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As you may have figured out, my name is Matt Griswold. This is where I think aloud, tag the trappings of the interwebs, and rant about all things interesting and ridiculous. You can reach me at mgriswold[at]gmail.com

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The Science behind Smart.fm

via smart.fm

Some interesting science about the way we learn and retain information via this self-promoting clip from http://smart.fm, an online learning center.

Intuitively, it makes sense - "practice makes perfect" - but I have to wonder further: is intelligence an act of persistence (continually testing and re-activating 'latent memories'), or rather representative of a more shallow decline in the "forgetting curve" of Ebbinghaus' design? Alternatively, are intelligence and memory even related at all? If Einstein forgot the theory of relativity the following day, would it (or he) be any less intelligent?

Tags  //  psychology / web /
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Technology Review: An Advert for In-Game Violence

A team of European and U.S. researchers found ads displayed along with violent scenes to be more memorable to players than those shown with nonviolent content, even though players spent less time looking at them. The results are contrary to expectations stemming from research on television, where violence has been shown to decrease attention to advertisements.
via technologyreview.com

Tags  //  advertising / gaming / psychology / research /
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Applying Game Mechanics to Social Media

Peter Kim take a higher-order approach to game theory and social media.  In the end, it's not only a solid list; but a reminder that technologies bring new expressions to human instinct/behavior... but people are the same psychology-bound, curiously entertaining creature whether online or off.  Here's his list, and do take the time to jump and read the whole article...

  • Collecting things. Humans have a primal instinct to collect and display.  Offline, think about boy scout badges or Olympic pins. My old housemate used to collect commemorative Coca-Cola bottles.  Online, we have our Twitter widgets, Facebook fan pages, and Flickr photo albums.
  • Earning points. These define achievement and translate into social standing.  Offline, it's how NASCAR champions are crowned and how you earn a free airplane flight.  Online, it's the number of fans, friends, followers, or subscribers to your content.  World-leading PR firms advise their clients to pay attention to individuals with "influence" and "authority" based on points.  We reinforce the credibility of points by watching lists of top blogs, top tweeters, even top egos.
  • System feedback. Offline, it's the experience of shopping at an Apple store or your car accelerating when you press the gas.  Online, it's not comments, replies, or trackbacks (those feed into points & exchanges), but response from the system itself.  How complete is your LinkedIn profile?  How much Plurk karma do you have?  Do you have Facebook for Blackberry installed yet?
  • Value exchanges.  Successful interactions.  Offline, it's us inviting each other's kids to their birthday parties, or paying it forward to strangers.  Online, it's the process of interactions:  Posting wall-to-wall. Sending a mini-ninja or martini glass.  People "liking" your FriendFeed items. Twitter's @ messages.
  • Customization and personalization.  User-created barriers to exit.  Offline, it's the color you chose to paint your house, the case for your iPhone, the stickers on your laptop.  Online, it's the extensive profile information you entered, the photos you uploaded, or the background picture that says something about your interests.
via beingpeterkim.com

Tags  //  gaming / psychology / social /
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