Author: Erik Mechelen

IS Google to Blame for the Decline of Small Business in America?

Starting and running a small business has always been a risky value proposition. The Small Business Administration tells us that 60 percent of them won’t make it past their first birthday.

Historically, that failure rate was eclipsed by the sheer number of new business starts each year. More businesses opened than closed — until 2008. That year, for the first time in more than 30 years, small-to-medium size business (SMB) closings outnumbered openings — and by a big margin. That year, the country was left with a deficit of roughly 100,000 small businesses. And that trend line really hasn’t reversed course all that much since then.¹

Continue reading IS Google to Blame for the Decline of Small Business in America?

Habitica Challenge Design from Rob Alvarez Bucholska: Improving Habitica with Octalysis

In Spring 2017, The Octalysis Group opened a challenge to Octalysis fans and experts.

The challenge was to improve the design of popular productivity app, Habitica, using Octalysis.

Several of these designs were so strong we wanted to share them. Over the next few weeks, we will share some of the best designs.

Local Search Reinvented: LuckyDiem Gamifies the Restaurant Business

Local Search Table

This article first appeared on LuckyDiem’s blog.

Supporting Local Businesses and Fighting Cancer

Imagine if Google or Yelp added unique discounts and prizes to every one of its business listings? Imagine a simple way to not only support local businesses, but help support the fight against childhood cancer as well? You might wonder how it’s possible to offer a service that helps save you money while helping so many others…that is absolutely free and fun to use.  Welcome to LuckyDiem.

 

Just go to LuckyDiem.com

There’s no need to download an app, simply go to LuckyDiem.com and search for what you’re looking for by either category or by “What’s Nearby.” Every business on LuckyDiem offers you a chance to win discounts and/or prizes.  Simply take a spin on the business’s virtual slot machine to see if it’s your lucky day.

Win discounts

Most businesses on LuckyDiem offer three levels of discounts–each one somewhat dependent upon your level of engagement. For example, the lowest level discount can be won simply off a spin of the slot machine. This discount can then be increased by answering a trivia question about the business. The third and highest level of discount is awarded to users who share their good fortune with their friends on social media. Sharing your reward is actually a three-way win on LuckyDiem because it 1) enables you to earn the highest level of discount, 2) helps get the word out about the local business you like, and 3) supports the fight against childhood cancer (more about this later).

Win prizes from every business

With LuckyDiem, you have the chance to instantly win small prizes from all of our businesses such as free drinks and gift cards, as well as entries into a business’s jackpot prize that is won by a user every three months. In fact, some of our current businesses in our Manhattan launch market have some pretty amazing prizes such as a free CoolSculpting session at SkinTheraP Medical Spa (valued at $750) or a $500 Gift Card for Invisalign services through Dr. Michelle Katz.

Win Mega Jackpots

LuckyDiem is leveling the playing field for local businesses to compete with national brands that can afford promotions with expensive prizes. Now even the smallest business on LuckyDiem can offer its customers chances to win awesome prizes such as VIP tickets to sporting events and concerts. There’s no purchase necessary, but being a good customer that makes purchases and shares with their friends, will undoubtedly increase your chances of winning. Like our businesses’ jackpots, our Mega Jackpots have winners every three months. Moreover, if you win tickets to an event that you’re not absolutely thrilled with, we will make every effort to get you to an event that you’ll love. Through our relationship with 8760, we have access to hundreds of major events throughout the year.

Leave your wallet at home

Wallet

Mobile payments are no doubt the wave of the future–super convenient for consumers, but unfortunately, expensive for small business owners to implement. LuckyDiem is introducing a revolutionary new mobile payment solution that allows users to pay with their phones at any of our businesses and immediately receive the discount they’ve earned from playing LuckyDiem. Our technology works without any new hardware or software, so businesses owners don’t have to change a thing.

