

1st 5 Minutes of World of Warcraft:

• you can get a 10-day free trial online
• cool music plays
• create a character – very easy
• can choose randomize and pick the one that looks best to you or go through individual options
• click enter world – get put into the game, get an introductory narration
• go talk to non player characters with big yellow exclamation points over their heads
• help windows pop up when you seem to need them
• the game developers set up the game for multiple successes in the first five minutes of play

First 5 Minutes of Second Life:

• aside – her first five minutes wasn’t at all my first five minutes – she had some type of orientation task list, while I went to orientation island and walked through the steps….
• she flew
• a tutorial popped up
• the orientation was pretty lacking – it wasn’t set up to succeed.
• Aside again – of course, this isn’t really a game, and they aren’t really selling it….

Why does Liz like WoW better?

• no reason for her to be in Second Life
• not much for her to do there – no need or desire; for her, it’s a solution in search of a problem
• her 13 year old son loves Second Life – it’s a powerful tool for him. He can build – she doesn’t want to
• she can play with her son in WoW – she can’t in Second Life
• there are whole families that play WoW together

Nick Yee’s MMU Player Stages:

• entry: newcomer euphoria, playing with someone
• practice: ramping up, progression, solo to group
• mastery: staying for friends, casual guilds, high end content, social/community leadership, competition
• burnout: grind burnout (grind = having to do tasks thousands of times to move to the next level), social/raiding burnout, restarts, nothing left to do
• recovery: end-game casual, some do come back

Real World Games:

Tupperware – sales rewards)Super Sleuth: solve a weekly puzzle at a school, get a reward of some type

Summer Reading programs: after reading so many words/books, you get a rewardebay feedback – sort of like collecting points

myspace, linkedin, etc – collecting friends, customizing

PageRank – trying to raise your rank. She did a Google Smackdown between her name and Karen Schneider

Games that blur boundaries:passively multiplayer onlien games – sidebar in firefox, get points and rewards for browsing the web…

Sometimes, the game can be the things we really need to do

chorewars – create quests, get points, gain experience, redeem points for prizes! Huge motivation to clean up your house!

Seriosity: get currency, sending emails cost you and you have limited funds – so your email words start to matter more

social genious – helps learn people’s names, social, so you are trying to get more points than your colleagues

How can you make the library a game? Make it so people want to come back..

Raph (missed Raph’s last name) wrote “Theory of Fun for Game Design”

John Lester (Pathfinder Linden!):

- introduction to second life
- fundamentally not a game
- asked “is the web a game?” There are games on the web… SL is the same
- online augments face-to-face just like the phone augments – doesn’t replace
- median age 35
- goal – host your own SL grid (they went open source in January 2007)
- emotional bandwidth – constantly want to connect with people (emoticons vs avatars with facial expressions)
- over 200 universities represented – doing experiential learning
- creating immersive experiences
- imagine learning about ancient egypt, in a replica of ancient egypt
- real vs virtual worlds… are people you talk to real? Cell phone? What’s the difference?
- don’t get mired in past frameworks – ie., movies are not plays

ala2007