This one was too great not to post. I’m going to have to agree with Nelson Muntz here, but I do love to pick up a copy of The Onion on a nice Austin Saturday morning and read my horoscope over some breakfast tacos at Polvo’s.

Many cat owners know that the lasers are the easiest way to keep the pet amused. The cats will ceaselessly, maniacally chase it as it’s beamed about the room, literally climbing the walls to capture what they surely regard as some form of ultimate prey.

Obviously, cats are hard-wired to hunt down small, bright objects, like birds. But since nothing in nature is as bright as a laser, they are powerless to resist its charms.

Much like we’re powerless to resist the charms of the internet? I’m going to have to agree with him. I mean, the internet DID give me this spectacular photo:

This is what Google Images spits back at you when you search for “laser and cats”. This ladies and gentlemen is one of the main reasons I love that internet. This and reading comment threads of Fark.com. I’m getting off track here…

Gome continues his point:

Cats and lasers are useful in explaining some of the more addictive aspects of Web use, including a recent occurrence on the site for Andrew Sullivan, a popular political blogger. Mr. Sullivan’s blog doesn’t follow the standard practice of making room for readers to add their own comments after each blog item. Curious if he should change his policy, he put the question to a vote.

Readers responded 60-40 against allowing comments. Even more striking than the fact that these readers were denying themselves a voice was the reason some of them gave for declining the offer: Like cats chasing a laser, they wouldn’t be able to stop themselves.

In truth we would rarely opt not to read them,” said one reader. “Blog comments have the power to hammerlock one’s attention. … We’d be impotent to resist looking over the rantings and counter-rantings. … Not only would comments be an incredible drain on one’s time (especially if we check your blog several times a day from work), but it also exposes readers to the nasty underbelly of blogging.

Interesting perspective isn’t it? I’m definitely guilty of waisting time “lurking” on message boards and comment threads. You may even call it a past time of mine. I just thought it was fascinating that in this hyper-connected and open world, a group of people would collectively opt to have their voices stripped from  them, if only from a political blog.

The article goes on to discuss what can make a website “irresistible.”  When a researcher showed different pictures to subjects they preferred pictures that had a good “vantage on a landscape and an element of mystery. In one way or another…they all presented new information that somehow needed to be interpreted.”

That right there speaks volumes. Give the article a read…I’d love to know what you think.

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while and/or know me at all, you’re familiar with my absolute obsession with Alternate Reality Games (ARGs); specifically the currently running ARG for the upcoming Dark Knight movie that I’ve written about HERE and HERE. I love the engagement they demand from the players and how they personify different universes the players (our consumers) are passionate about.

Today we get to hear from Jane McGonigal, a “game designer, game researcher and future forecaster.” She’s been the brain behind some of the most popular ARGs around; her most recognized probably being I Love Bees, that was integral in promoting the release of Microsoft’s Halo 2. She’s most certainly going to have a laundry list of interesting insights and commentary. I’ll keep you posted with a bullet-style rundown of the talk.

• The lights dim. Here we go. The presentation starts off with a video introducing her new ARG The Lost Ring that she’s done to promote the 2008 Olympics in Bejing (drools). It’s been going on for about a week now, but you can still go to www.thelostring.com to get started. (I know what I’m doing tonight)
• With her ARGs she doesn’t want to make games more like the real world. Rather, she wants to make the real world more like games. Interesting thought. There’s a lot to be said there when we think about this in terms of brands.
• She’s doing research on “Happiness”. There’s a new field of psyh called Positive Psychology. She recommends reading Happiness, Stumbling on Happiness and a book on the backlash of happiness called Against Happiness. We’re talking about a new kind of happiness. It’s about the human brain and body and experiencing positive things in life…not juts feeling “happy”. Are we in the happiness business? She doesn’t think we are quite yet…but we will be very soon.
• A future forecast for 2013:
  • Quality of life becomes the primary metric for evaluating interactive brands, services, environments and experiences
  • Positive psych is an increasing principle
  • Communities form from a particular life that’s worth living
  • Value is defined as a measureable increase in real happiness — or well-being will be the capital of the future
• Games are the happiness engines
• In games we can be good at things that we’re not good at in real life…this is their ultimate draw. In multi-player games positive reinforcement is aplenty. Games can seem to have a better sense of community with shared qualities and sets of rules that all the players abide by than “real world” communities
• We’re experiencing a global mass exodus towards virtual worlds and game worlds. This shouldn’t necessarily cause panic. Kids are learning to be good at something
• For many gamers today, in terms of perceived quality of life, virtuality is beating reality
• Multi-player gaming, c.2008: It’s like we invented the written word and only decided to write books. Why are we only making games for the bound pages of the computer and/or the console
• She gives the example of Chorewars.com as way we can integrate a gaming reality into our reality…finally you can claim experience points for housework. I can already hear hoards of parents signing up.
• “To imagine the future, always look back at least twice as far as you are looking forward.”
• We should treat games like soap. They should be everywhere…in every building. Like soap kills germs, games kill boredom and in the process engages the players
• ARG designers are trying to embed these happiness engines in every day life
• The concept of “alternate reality” comes from science fiction. “An alternate reality is another way of experiencing existence” –G.S. Elrick, 1978
• Check out World Without Oil which she won the activism award for it here at SXSW’s Web Awards. The gist is that she set up an alternate reality for players in which they lived without oil. Great (and more importantly different) idea for a social awareness campaign
• Where do we go next? What tools could we use in getting ARGs going today?
  • Twitter?
  • Nike iPod?
  • Planes with communication systems? Playing a game about being on a plane?
  • Cars with GPS systems?
  • Any kind of non-traditional media…open up your mind and knock down the walls that tell you “it can’t be done”. Any type of media can be used to build and foster a story that takes place in an alternate reality

Phew. So that’s the keynote in bulleted nutshell. As I expected she had a lot to say in terms of both content and ideas. I can’t wait to see where ARGs go to next. How/Will they translate if a brand like Tide or Dell gives it a go? Is it a marketing engine built just for gamers or is this something that can cross demographic sets? I think if they’re thoughtfully customized they sure could be. I wouldn’t mind playing an ARG that takes me on a quest to find the next Dell mega-gaming machine. They could totally play off the “gaming machine of the future” angle. These are all questions to keep in mind. But I implore to pay attention to this type of thing. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if ARGs hit the mainstream sooner rather than later.

Thanks Jane for a wicked talk.