In today’s business section of The New York Times there is an article, Why Work is Looking More Like a Video Game that includes some great statements and quotes:
- Rave [a software program] adapts a variety of gaming techniques. For instance you can build a dossier of your clients and sales prospects that includes photographs and lists of their likes, dislikes, and buying interests, much like the character descriptions in many video games.
- Mr. Beck [John C. Beck] says he sees a gaming generation gap in companies, but that he expects it to disappear in 10 years or so, as the gamers move up in management. In fact, he says, in the last three years, his reception from chief executives has gone from “Huh?” That’s crazy” to “Tell me more.”
- Mr. Sawyer [Ben Sawyer] said that companies were beginning to see that they could use video games to develop skills and spread corporate culture through their ranks, even to help individual employees understand how they could contribute to the overall success of the company.
That’s just a sampling of the topics covered in the article that definitely shows how adult’s perceptions of gaming continue to grow and change. Read the full article to find out more, and maybe get some ammunition for helping educate those you work with and serve.
This is exactly one of the reasons why I think it’s important to be involved in virtual worlds. While all virtual worlds are not games, this quote from the NY Times article still applies, “Skills you develop in game worlds solve real-world problems.” Teens in these worlds are leaders, entrepreneurs, managers, and more. They are more often than not learning the skills we are looking for in our future librarians and teachers. It makes sense to be alongside them in this environment or at least understand these environments they are in.