Our Latest Curated List of Events, Awards and Contests |  |
- Our Latest Curated List of Events, Awards and Contests
- The Internship: A Lighthearted Movie About Google and The Changing Business World
- Get Your Business Game On with “The Gamification Revolution”
| Our Latest Curated List of Events, Awards and Contests Posted: 25 May 2013 02:31 PM PDT Every week we bring you a carefully-vetted list of events, contests and awards for small businesses, solo entrepreneurs and growing companies. To see a full list or to submit your own event, contest or award listing, visit the Small Business Events Calendar. Featured Events, Contests and Awards
If you’ve been feeling frustrated and overwhelmed by the constant changes and tweaks on Facebook, and you’ve been struggling to measure a real monetary result from your Facebook marketing efforts – you’re not alone! On this free mega online event, Facebook marketing expert Mari Smith will share her own 7-Step Facebook Marketing Success Plan that’s packed with money-making tips for YOU to turn the world’s most popular social network into the TOP source of quality leads and paying customers for your business! It’s free — register today and save your seat!
Looking to create independence from this shifting job economy?
The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) will convene 3,500 decision makers from the nation’s leading corporations, government entities and women’s business enterprises (WBEs) to generate business together and stimulate economic growth at the 2013 WBENC National Conference & Business Fair in Minneapolis, MN, June 25-27, 2013.
The Big Awards started with a mission of recognizing real talent and performance. Real business people, those with experience and knowledge, judge the Big Awards. Request an entry kit today and submit your nomination by August 14, 2013. More Events
More Awards and Contests
This weekly listing of small business events, contests and awards is provided as a community service by Small Business Trends and SmallBizTechnology. The post Our Latest Curated List of Events, Awards and Contests appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| The Internship: A Lighthearted Movie About Google and The Changing Business World Posted: 25 May 2013 09:30 AM PDT
”The Internship‘ is a new movie that follows two laid-off salesmen as they attempt to start over in their careers through an unpaid internship at Google. It arrives in U.S. movie theaters in June. It comes across as a feel-good movie with special relevance for anyone interested in the inside workings of Google. What ‘The Internship’ is AboutThe movie stars Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn (pictured above) as Billy and Nick. The two find themselves out of work thanks to an increasingly digital world and an employer that couldn't keep up. In need of jobs and to prove their relevance in this digital world, they somehow talk their way into getting highly competitive internships at Google. They are seasoned people … er, middle aged. All the other Google interns are young, tech-savvy ivy-leaguers and geniuses. Through the course of their internship, the two are responsible for tasks such as managing the Gmail help line. However, they don't have the tech know-how of their younger counterparts, and need to ask for their help. The movie pokes fun at Google, with comic references to its famous laid-back work environment and experimental technology like self-driving cars. But it also pokes fun at the difference between two generations — one with formal education and weaned on Web technology, and the other with more life experience but not necessarily an abundance of tech know-how. Obviously, as a comedy you can expect it to overplay the differences between generations. “The Internship” is mainly intended for some quick laughs and a feel-good storyline. It does, though, contain some themes that are relevant in today's business world. The importance of technology is a big one. The merging of different age groups and skill sets into a workplace environment is another. It also highlights how some business professionals have had to reinvent themselves out of necessity.
