“Most companies measure performance based on individual accomplishments. But that system doesn’t reward people for a lot of essential behind-the-scenes work. And it can reward people that either take credit for others’ work, or are better at showing off than working. The traditional approach sometimes advances the wrong people, and can end up hurting companies, Grant argues.”
http://qz.com/197420/the-best-measure-of-an-employee-is-how-well-she-mentors-others/
“In research for her book, Steiner-Adair interviewed 1,000 children between the ages of 4 and 18, asking them about their parents’ use of mobile devices. The language that came up over and over and over again, she says, was “sad, mad, angry and lonely.” … There was one girl who said, “I feel like I’m just boring. I’m boring my dad because he will take any text, any call, anytime — even on the ski lift!”“
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/04/21/304196338/for-the-childrens-sake-put-down-that-smartphone
I’ve been bad about this, but with Kari and the second on the way I’m getting much better about putting the phone away around family.
NPR has been running many stories about parents, distraction, and technology this week. Here’s another good one.
I’ve been playing two games recently, Destiny of Spirits on the PS Vita, a free-to-play, turned-based strategy game with some collectible attributes like Pokemon. The other is Bravely Default on the Nintendo 3DS – a traditional 40+ hour JRPG by Square Enix, makers of Final Fantasy.
Both are titles released on traditional (or non-mobile phone) consoles and are each exclusives to their platform.
I’m enjoying them both, for differing reasons, but they both contain an interesting game mechanic that I’ve been thinking about.
Each attempts to reward daily play with in-game items or bonuses if you continuously ‘visit’ the game. In Destiny of Spirits it’s one of the virtual currencies used to purchase goods within the game. In Bravely Default it’s villagers and items randomly sent from other players.
In both cases the items are rather meaningless in terms of moving the story forward or giving you something genuinely unique. Most items can be gained through the game by normal means – i.e. Play the game longer and you’ll find the items.
My wife and I are also catching up on Parks and Recreation and Orphan Black. Both are great shows that have a traditional time slot and channel where you can watch. We however enjoy the experience of on-demand video where you can binge as much as you like, or carefully fit in an episode or two into your week. No need for commercials or being in the living room at a pre-determined time.
The downside is that we can’t be sure of what we can talk about within the show with friends in family. Are they caught up? Are we behind? Is that weird to talk about a season that aired 5 years ago?
This is something I’m noticing more of. Less conversation around time-based entertainment. Sure, things like Game of Thrones or their ilk are not released online as easily (or require an incredibly expensive cable subscription) but more and more is instant and ‘evergreen’. You can watch it whenever.
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I’m imaging a future medium – a cross between a video game and pre-VHS television. If you missed an episode of TV before the VHS you’d be hard pressed to catch it again. Maybe a repeat, but culturally you’d be out of the loop. The folks at work would be talking about the progress of the plot (or in the case of sitcoms of the time, a hilarious in-joke or reference) and you’d be in the cold.
Now we don’t have that. Now we can watch entire seasons of a show in a single sitting. But imagine a game where daily participation could give you things akin to an episode of TV. Miss an episode and you don’t have a clear understanding of the story. Can’t make the time on Tuesday for that mission? Then you don’t get the rewards other players receive. Truly unique content, not just baubles or items that can be found elsewhere.
I’m not a total masochistic. Maybe tardy players could complete the missions after a period of time. A little punishment that would encourage active participation.
Would something like this work? How far could you push it? Could the death of a main character, or major plot twist happen in a container of time like this?
Another thing that has me thinking about all this is the explosion of “Let’s Play” videos on YouTube and Twtich.tv. You can literally spend hours watching someone else play a video game. The day of a new game’s release you can watch almost the entire plot, see all the world has to offer, and be done.
I dislike cheat codes. Especially for games I have yet to complete. Once you use the code to run around invincible or not have to worry about having enough mana it becomes boring and pointless to continue. After a few minutes it usually breaks the game for me. Let’s Play videos are like a cheat code for my attention. I’m much less likely to play a game (or watch a movie after reading its plot on Wikipedia).
Would exclusive time-based content that furthers a narrative by providing unique information or experiences work in our world?
I saw a smartly dressed gentleman riding a bike down a busy city street this afternoon. I thought to myself, “Does he do this often, or was today his first day on the road?” At first glance, it’s hard to tell if someone is a professional or a beginner.
The thing that drew my attention was not his clothes1, but his helmet and the cuff of his pants.
Both together gave me the impression of someone who often dresses nice and rides a bicycle for transportation. The rolled cuff was an indication that he is aware of the risks associated with his pants getting dirty from the greasy chain, or worse, caught on in the chain itself. The helmet, for safety.
