There are lots of benefits to going to school at a place the size of THE Pennsylvania State University.  Tons of academic and social resources.  Alumni overflowing with school pride everywhere you go.   And of course, 110,000 seat football stadiums.  Giggity giggity!

Of course, though they are few in number, there are a handful bad things about big school living.  And number one on that list of downers would have to be the large lecture classroom.   

If you've never experienced the joy of wedging yourself into a room with 200, 300, or 750 of your peers for an hour or more, I can tell you from experience its not the most pleasant part of earning a degree.  Its always too warm, the seats are never comfortable, and the only thing more intimidating than having to cross 50 people to get to the bathroom is raising your hand to ask a question.  Insert the old Seinfeld joke about death and public speaking right about here. Whether out of sheer intimidation, or the logistical nightmare of managing a 300 person conversation, large lecture courses tend to have one voice nearly exclusively, and that voice is the voice of the instructor.  A charismatic speaker certainly helps to ease the pain of what normally ends up being "death by powerpoint", but even that does not change the fact that without a handful of brave students (who will always be in the minority), big classes tend to be a one way street.  These are the classes which earn the big University the stereotype so often heard - a place where the professor most certainly does not know your name.  There is no way around it.  The large lecture class is an impersonal way to learn.

Efficiency however, is a virtue of its own.  To make the academic world go round, particularly in an era of economic belt tightening, the impersonal big course sections are a necessary evil.

Which leads to a logical goal for a unit like ours (Education Technology Services).  Remove the "impersonal" and "evil" from the big course section. 

Enter Comm110, better known as Media and Democracy: a 300 person general education course, taught by Professor Michael Elavsky, which explores the role that the media plays in shaping our impressions of politics in our world.  As you might imagine, any substantial current event could demand class coverage and discussion.  But how do you facilitate discussion in one of the most intimidating venues imaginable for your average college freshman?


Thankfully, Comm110 does not exist in isolation of our times.  It is, after all, a large lecture course in the year 2010 - and the students who fill its ranks come packing.  Laptops, netbooks, iPhones, Blackberrys and smart phones the likes of which I've never heard of give Comm110 a technology stockpile the Consumer Electronics Expo would be proud of.  And having stopped by class last Thursday, I can attest personally that these devices are locked and loaded - but what are they being used for?  Facebook?  Games?  Texting?  Anything but Comm110? 

And so the stage is set.  An incredible interesting course, an abundance of technology, and traditional format that discourages students from actively participating in their own learning.  What is the solution?

At least part of the solution (we hope) is to create a back channel that students feel comfortable interacting with.  Then bring the back channel to the front of the class - literally and figuratively.  

Every Comm110 student was asked to create a twitter account and a gmail account, which was to be shared with Professor Elavsky via a google form.  This data was collected so that extra participation points could be given for virtual contributions to the class.  Virtual contributions to what, you say?  Well I'm glad you asked.


The Comm110 Twitter Stream
By encouraging students to use their various mobile devices to post their thoughts, questions, and comments to twitter with the tag "#psucomm110", they are now afforded a safe place to speak their mind and connect with other students.  The ease of use and 140 character limit keeps things simple and more importantly un-intimidating.  The course Twitter feed is public, meaning that every post has the potential to be seen by even more than just the 300 people taking the course.  And yet for those who fear the hand raise more than death itself, it represents an outlet.  It also allows to conversations started in class to live beyond two, hour and thirty minute sessions each week, and for interesting blog posts, video clips, or sound bites to be shared with the entire class 24/7. 

But it does not end there.  Because every Thursday, Professor Elavsky replaces the traditional powerpoint with, none other than the live twitter feed itself.  The back channel comes to the forefront and, in conjunction with the prepared topics for the day, helps to drive a completely reinvented view of 300 person discussion.  TAs Chenjerai and Cristina keep the feed fresh and work with Michael to highlight interesting contributions, discussions, or questions being made on Twitter - allowing students who feel comfortable speaking in front of 300 of their peers to engage with those who feel more comfortable interacting virtually.


Tests: For Students By Students
The twitter stream represents only one part of students ability to reshape their educational experience in Comm110.  By using google forms and google docs, Professor Elavsky also allows students to submit test questions - questions which he will then draw from to create each of the course's exams.  But perhaps more importantly,  the hope is to turn these compiled question lists into study guides for the course.  For the students, by the students - sounds like the perfect idea for a course on Democracy.