Made In Cooperation With GoogleOf course, the cynical will look at this movie and say, “Hey, it’s just one giant product placement for Google!” That was the take of Stuart Heritage, whose piece in The Guardian was titled “The Internship: a dire warning about megacorps? Nope, it’s an ad for Google.” And in fact, Google was deeply involved in making the movie. In an interview in AllThingsD, the director, Shawn Levy, says, ”Literally, every single computer screen and every single white board in the movie was either done by a Googler or sent to us by Google or personally verified and approved by a Googler, because I wanted the movie to be accurate in the small details, as well. Every time you see a shot, even in the distant background where there's a dry-erase white board, what you see on that white board is something that you see in the Googleplex, and I wanted all of that to be accurate.” Google co-founder Sergey Brin makes not one, but two, cameo appearances in the film. Ironically, in real life, there’s not much age difference between Brin and the two co-stars who are played as so “old.” Brin himself will turn 40 this year — hardly a youngster. Vaughn is just 3 years older than Brin. Wilson is only 5 years older. Yes, Google is as much a character in the film as any of the humans. Take it as lighthearted fun that may have particular relevance to those who use Google products daily. And it has a few minor business lessons buried within. The Internship movie hits theaters in the United States on June 7, 2013. Here’s the trailer: Image credits: stills from movie trailer The post The Internship: A Lighthearted Movie About Google and The Changing Business World appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Get Your Business Game On with “The Gamification Revolution” Posted: 25 May 2013 06:00 AM PDT
One entertainment concept that has spread through the last few years is gamification – connecting to customers through implementing design concepts from games and loyalty programs based on behavioral economics. The concept is the study of a new book The Gamification Revolution: How Leaders Leverage Game Mechanics to Crush The Competition. The authors, Gamification.co CEO, Gabe Zicherman, and Joselin Linder, wrote the book believing that long term customer value awaits those business that make engagement rewarding for the customer. I discovered the book via NetGallery and requested a review copy. This book is not meant to explain check-ins and game app code planning. But the book is an opening round in understanding how to engage a company and customers with gamification techniques — techniques that have arisen with the age of mobile computing and app development. The process of implementing these games and strategies into business is called gamification. With it you can build experiences that will provide built-in meaning and trigger the motivation of employees and customers. The cost for not developing interest can be severe. Zicherman and Linder outline an example from Fox Meyer, once the fourth largest drug distributor in the United States:
The value derived can be significant as well. Companies are using gamification to change their businesses and to drive behavioral economics. In fact, the best businesses figured this out even before the dawn of jQuery. A mention of McDonald's success with its Monopoly reveals the author's penchant for context from history:
Jump to today's gaming environment, where even console games are being challenged (my Atari 2600 is weeping as I write this!);
The World According to AppGame terms such as game mechanics, points, badges and leaderboards are introduced. But do not look for code or discussion about best programming development. Instead the book focuses on ideas best meant for brainstorming. You'll learn why rewards are popular – they lead to status, access, and power. The main process that makes games possible are laid out in six motivations – desire incentive, challenge, achievement, reward, feedback, mastery. To make these motivations real, goals are established in the game, but most games are now designed such that winning is not the main objective. Readers who own small businesses can benefit by paying attention to the behavior shifts mentioned in The Gamification Revolution. The author delves into the behavior economics and gets to the heart as to what is on the customer’s mind. Cultural attitudes towards automobiles is highlighted here. In previous generations, teenagers dreamt of getting a driver’s license and the perceived freedom that would come with driving where they want. Recent research has discovered that today’s young adults are ambivalent about driving. The fact that automobiles include more technology as a selling point is an affirmation of the shift. Topics like this are supported with the author's questions meant to help the reader think about how behaviors are shifting. Your MoveThe text can feel like a word version of the game RISK. Zicherman and Linder provide interesting historical facts that give context to how gaming has really been a part of how things get done. Did you know refrigeration came from Napoleon offering a prize for better food supplies for his military campaigns?
The historical factoids help drive home the point that much of gamification is not brand new – it's been around for generations in different ways. Of course, a book about gamification should demonstrate gamification, right? The Gamification Revolution includes an app that supports the text in the book. It includes video collaboration tools with friends to see your ideas and a social media link for the company’s profiles in the book. All in all you'll learn that the best way to beat the competition is to let your employees and customers experience as much fun as possible. The Gamification Revolution will show the way to what fun works – while still having fun all the while. The post Get Your Business Game On with “The Gamification Revolution” appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
Circuses were meant to draw the audience's eye to various clowns, acrobats, trapeze performers and artists meant to bedazzle and delight. With more people spending time online, companies can feel as if they have to run Barnum and Bailey rather than a company.| You are subscribed to email updates from Small Business Trends To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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