Not all leaderboards are created equal

Like many of you, we used to love Foursquare (come Swarm) for its leaderboards. We liked competing with our friends to become the mayor of our favorite spots, as well as feeling the love  from being their “best customer.” But then something strange started happening; rather than being welcomed by management, Mayors were given the cold shoulder, some were in fact plainly asked to leave. It turns out, not all Mayors are created equal. Many Mayors had acquired their badge simply by checking into a business without ever spending a dime–they had gamed the system.

Enter LuckyDiem which rewards users based on their true value to a business–the purchases that not only you make, but your friends’ as well. Now a business can quickly view its leaderboard and have no doubt as to who their best customers are (Sharks and Whales in our world), and not worry about the all lame ducks mayors from the old days. And of course, the higher you are on a leaderboard, the more perks you receive such as more spins to win prizes from businesses and from us.

Sharing really is caring

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Finally, as mentioned earlier, LuckyDiem makes it easy for you to not only save money, but save lives. With every reward that is shared,, LuckyDiem makes a contribution to Hope & Heroes, a nonprofit that funds the life-saving work on childhood cancer and blood disorders at Columbia University Medical Center.

We hope you will try LuckyDiem. Save money, save lives and seize the play!

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Continue reading Local Search Reinvented: LuckyDiem Gamifies the Restaurant Business

Putting on Octalysis Glasses as an Educator in Hungary

Putting on your Octalysis glasses:

I spoke with Judit as part of our ongoing Hidden Gems podcast for Octalysis Prime, where we believe everyone has a story.

The reason I’m writing this post is for 2 reasons:

  1. My conversation with Judit inspired me
  2. The recording of our conversation was lost

Judit is a primary school teacher in Hungary, where she has taught young students through high school for 27 years.

She has studied and tried many methods of teaching. Kids change, she said, so you need to stay with them, or ahead of them if possible.

She experienced burnout last September and last summer.

Continue reading Putting on Octalysis Glasses as an Educator in Hungary

How Wikimedia, Duolingo, and Headset Engage Users: Gamification Examples April Week 4

Based on the framework by Yu-kai Chou. Written by Erik van Mechelen. Feedback from Octalysis Prime community members. 

Every day in Octalysis Prime, I share a game or gamification example that has captured my attention or persuaded me to do something, whether to simply spend a few seconds longer of attention or to click something or to later mention what I saw or experienced to a friend.

This list is the just a few from last week, with a touch more in detail explanations from the Octalysis design perspective.

Continue reading How Wikimedia, Duolingo, and Headset Engage Users: Gamification Examples April Week 4

Exploration of Knowledge

This article was written by Bo, Octalysis Prime member: Bo Paivinen Ullersted is a Danish teacher in physics and math at high school level. He has been working with gamifying education since 2015 and runs a primarily Danish language blog and Facebook group about this. This article first appeared on Bo’s website. 

An approach to gamifying the classroom

An approach to gamifying classroom book-and-paper teaching, which worked well when tested in practice.

Note: My references here are to the Octalysis framework for gamification.

So, after having messed around with various approaches to gamifying teaching, I realised that I needed something simple and flexible. Something that could be used no matter what the topic was, and something that could be finished in a reasonable timeframe. At the same time, I found that a key issue was to provide students having different levels of skills with enough challenges, while avoiding the typical motivational killer of “I didn’t manage to solve all of the challenges”, and also making sure everyone practice the same skills.

My solution to these needs was the exploration of knowledge concept that I present here.

Continue reading Exploration of Knowledge

Gamification Examples: Slow Game Jams and Epic Hyperloop

Based on the framework by Yu-kai Chou. Written by Erik van Mechelen.

Every day in Octalysis Prime, I share a game or gamification example that has captured my attention or persuaded me to do something, whether to simply spend a few seconds longer of attention or to click something or to later mention what I saw or experienced to a friend.

This list is the just a few from last week, with a touch more in detail explanations from the Octalysis design perspective.

Continue reading Gamification Examples: Slow Game Jams and Epic Hyperloop