For the moment, the plan is give the compiled document back to the students as is.  But as the course goes on, the hope is to eventually create subteams within the class, and allow students to fully engage with these study guides by using the collaborative potential of google docs to built on the submitted questions.


As usual, forgive the madness of this post.  Its turned out to be half project brief, half excited
rambling.  But with good reason - change the large lecture and you have an opportunity to change the future of higher education, irrespective of school or subject.  The enthusiasm that Michael, Chenjerai, Cristina and Drew (the courses technical expert) have for rethinking the course and its implementation is contagious - Comm110 is one of the more exciting projects I've had the pleasure of working on in a long time.

I'll end with a few thoughts/ questions we are currently looking exploring as we move forward.


Challanges and Future Potential

• What role does Google Moderator or a tool like Purdue's Hotseat (social ratings) play in the future of this class?
• How can we rethink the physical classroom to be more accommodating of this hybridized virtual/ face to face implementation?  How can we make it more seamless for both instructor and student to engage each other without drowning out the core goals of the course?
• How do we best archive the conversation occurring in the twitter stream for review, reflection and potentially research?
• Blogs or wikis seem like they could be a logical fit for many of Michael's goals for the course - do they have a place moving forward, or is the small form factor of twitter perfect for encouraging the hesitant to stick their toes in the pool?
  
• And of course, what kind of impact will these have on the large classroom experience for these students?  How will it influence their participation?  Satisfaction?  Learning?
  

   
In and of itself, what is happening with Comm110 might not be brand new (Cole and Dr. Scott McDonald having been using the backchannel to rethink their CI597 course for two years now).  But things change when you go from 20 students to 300, from graduate to undergraduate.  And the devil can certainly be in the details.

Is Comm110 less impersonal?  You better believe it.  Less evil?  Well... we certainly hope so.  One way or another stay tuned.  You've not heard the last of Comm110.




Image from academicsuccess.tumblr.com

Whenever I talk with people about re-purposing commercial games for educational purposes, it is inevitable that Ubisoft's Assassins Creed will enter the conversation.  Despite the fact that the game is based around the often polarizing premise of ... well... assassinating people, it represents one of great examples of the potential for learning to occur when learning is not the primary goal.  Fun First, Learning Later if you will.  And so despite a recent glut of blockbuster video game releases, I was quite pleased to be able to give a copy of Assassins Creed 2 a happy home earlier this week.

As a gamer, AC2 is all I could have hoped for (at least so far).  But as impressive as the game's  improvements in entertainment value are over its predecessor, its advancements as an entertainment based learning experience are what really bring home the bacon and fry it in the pan. At least for me =)

I'm hoping to prepare a far more detailed breakdown of the historical truths behind the game (similar to the post a did for the first Assassins Creed), but to prime the pump (and to give myself a chance to finish the game), I wanted to talk generally about a few design mechanics in AC2 that really advance its support of informal learning.

• The Database

Its become something of a standard for large games with intricate storyline to maintain a database of important people, places and things that the player may come across in the game and Assassin's Creed 2 is no exception.  But where most game databases are filled with fictional content, the AC2 database is filled with real history.  In the first Assassins Creed there was no way in game to figure out if Conrad de Monferat was actually a real person who played a role in the 3rd Crusade, or whether he was simply a fictional character created by the game's writers.  Sure curious parties could do their own research or look for posts like mine - but any such curiosity would involve leaving the game.  "Oh noes!" might exclaim the cynic.  "Forcing people to do their own research would be a travesty!"  Eye roll.  Yes I know, that might not seem like a daunting task.  But keep in mind that this is an entertainment based game which is being played for fun.  Forcing players to leave the game environment to assuage curiosity puts learning and entertainment at odds.  And that could serve as a barrier to what might otherwise be receptive learners... er... players.  Having an in game database that allows players to access real history while they play is a key addition that could create even more opportunities for people to come away from Assassins Creed having learned something new. 

