One of my favorite films is The Graduate. It was the big break movie for Dustin Hoffman and it probably was a pretty accurate depiction of middle class America in the late 1960's. Though it doesn't show up in movies and entertainment many young people were not involved in the anti-war movement or the counter culture. They wanted to go to college, get a good job and have an easy passage into a comfortable life.

The problem was the world was changing and changing in ways that could only be understood in hindsight. One of the more famous scenes is a conversation at a cocktail party between Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman) and Mr. McGuire (Walter Brooke)

Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you.

Benjamin: Yes, sir.

Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?

Benjamin: Yes I am.

Mr. McGuire: Plastics

It was funny because the 1960's was the high point in age of plastics. Plastics was a symbol of everything modern and yet was also dated. Even in 1967 we knew only a middle aged man would see plastic as the cutting edge as other people were already looking for the next big thing.

If we were having that same conversation today the word would be gamification instead of plastics. The idea has been around for a while and I'm sure the younger readers of this blog are rolling their eyes so hard they're risking whiplash. Right now the concept of gamification is becoming totally mainstream and ten years from now will be a stable of work place management from the design lab to the sweat shop floor.

I mean it, can't you feel the synergy?

How does this change the nature of work? If every task is made into a game with small and immediate rewards handed out for instant gratification -then does this change the definition of "meaningful work" ?
Actually could gamification dissolve and wipe away the very idea of meaningful work?

Then comes the other question -if work becomes too much like a game will employers feel less willing to compensate workers with money? Especially when the "fun" of the job is considered to be part of the compensation. Just ask anyone in the entertainment, music or film industries. They have a cornucopia of low pay and no pay internships because so many people see these industries as exciting places to be.

The idea of work has changed with the methods of producing products. When the first factories opened they provided employment that was often dirty and dangerous, with work days that were 12 hours long. People flocked to the factories because it was better than working on the family farm. An industrial economy destroyed the craftsmen and shops that made things from start to finish. Specialization was the buzz word of the 1800's where work and production was broken down into units.

Henry Ford took the idea one step further with the assembly line. The Ford Model T became a legendary success and part of that success came from reducing the amount of skill needed to work the assembly line. It made every worker a machine until an actual machine could replace him. McDonalds worked even harder at breaking down work into smaller and less skilled tasks. Ask anyone who has worked at McDonalds for more than a year what it's like? The work is not only low paying but it is a trap, it offers no opportunity for a better future. A worker leaving any fast food restaurant is usually no more skilled or better prepared for the larger job market than he was the day he came in. 

So gamification is coming. It could make work less boring and stressful but when everyone is doing it and the initial advantages are lost to the competition -what will gamification be like then? What will it mean to the average worker when they are constantly asked to "up their game".

This reminds me of a pulp science fiction story I read as a kid. The ruling elite of the society had developed a drug that made work fun. Under the influence of the drug every time you worked the brain would release dopamine. Both the drug and hard labor became as addictive as morphine.

Enough about work, let's think about play -I mean real play. The kind of games where you can be clever in front of other people. Where you can share some time and laughter with friends.

A couple of days ago I was with one creative writing group and we played around with idea of "if you could go back in time with one piece of modern technology -what would it be?".

Don't be passively entertained all the time -go out and interact.