Virtual problem solving
Posted in Technology
What would the world look like if all the time people spent online was used to solve the emerging issues of the world? What would happen if the skills of millions of people where focused on a common purpose? Why do gamers often feel more positive in the virtual space than in reality? Is it escapism, or a place where your strengths are positively reinforced and you are judged purely on your abilities and ideas?
There is an emerging school of thought around the value of the world of online gaming – how it can develop skills and problem solving, encourage team work and at times offer a more positive and supportive environment than the real world. The challenge lies in transferring these online strengths to our daily life. As we become more interconnected we can use collective thinking at a massive scale to shape the real world. A billion heads are better than one.
This isn’t just theoretical ‘one day’ type stuff, online collective thinking has recently been used right here in New Zealand. Magnetic South www.magneticsouth.net.nz is an online idea generation game which was used to create ideas for the future of Christchurch. It was designed to give anybody the opportunity to contribute, share and get quick feedback. The game ran for a weekend and generated many ideas.
Of course the web is full of online personal development tools, but how would you feel if you saw someone in your team playing World of Warcraft and selling it to you as personal development? You’d probably think they are using work time to goof off, and you might not be wrong. But some business people are starting to see its potential. In World of Warcraft you get rewarded for problem solving, you “power up” when you develop specific skills and if you fail you get to try again until you get it right – what’s not to like for your own work place? Imagine the environment you could create if you could reward your staff in the same way.
How do you use the virtual world to develop your business and personal skills?