• An Artists Touch
  

Though somewhat tangential to the game's main story, art plays an interesting side role in AC2.  In each of the main cities you frequent, you can choose to purchase paintings to adorn the walls of your family's villa. Though such an addition could have been made haphazardly using gibberish art, the designers chose to use the collection mechanic to expose players to 30 different famous paintings from the Renaissance period in which the game is set - for example, Botticelli's The Birth of Venus or Da Vinci's Lady With Ermine. Again, the game does not force you to purchase these paintings to advance the plot, but they are tied to an in game achievement and make for a nice little educational side dish.  While on the subject of art, there is also something to be said for the game's use of historical photographs (not from the Renaissance period obviously), famous sculptures, and of course the masterfully recreated architecture of the time. But I'll discuss those juicy nuggets in my larger post. 

• Viva Italia!
  

Under normal circumstances, playing a game where a sizable amount of dialog is in a language you do not speak would probably be considered a bad, or at least a frustrating thing.  But AC2's use of Italian was not only appropriate, it also added depth and a sense of immersiveness to the world of Ezio Auditore da Firenze (the game's main character).  From longer plot discussions, to quick hitting expressions, to various "exclamations" or side talk from soldiers and townsfolk, there is plenty of Italian to be had in AC2.  Even the little touches like the "Fabbro" (blacksmith in Italian) sign that hangs over the Blacksmith's shop, or the way Venice is always pronounced Venezia add an incredible richness to the virtual Italy in which the game is set.  And it might just lead you to start learning (and yelling as you wash dishes, much to the dismay of my wife) a bit of Italian.

• The Tourguide
  

One of the things I discussed far too briefly in my post on Assassin's Creed 1 was the way in which the design team recreated important historical landmarks within cities such as Damascus or Acre.  Ubisoft's effort in bringing real places to life was commendable, but, as I discussed earlier, these efforts could often have been in vane.  For in order for a player to realize that they were looking at a virtual Dome of the Rock, they must either already know what such a building looked like, or be curious enough to try and match what they saw in game to a real place in the world.  In this way, the attention to the historical architecture could have easily been overlooked by potential players. 

AC2 fixes this in two specific ways.  The first, is the use of the aforementioned database.  Whenever Ezio walks by an interesting looking building, the building's name is displayed on screen letting the player know that the building is (or was) real.  And when you walk by the Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo, or some other real life place, an entry is then automatically added to the aforementioned database, allowing the player to view additional information on the location, such as when it was built or its historical significance.  The effect is comparable to walking through, say a museum with a hand held tour guide.  At minimum, you'll learn the names of some historical buildings, but if you'd like to learn more you have the ability to do so.  A side quest which helps to reveal more of the game's back story also encourages players to spend a little extra time taking a look at specific database entries and climbing around on some of these buildings, for anyone looking for an excuse to getup close an personal with a little historical architecture. 

The second way AC2 helps draw attention to important historical buildings of consiequence is a literal tour of a handful of important landmarks by an NPC upon arriving in Venice. Subtle, but beneficial and it proves to be interesting, at least for the interested.  I heart Yogi Berra.


None of these little mechanics or design decisions are earth shattering by any means.  But each one adds a little more educational potential here and a few more informal opportunities there.

Check back in in a few days and hopefully I'll have drummed up the motivation to pull out the old history books and get down to some edumicatin' video game style.



Images from http://www.consolemonster.com and realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net 

   

There was a time not too long ago when, as a presenter, looking out on an audience and seeing this would have lead to the emotional equivalent of being hit in the face of a rotten tomato. 
Thankfully (or perhaps not so thankfully, depending on your view of human social evolution) seeing a crowd full of faces illuminated by the radioactive glow of their laptops or smart phones is no longer the symbol of disrespect that it once was.  It can be, in many cases, the new look of engagement, which I've discussed in this blog before.

Today, open laptops, prevalent wireless internet access, and highly functional smart phones have ushered in the era of the backchannel and increased the level of engagement and interaction at conferences by magnitudes inconceivable just a few years ago.  The speaker is now only part of the experience.  (For those not familiar with the term, back channel communication refers to the practice of using social networking tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Ning, etc to communicate/ discuss the happenings of some event "behind the scenes", often in real time).  Hashtags (for aggregating social media contributions from conference participants) have become even more prevalent than printed conference guides. And from my own personal experience, I can say that the back channel has really added a welcome depth and connectedness my conference going experience over the past few years.