But then I wondered, maybe this guy doesn’t ride every day. Maybe today, of all days, was his first attempt to ride his bike to school or work. Maybe he googled “How to look good while riding a bicycle“, watched a few YouTube videos, read a few blogs and then hit the ground running.2
There’s an idea that in order to become proficient in something one must spend a certain amount of time doing it. It’s a good guide to becoming a professional, but I wonder about the space in between ignorance and proficiency.
These days, it’s insanely easy to get the gist of an area of speciality within a few hours. The Internet provides always-on access to information from professionals who are happy to share the ins-and-outs of a trade or skill.
I’m an optimist when it comes to this sort of thought. I think that this access to information has potential in creating better people – people who are, as Valve puts it, T-shaped. From their employee handbook (pdf):
“This recipe is important for success at Valve. We often have to pass on people who are very strong generalists without expertise, or vice versa. An expert who is too narrow has difficulty collaborating. A generalist who doesn’t go deep enough in a single area ends up on the margins, not really contributing as an individual.”
The higher education systems of the world train people to specialize. To be a cardiologist, an electrician, a real estate lawyer, a database administrator, etc. We do a terrible job of educating people to have a little bit of knowledge in other areas.
This is most apparent in the more scientific and technical fields such as Mathematics and Engineering. At my university the Engineering degree seekers were exempt from some of the ‘softer’ education requirements such as Theology and Philosophy. Imagine if people had a broader understanding, to create those remixes impossible when you remain in your speciality.
Another thread of optimism is that now you can find what you are most passionate about easier today than in any time before. Hopefully you can discover what drives you at a younger age, with more access to potential careers, lifestyles, locations, etc. By being able to test the waters in many areas, by the time you graduate college you could, potentially, have a very broad understanding of the world, with a degree specific to your interests.
I think of this as a modern idea of apprenticeship. The following and tutelage of a more experienced professional to learn more about a craft or trade. Why reside to choose one? Why reside to as single life when you can have many?
This access also puts into the question (not that there already aren’t questions in areas like journalism, writing, photography and music!) of what is amateur and what is professional. If I spend a few hours every day reading, studying and practicing something over a long enough time I can become a professional. Or I can spend less time and attention and maybe just be familiar or an enthusiast of a particular area of knowledge. Where does that line lie and how does it get defined?
Then, this evening I read this Ask MetaFilter3 discussion titled “How do you spot an amateur?”
The Internet is a weird place.
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Things I looked up to learn more about while writing this post:
This is a rant against notifications.
Notifications are those things you have on your phone, tablet or computer that pop up in the corner of your screen when you get an email, meeting invite, Twitter reply, or a file change in Dropbox.
I’d even extend the buggery of notifications to the badge alerts for anything not mentioned in this footnote4. Why do I need a badge on my Draw Something icon? Of course there are people in there waiting for me to play. That’s the entire premise of the app!
If you’re like me, every time I see little red badge holding a number I get anxious. I need to check that app! I have to get rid of the number! I don’t care if my Aunt called me and left an important voicemail – I’m going to open the Phone app just to make the badge go away.
We don’t need the mental stress of being reminded of things that are not immediate to the work we’re doing.
Outlook has had these pop-ups for years5 and on the Mac, Growl has been around for a while and quite successful. Notification Center in iOS and now OS X Mountain Lion continue the trend of annoying people under the guise of productivity.
These things are useless. Out of the box, you’re likely to have half a dozen or more applications vying for your attention. The promise of notifications is that you’ll be more productive – quicker to react to things that require your attention.
After a few weeks with Mountain Lion, here’s the apps that are in Notification Center:
Not pictured: Twitter, Google Chrome, Tweetbot and Mail!
Notifications give you the false impression of being productive, but in reality they merely distract you from whatever focused work you were trying to accomplish. It’s a pavlovian response when you hear that ding that you need to act upon it. Most people, myself included, don’t have the willpower to simply ignore those chimes, dings and rings. We have to look.
I use to love notifications. I used Growl for a long time6, and when I got my first iPhone Notification Center was filled with dozens of apps. I use to think, “What if I get a Game Center request? What if I get a super awesome email at 11 o’clock at night!?
But that’s the rub, innit?
Notifications are useless. You don’t need them. They are distracting, they break your train of thought and inhibit your ability to focus on whatever task you’re working on. Even if you ignore them, your subconscious spends time pondering the content while you try to continue working on what is in front of you.
So here’s a challenge. Turn off some of your notifications. Pick five apps that display a pop-up or a badge and turn them off for a week. See what happens. I bet dollars to doughnuts that you don’t notice they’re missing. You might even notice (see what I did there) that you’re a little more focused on the essential than the urgent.
Bonus: As I was writing this, my good friend and I cracked a joke.
