Watch the Best Video Introduction to Gamification & Explanation of its Pros & Cons from Penny Arcade

It's a funny and informative introduction to gamification and I guarantee you will laugh out loud at least once :)

This may actually be the first simple explanation I've ever seen of any of the potential positives AND pitfalls of using gamification as a strategy.  Clocking in at around 6 minutes, it's a great introduction to share with people who are interested in learning about the basics of gamification.

The fantastic work done on this particular episode deserves to be called out:

Video Interview with Ev Williams on Medium - the next evolution in the way we write, share and consume content on the web

Medium Team hard at work at Obvious HQ

I know 6 months seems like an eternity in Internet time, but it was only back on September 25, 2012 that Ev Williams, Biz Stone, and Jason Goldman (the original founders of Blogger, Twitter and many other web platforms) unveiled Medium, one of the latest creations from their startup incubator, Obvious.

Medium announced only a few weeks ago that they've acquired the long-form publishing startup Matter, and I have to agree with Matter's founder Jim Giles that the Medium / Matter acquisition seems like a natural fit:

Developing Zend Mobile Apps that utilize Cloud Web Services with Kent Mitchell

I recently wrote about the latest Zend Studio Release, version 10.0.1.  This video from Kent Mitchell covers using Zend Studio to develop apps that are connected to cloud web services.

Additional info at the Zend Developer Zone and the YouTube Page for the video below.

If you're a (free login) member of the site, you can also watch the higher-resolution flv version of the video at http://www.zend.com/en/webinar/studio/70170000000c17m-DevlpMobApps-20130320.flv

Google Hangout with KAL, the 35 year veteran political cartoonist from The Economist (Kevin Kallaugher)

Image Courtesy of The Economist

Updated : 04/18/2013 5:02 PM CST - Updated links & content to point to the recorded video vs. the live Google Hangout and added Links for fellow participants plus super secret spoiler!

I'm a long-time reader of The Economist and one of my favorite parts of every issue is the comics from KAL (Kevin Kallaugher).  His work has been entertaining me (and I'm sure millions of other readers) since I started reading The Economist cover to cover back as a high-school freshman debater.

Fortunately for all of us fans, Michelle Hayden and Mark Johnson from The Economist coordinated a Google Hangout with KAL on April 18, 2013 at 10:30 AM CST.  I had a wonderful time participating with the other readers who joined me for the live chat:

• Kristen Anderson
• Karen Kim
• Jeff Nenarella
• Nikhil Venkatesa

Even if you weren't able to make the live chat, you can watch the entire video below (you can also watch and comment over at The Economist's Website):

SPOILER ALERT: Kal reveals an insider Cartoonist secret near the end of the video, the secret is revealed after the jump at the end of the post ;)

Free Online Course: Gamification by Kevin Werbach via Coursera

Free Coursera Course: Gamification

This free online course from Coursera is taught by Kevin Werbach, an Associate Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics at the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania.

After hearing about the class online I decided to sign up myself!  Although I've downloaded a few class lectures from iTunes, I haven't yet registered for a Coursera class, so this one was my first class.

There's a video introduction for the class from Kevin Werbach himself and quite a few other resources I put together below.  If you're new to Gamification, the following graphic provides a basic introduction to the concept, but I've also posted an introduction here on the blog that's a quick read.

Zend Studio 10.0.1 Released - Available for Immediate Free Download

Zend Studio Download Center

UPDATE: Bonus "Introducing Zend Studio 10" YouTube Video after the jump!

What's in this latest Zend 10.0.1 Maintenance Release? The announcement email gives a little background on what's included in the update:

"We are pleased to announce that Zend Studio 10.0.1 is now available for download.

This maintenance release includes several updated components including the latest Zend Framework 1.x and 2.x releases, support for Windows 8, integration with Zend Server 6 for IBM i, and a variety of other product improvements and bug fixes."

DeveloperForce.com hosts Mobile Code Talk Google Hangout on Salesforce Platform for Mobile Services with Sandeep Bhanot, Dave Carroll, and more.

DeveloperForce.com's Google Hangout : Mobile Code Talk

A few days ago, I wrote about Salesforce.com's latest announcement regarding their new Open Source Salesforce Platform for Mobile Services, Mobile Packs, and more.  Only two days later the team that put together most of the resources referenced in that post got together online for a Google Hangout and recorded it for YouTube.

It's a fantastic interactive Q & A and overview of the system and its use cases.  One of my favorite quotes comes pretty soon into the video from Dave Carroll (@dcarroll):

Truly Breathtaking - NASA's Earth From Orbit Video Series combines stunning high-def time-lapse photography into an AMAZING video. Watch. It. Now.

As part of their Earth Month 2013's mission to improve "Understanding and Sustaining Our Home Planet, NASA has waded through the mountainous collection of high resolution digital imagery produced by some of its "fleet of Earth-observing satellites" across many distinct environmental research programs.

Check out "Knowledge Centred Support (KCS) & ITIL integration - 8 year case studty - Amazing Empirical Results

The Vimeo is amazingly detailed and although it clocks in at 21 minutes, I feel like pretty much every organization can draw at least one lesson from their empirical results to help you in your KCS & ITIL / ITSM integration efforts.

Knowledge Centred Support (KCS) & ITIL integration - 8 year case study - Amazing Results from Paul Jay on Vimeo.