How conferences and individual presenters choose to embrace (or not) this phenomenon is widely varied. Some people pretend that there is no backchannel, and that people connecting with each other is a fad.  Thankfully I don't attend such conferences or associate with such individuals =)  Some will post a hashtag during a conference kickoff then stand back and let things ride.  Some will integrate backchannel artifacts such as tweets or fickr images into their conference websites, or bring the "back" to the "front" and address back channel conversations during presentations or Q&A sessions.  But at this years GLS conference, I happened across a use of the backchannel that I've never seen before - a game. 

The game was called "BackChatter" and it was put together by several GLS participants - Mike Edwards, Colleen Macklin, John Sharp, and Eric Zimmerman.  How does it work?  The full explanation can be found on the game's site but essentially it goes a little something like this.

• You try and guess which word will be tweeted most during a particular conference session block. 
  
• You can pick up to 3 words per session block, which are submitted by direct messaging the bcgame twitter account.
• You earn points based on the word frequency (more points for more uses) and based on the number of other people who picked that word as well (less points for each person that picked it).  So basically you are trying to guess what words will be frequently used that no one else will pick.  
• The top words are selected by pulling together every tweet with a particular hashtag (in the case of the Games Learning and Society conference, the tags were #GLS or #GLS09
• The person with the most points at the end of the conference or at the end of each session block wins (t shirts and a copy of Spore were the prizes).

Basically, BackChattter is a modified version of the board game Scattergories, where the categories (and the clues) are the conference sessions themselves. 

I didnt actually participate in BackChatter but I was a big fan of the idea for a few reasons.  First of all, it was a game and turning things into games = awesomesauce.  Secondly, it was a very non intrusive, and more importantly fun way to draw people into participating in the conference Twitter stream who might not have participated otherwise.  You didnt necessarily need to live-tweet the conference yourself, but you did need to pay attention to the people who were as well as the entire range of available sessions beyond those that you may personally have attended if you wanted the best chance of winning.  Third, there were very few barriers to entry.  As a bit of a hardcore gamer myself, I don't always like that, but in the case of a conference game its important to set the bar at a point where as many people as possible could participate.  BackChatter hit that mark beautifully.  The only things you needed were a Twitter account and a device that could let you send your picks.  The game mechanics themselves were easy to pick up.  The time commitment or pre-existing knowledge required to play was negligible.  There were no complicated controls to master or skills required to succeed.  And because prizes were awarded for the winner of every session block, you could even play if you missed some of the conference.

But the party doesnt end with the BackChatter game.

One of the game's developers, Mike Edwards, took the time to do some analysis of all the Twitter data that was being compiled for the game and he did some trend spotting of his own and even put together a pretty slick sociogram of twitter based connectedness (you can click the image for a bigger version if you really want to see how sweet I am ;-)

 
Obviously you can expect that to a certain degree, a crowd of folks dedicated to the exploration of educational gaming might be pretty open minded their willingness to embrace and promote phenomena like back channel communication, but I was impressed with the thoughtful integration that BackChatter had with the conversation, and the dedication of the GLS organizers to promote and share the goings on of what lie behind the curtain.  It might not have been the most progressive use of backchannel communication at a conference I've ever seen (we've got quite a few all stars in my own office) but it was certainly up there and I applaud the effort of everyone who made it happen.

Now the question becomes, when will BackChatter be available for every conference?   
 




Image from http://www.bech.uni-c.dk/tnc2006/wednesday; Graph from http://onearmedman.com/research/glstweets

I'm still only a few days removed from the 2009 Games, Learning and Society conference - just enough time to begin reflecting, though not enough time to fully make sense of it all yet.  Be that as it may, I wanted to take a few minutes and at least recap some of the sessions/ ideas that were explored during my stay in Madison.  There are some bigger thoughts brewing as well, but they may still require a few more days of ripening before they are ready to pick off the vine.  So I'll try and keep this somewhat brief (or at least bite sized).  Stay tuned for slightly more reflective post or two. Now for some general thoughts/ recaps.  Stay tuned for more posts to come.

Augmented Reality
ARG/ Moble gaming experiences were well represented at this year's GLS.  Arizona State's SMALLab (video below) was a cool example of a game based non traditional learning space.  Who needs a Microsoft Surface when you can have an entire room?  The presenters, who I did not have a chance to speak to personally, stressed that it was a relatively low cost solution - but the specifics of that cost as well as the development demands associated with building for it were not covered in detail. 

