Scott Adams: Your Next Gym • Hacker News Board

Re: Scott Adams: Your Next Gym

#31

Post by 9oliYQjP » Mon, Sep 13, 2010, 6:08 PM UTC

ryanelkins wrote: post #21

It's interesting to see how this idea is being received. My startup (IActionable.com) actually provides a way to make this happen to a degree. We're mostly focusing on game mechanics for websites at the moment but I really like the idea of moving in to other types of areas as well (we have a few other ideas already). Our informal motto is "If you can record it we can reward it". I wonder if this co-op mode would be b…

"I wonder if this co-op mode would be better suited to teams within the same gym"

Definitely, this. Make it a cooperative group effort like skipping, not a competitive team sport. See my comment here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1687502

Re: Scott Adams: Your Next Gym

#32

Post by Poiesis » Mon, Sep 13, 2010, 6:23 PM UTC

patio11 wrote: post #25

Poiesis wrote: post #17

No, no--what's coming first is farmville/foursquare style workouts and tracking. "Poiesis is King of the elliptical trainer!" "Achievement unlocked: 200 pound club" "New badge: Power Hour" "Most consecutive workout days: Poesis (42)" Add an iPhone app maybe for cardio workout tracking that's harder to cheat. This would be totally awesome. Maybe stick a leaderboard up on one of the big screens. Only problem is that it…

There are so many ways to improve, too. Leaderboards are an anti pattern in community design because they turn 99% of your customers into losers and losing is not fun. Instead, you either do leagues or publish individual successes within friend groups. After you have achievements longevity awards are like taking candy from a very wealthy baby. (Only one more month until you get Bronze Boots of Buttkicking! Do not can…

Leaderboards are an anti pattern in community design because they turn 99% of your customers into losers and losing is not fun.

Of course. I've always wondered about that. Do you have a source for this info? I'm not trying to lay on the wikipedia-snark but rather I'd like to see where to read on social media [anti]patterns.

Re: Scott Adams: Your Next Gym

#33

Post by patio11 » Mon, Sep 13, 2010, 6:27 PM UTC

Poiesis wrote: post #32

patio11 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are so many ways to improve, too. Leaderboards are an anti pattern in community design because they turn 99% of your customers into losers and losing is not fun. Instead, you either do leagues or publish individual successes within friend groups. After you have achievements longevity awards are like taking candy from a very wealthy baby. (Only one more month until you get Bronze Boots of Buttkicking! Do not can…

Leaderboards are an anti pattern in community design because they turn 99% of your customers into losers and losing is not fun. Of course. I've always wondered about that. Do you have a source for this info? I'm not trying to lay on the wikipedia-snark but rather I'd like to see where to read on social media [anti]patterns.

I read about game design. It is sort of like the nicotine patch for the ex-WoW gamer in me.

See slides 27 ~ 33:

http://www.slideshare.net/amyjokim/putting-the-fun-in-functi...

Re: Scott Adams: Your Next Gym

#34

Post by acgourley » Mon, Sep 13, 2010, 6:32 PM UTC

feral wrote: post #19

Right. What he's describing is just like team rowing, or tug-o-war or a sport like american football, rugby, basketball, etc. We've had this technology for thousands of years.

This observation is correct; exergaming won't displace team sports. However, not everyone can get involved with a team sport. Cost, location, time - you name it. Exergaming is going to deliver many of the advantages of team sports without as many costs or constraints, and it's going to be huge.

Re: Scott Adams: Your Next Gym

#35

Post by rradu » Mon, Sep 13, 2010, 6:35 PM UTC

Reminds me of a DICE talk about how games will work their way into our lives providing us incentives to do all sorts of things like eat healthily, study, etc.

http://g4tv.com/videos/44277/DICE-2010-Design-Outside-the-Bo...

Re: Scott Adams: Your Next Gym

#36

Post by tedunangst » Mon, Sep 13, 2010, 6:41 PM UTC

Sounds a fair bit like the hill climbing bits from "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?".

Re: Scott Adams: Your Next Gym

#37

Post by samtp » Mon, Sep 13, 2010, 6:44 PM UTC

patio11 wrote: post #10

My gym does just the MVP of this, where your RFID wristband gives you data persistence for workout results. Walk up to machine, swipe wristband, Good afternoon Mr. Mckenz lets try for 12 reps at 40kg today. ("Who ever heard of someone with a last name longer than six characters long? LOL" A segment of their clientele -- and most at my gym are north of forty -- love it to death. There is at least one seventy something…

Just curious, what is the name of the gym company?

Re: Scott Adams: Your Next Gym

#38

Post by acgourley » Mon, Sep 13, 2010, 6:45 PM UTC

If this space is interesting to anyone shoot me an email.

Re: Scott Adams: Your Next Gym

#39

Post by MtL » Mon, Sep 13, 2010, 7:13 PM UTC

We do not need all these gimmicks. We need people to know what is good for themselves, and start doing something about it. Call me oldfashioned, but I am of the impression that:

+ No RFID chip in my backpack will make a mountain hike with 50lb weight added any more fun, any more useful, any more easy or anything else.

+ No RFID chips in the my plates will make my sets of squats or deadlifts any more fun or easy.

+ No RFID chip in my pants will make my hill sprints any more fun, easy or anything else.

+ No RFID chips in my food or fridge will make eating fruits, veggies, meat, eggs, fish, berries and dairy any more fun than it already is.

Re: Scott Adams: Your Next Gym

#40

Post by tdoggette » Mon, Sep 13, 2010, 7:29 PM UTC

MtL wrote: post #39

We do not need all these gimmicks. We need people to know what is good for themselves, and start doing something about it. Call me oldfashioned, but I am of the impression that: + No RFID chip in my backpack will make a mountain hike with 50lb weight added any more fun, any more useful, any more easy or anything else. + No RFID chips in the my plates will make my sets of squats or deadlifts any more fun or easy. + No…

Okay, here goes: You're old-fashioned.

Things are more fun when they're part of a game. Brushing your teeth or doing your homework was not fun at age 6, but if you got a gold star, it was worth it, just because gold stars had some value to you.

But, you say, you don't care about games associated with your everyday life these days. Okay, then. You don't have to play. Don't pretend that your preferences are a model of the way things ought to be. There are a lot of ways that that doing non-fun things can be made more fun with technology and games.

Putting RFID chips in your plates will make lifting more fun if it's tied to a fun, competitive game with teammates cheering you on. The fact that you personally don't want to play doesn't mean that making healthy things fun with technology is an insurmountable problem, or that people should give up on all this fun stuff and pull themselves up by their bootstraps as you've made it so very clear that you have.