SMALLab @ Arizona State University - 2009 from aisling kelliher on Vimeo.

Two other interesting examples were Re:Activism (a game out of Parsons' PETLab, which incorporates SMS and Amazing Race style challenges to  get people to visit the site of famous activist moments in Manhattan) and Mentira (a reality game out of the University of New Mexico, which used location aware mobile devices to encourage students to solve a mystery, while interacting with members of the locale community and learning Spanish in the city of Albuquerque).

Wheres the (Commercial Gaming) Beef?
Admittedly I'm biased since this is an area of particular interest to me, but I was a bit disappointed by the lack of sessions that dealt with the use of commercial games for educational purposes.  Or perhaps, more specifically, commercial games that are not titled "World of Warcraft".  I absolutely love the work that so many groups and institutions are doing with regard to custom built games.  But in many cases, these games are created to suit the needs of a specific demographic, often at the cost of substantial time or financial resources.  Some of these solutions are looking to position themselves as a platform upon which other educators can eventually build and add additional content.  Some, but not all.  The result was several, very interesting, extremely well thought out games ideas that can't really be applied outside of the context in which they were developed.

Bringing ideas back home to apply in your own way is a huge part of the conference experience and I most certainly don't attend GLS just to survey the tools that I can use. But it feels like a missed opportunity not to discuss the $60 off the shelf title that any teacher could purchase, for the x year, x hundred thousand dollar project that only a handful of institutions or groups could replicate. 

And , though I was excited about many of the games on display, I would be lying if I told you that my Stubby sense doesnt start to tingle when I hear educators talk about game design.  I say that being an educational game designer =)  I'm just saying.
 

The Reflecting Pool
One thing that really excited me to see was the degree to which teachers were using games as a means to inspire discussion and reflection.  Games are the means to a separate ends, and its fantastic to see so many educators understanding that.  I was particularly impressed with the Mission America team, who have built an RPG like experience with multiple decision points, meaning that two students might experience the game (and the events it portrays) from two totally different perspectives depending on their decisions.  Students are then brought together and given the opportunity to learn from each other. 

The idea that games must be paired with reflection and discussion is not a new one, but its often an under-appreciated principle, and it was good to see it out in full force at GLS.


Pecha What?
Pecha Kutcha, a micro presentation format which allows a presenter 20 slides (or images), which can be displayed for 20 seconds each (timed), was on display at GLS.  Its a wonderful, socially considerate way to shut down the long talkers, who seem to be multiplying in the age of the endless powerpoint presentation.

An interesting take on the lightning talk that, as you can probably imagine, has both strengths and weakness.  I happened to experience a well planned presentation.  But I could also see how it could quickly spiral into a rushed, panicked disaster in the hands of the wrong presenter.


The Remix
One of the more interesting concepts to come out of GLS (though I hesitate to call it a game) was on display with Young American Heroes - a history experienced designed to help students build empathy with famous characters or human moments from America's past.  Dramatized historical clips are used to set the scene for key historical moments, then paused during key cliffhanger moments.  Students must then consult primary stories in order to finish the story, by building out a graphic novel scene.  When finished, they compare their comic interpretation to how the actual scene turned out.

As I said, not exactly a game, but still a pretty slick way to get students engaging content.


Contrary To Popular Belief
Lawrence Kutner, co-author of Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games, gave an excellent closing keynote which touched our America's history of trying to ban and condemn new media which it perceived as potentially detrimental to the public good (to the point of absurdity).  He also, as one would expect, shared the findings explained in his book - namely that the effects of video game violence are more a product of the political/ media hype machine than real science.  And Kutner should know - he's done the research (with more than 1200 kids) and serves as director of Harvard Medical School's Center for Mental Health and Media.

Kutner's keynote was as clearly articulated as his book - which I highly recommend to anyone concerned with violent video games and children.  There are a few risks - but they probably arent the ones you think.  Kutner also offered up the quotes of the conference. "People never let data interfere with their preconceived notions" and "What we hear depends on what we're listening for".





Sessions Attended

• Embodying, Designing, and Learning Multimodally with SMALLab
• In Retrospect: Outcomes of Cosmos Chaos
• The Best of Both Worlds? Design Challenges for Developing Playable Historical Games for Classroom Learning
• Re:Activism NYC: Urban Interactions and Learning
  

• Designing Ethical Dilemmas
• Following Basic Directions In the Land of Destructible Delights: Learning and Exploration Patterns in the Virtual World
• Funeral Games: Ethics, Immersion, and Culture in MMO Games
• Need or Greed: An Analysis of Ethical Issues Across In Game and Out of Game Contexts
• Happiness if Mandatory: Emergent Ethics in Massive Online Environments
  

• Soft Modding

• Against Education: Understanding the New Culture of Learning

• Games (Through) Theories of Language, Learning, and Mediated Social Practice
• Reading Performance and Literacy Practice in the Context of MMO Games
• It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: Developing Place-Based, Augmented Reality Games for Language Learning
  

• Mobile Games and Education: Current Projects and State of the Practice

• For the Lulz: How 9000 Internet Jackasses Took on the Church of Scientology and Redefined the Politics of Play

• History Games Go to School: Research Insights From the American History and Civics Initiative

• Grand Theft Childhood? Making Sense of Teenagers's Responses to Violent Videogames

Last weekend, Jenn and I found ourselves at the wedding of a high school buddy of mine.  Amidst the many conversations with quite a few old friends (as well as some new ones), we mentioned that we would each be headed off to conferences this week. 

"Where are you guys headed?, one of my friends asked.

"Las Vegas!" Jenn said with a smile.

"Madison, Wisconsin," I added.

"Well I think we know who got the short end of that stick", another friend chimed in.  We all had a good laugh.  Though as I thought about what awaited me in Madison, I felt a little bad.  Jenn sure did get the raw deal =)

Because come tomorrow, I'm on my way back to the Games, Learning, and Society - a conference that was, without question, a 2008 Stub highlight and the most inspiring, thought provoking, and rewarding conference I've ever attended.  This years lineup looks even better than last, even after you subtract points for them giving me a chance to speak ;-)  Last year power/ wireless problems limited my level of live blogging/ tweeting, but hopefully a new venue (not to mention an iPhone) will give me an opportunity to up the ante a bit. 

Hope you're ready to hear what an inspired Stub sounds like, because its go time ladies and gents.  Stay tuned to the blog or the twitter stream for updates/ incredible amounts of spam.  Game on!

And yet again, the internet provides glorious things for us from its endless bounty.  If you are a Halo fan, appreciate a Red Hot Chili Peppers cover, or have a soul, you too will find yourself watching this video an unhealthy number of times. Palette Swap Ninja

A few weeks ago, Tom Clancy and Ubisoft released the latest addition to their arsenal of military themed games.  This particularly game, titled H.A.W.X. (which stands for High Altitude Warfare Experimental Squadron) is based on tactical air combat.  Or put another way, its about fighter jets.  Awesomesauce.

I've only played through the demo of HAWX, so I can't comment too much on the game play itself.  Of course that works just fine for this post as I'm not writing to talk about what is going on in the air anyway.  Because its what is happening on the ground that makes HAWX so interesting.

In order to make the game as realistic as possible, Ubisoft negotiated a deal with GeoEye - a high resolution satellite imaging company - to provide real world data for use in game.  If GeoEye sounds familiar to you, its because they are the same people that provide satellite imagery for Google Earth. The result of the Ubi-Eye partnership is that Rio de Janeiro in HAWX is not an artists rendering, but is the real deal complete with the real landmarks, real topography, real buildings and even real trees down to the meter.  It takes EA's old saying "if its in the game, its in the game" to a whole new level.  Or should I say altitude.  Lets go to the video tape!


 
Despite the fact that HAWX takes place well above the ground (at least as far as I've seen) the attention to detail is immediately noticeable from the virtual pilots seat and it adds an impressive depth to the game play experience.  The fact that its a pretty cool mashup (which seems to have been the topic of choice around here of late) doesnt hurt either.

But taking it a step further, I'm also getting a delicious whiff of educational pie here, and it comes in two flavors.  Obviously this sort of realism gives HAWX immediate potential as a geography tool for whatever cities are depicted in the game.  But thats pretty vanilla.  Lets take it the extra mile.

The majority of Clancy's games take place on the ground, from the perspective of an individual soldier or squad.  And given the fact that the Ubisoft-GeoEye partnership is already in place, its not unlikely to assume that the next Rainbow Six or Ghost Recon game will bring the realistic satellite images of Hawx back down to an ground pounder perspective.  Now, imagine Ubisoft providing level editor tools to let you create your own maps, based on real world satellite data... 

Put away the M-60 machine guns and F-22 raptors and you have just created a framework to allow anyone, anywhere, to explore any city in the world, any time, by foot or by air.  And did I mention that these games are all already built for multiplayer experiences?  Now just let your mind wander through the educational and collaborative possibilities of that kind of freedom.  It could change the way we think about everything from language learning to home buying.  Forget about virtual worlds.  This IS the world.  All from the framework of a game.  At this moment we shed a single tear for what Google's Lively could have been.

As excited as I am about the possibilities, the path I've gone down here is probably more than a little overly optimistic.  But I like where this is going.  And if Ubisoft doesn't run with the ball, you can bet someone else will.

Very cool stuff here.
 
 


Image from ign.com

Mashup culture may have found its Beethoven. 



This is my favorite of seven tracks, mixed by a DJ named Kutiman.  His goal?  To scour YouTube for totally unrelated clips and mix them to create original music.  He called it the ThruYou project.... 

If you're not blown away from just listening to to the song (the title for which is "I m new"), visit ThruYou.com, start up a song, then check out the credits and jump out to the individual component videos that comprised each song. In a far off land, an exorbitantly paid record executive's soul just died a little.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

Absolutely amazing.
 

Skittles.com, the website for the popular fruit flavored candy, has recently undergone a bit of a makeover.  This in and of itself is none too surprising - product sites can be counted on to shake themselves up on an almost perpetual basis.  But whats interesting is just how Skittles decided to manage their new site.  Or perhaps more accurately, how they decided to stop managing it at all.

If you're not one to click on links to candy websites for fear that its sweet temptations will corrupt you, then you should probably seek professional help.  But I am a sympathetic soul, so I've provided non-tempting screens for your viewing pleasure.  The image to the right(ish) is the new skittles.com.  So whats the big deal?  The big deal is that this "website" isnt actually a website at all.  It is just a hovering box that serves as a jumpoff point to every major skittles web 2.0 presence.  Clicking the media link sends you to the skittles YouTube channel.  Home or product links drops you off at the Skittles Wikipedia entry.  Friends?  The Skittles Facebook page.  And chatter?  None other than a search feed of every tweet that contains the word "skittles" in it.

What does it all look like when it comes together?  A little something like this:



Or this:



There are two reasons I like this move.  First and foremost, it conveys the message that the consumer/ customer is a critical piece of the product.  Participation is essential.  Setting the new skittles "homepage" to be its own wikipedia entry is not only a request for active involvement, but a literal acknowledgment that the community will and should determine the fate of the brand.

Secondly, it shows a confidence on the part of Mars Candy to step back and relinquish control of the message.  The community would be perfectly within its rights to slam skittles on the Facebook page, the YouTube channel, or on Twitter.  And without any real web presence to speak of, the disparaging remarks would be all that would be seen should a curious buyer visit skittles.com.  That fear of "what people might say" would (and still does in some cases) cripple organizational efforts to embrace Web 2.0 and its exciting to see a company toss such fears to the wind.  

You can almost taste the rainbow of social technologies.  But will it blend?  For that answer, we'll just have to wait and see.




Screenshots taken from skittles.com
 

There is a great post over on Bre Pettis' website that recently came to my attention courtesy of the Twittersphere.  The post is titled "The Cult of Done Manifesto" and it contains 13 rules to follow to by god get stuff done.  Its not a perfect list, but I do think its a reminder of the kick in the pants we all need sometimes.  I'm particularly fond of #9. 

"Doing shit is hard".  But that doesnt change the fact that sometimes you just need to saddle up and get 'er done.

The Cult of Done Manifesto

1. There are three states of being. Not knowing, action and completion.
2. Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get it done.
3. There is no editing stage.
4. Pretending you know what you're doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you're doing even if you don't and do it.
5. Banish procrastination. If you wait more than a week to get an idea done, abandon it.
6. The point of being done is not to finish but to get other things done.
7. Once you're done you can throw it away.
8. Laugh at perfection. It's boring and keeps you from being done.
9. People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right.
10. Failure counts as done. So do mistakes.
11. Destruction is a variant of done.
12. If you have an idea and publish it on the internet, that counts as a ghost of done.
13. Done is the engine of more.