This week: Gamification on Writing.com Edited by: Jeff  
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"You never know what you can do until you try,
and very few try unless they have to."
-- C.S. Lewis
About The Editor: Greetings! My name is Jeff and I'm one of your regular editors for the Noticing Newbies Official Newsletter! I've been a member of Writing.com since 2003, and have edited more than 350 newsletters across the site during that time. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via email or the handy feedback field at the bottom of this newsletter! 
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Gamification on Writing.com
The term "gamify" or "gamification" has increased in popularity lately. Defined as, "the application of typical elements of game playing (e.g. point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity, typically as an online marketing technique to encourage engagement with a product or service" (Oxford), the concept itself isn't new, even if the word itself is. You see gamification a lot of places, from social media sites (how many followers, likes, or shares can you get?) to the workplace (the most productive numbers this week, the employee of the month, etc.) to smartphone apps that help you do everything from learn a foreign language (Duolingo, Babbel) to exercise (Fitbit, Apple Fitness) to managing your personal finances (Mint, Monefy).
Gamification isn't necessarily a bad thing, unless it's intentionally manipulative and/or results in people developing an unhealthy obsession with it. A lot of times, it can be a great way to increase engagement in a community through friendly competition, or establish an online social hierarchy so you know whether you're interacting with a Level 1 Newbie or a Level 99 Venerable Expert. Even Writing.com has some elements of gamification, some of which are more apparent than others.
If you go to the Community tab of your portfolio, you'll see a whole host of information accumulated from your time on the site including:
 Your Community Recognition (CR) score
How many Merit Badges you have (and which ones)
A Trophy Room with all your Awardicons on display
There's even an "Member Activity" section in the upper right corner of the Community tab that will tell you exactly how many of each of the following things you've done:
Public Reviews given
Merit Badges given
Awardicons given
Forum Posts
Interactive Chapters
Product Reviews
Total Reviews Given
Ratings Given
Trinkets Collected
Trinkets Created
That's a lot of stats to track! But just in case that's not enough, you can also go to My Account > Achievements and receive Merit Badges for reaching milestones for a number of accomplishments including:
Getting Started Activities
Account Anniversaries
Reviews
Message Forum Posts
Rewarding Reviewers
Newsfeed Posts and Comments
Merit Badges given
The entire WDC economy is essentially a product of gamification. You can purchase or earn Gift Points, which can be used to purchase things on the site. You can get Awardicons as prizes for winning contests, participating in activities, etc. Merit Badges are an ever-growing set of unique tokens that can be collected, with specific badges sometimes being sought by those who want to collect them all. You can design, collect, share, trade, etc. unique Trinkets in much the same way. The end result is a community built on the concept of gamification where users are encouraged to participate in the community through a variety of mechanisms meant to encourage friendly competition (and maybe a little comparison-itis  ).
Ultimately, as long as you're not suffering any real-world harm from participating in a gamified environment - like spending more time or money than you can afford to lose in pursuit of the status being offered - gamification can be a great way to interact with others who have similar interests. On a site like Writing.com that offers so many options, however, it might be best to focus on one or two areas where you really want to make a difference. Do you like collecting Merit Badges and/or Trinkets? Or perhaps being one of the site's top reviewers every month? Or enjoy entering and winning contests?
In a gamified environment like Writing.com, it's probably worth either casually engaging with a variety of gamified options, or intensely pursuing only a few. If you intensely pursue everything all at once (e.g., being the top reviewer AND having the most GPs AND getting every Merit Badge AND having the most Community Recognition), it can become more about the accumulation of stats and the curation of prestige than it is the quality of the experience and interactions with others that the gamified environment provides.
Games are fun, but you don't want to be the person who's always obsessed with the score more than having a good time playing.
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
"New & Noteworthy Things" | "Blogocentric Formulations"
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This month's official Writing.com writing contest is:
I also encourage you to check out the following items:
EXCERPT: Since Childhood, I've been attracted towards arts especially contemporary Indian arts. To see something which is unique and has a blend of fusions, always print their colours on our subconscious mind somehow, that's the power of unique and original arts. An Indian artist expresses his/her true feelings, thought process, and way of looking the world through their arts. That's why we always consider art as pure or holy.
EXCERPT: Once upon a time, in the great city of Babylon, there lived a young man named Al-Khwarizmi. Al-Khwarizmi was known throughout the city for his exceptional mathematical abilities. People would often seek him out to help them with their calculations and equations. One day, King Nebuchadnezzar II summoned Al-Khwarizmi to the palace. The king was fascinated by mathematics and wanted to learn more about it. He asked Al-Khwarizmi to teach him all about Babylonian mathematics.
EXCERPT: I write this memory, which is neither positive or negative, as a job. This writing is today's "work". Work can be hard, rewarding, fun, and many other things. This is meant to be at least the first three.
My most vivid memory comes in two parts. Firstly the one which is most vivid. Followed by its baby brother. The memory which seems to tag along.
EXCERPT: We tired of the city life and only wanted to hide in the woods. We bought and acre in Hillsborough, New Hampshire and decided to build a small home to have some peace in. It made perfect sense for him and I to build it ourselves and take out no loans. No mortgage and no loans to pay back, we would be creating a cushion so to say. Paying only utilities and taxes would allow us to afford car payments and Christmas presents, even in the economy we were all crashing in. It took us what seemed like a million years and what should have been the most wonderful day known to us, moving day finally came.
EXCERPT: Edgar crumpled into a nearby chair, and gazed with a rueful look out at the tree that his father had planted all those years ago.
EXCERPT: once again i can't sleep and i only stared at the ceiling for 30 minutes before getting up to write, definite improvement from before. I don't even know what to say. My mind keeps rolling around in my head, as if its come loose from a screw. nothing can make understand why sleep won't come to me, its scared of me. i would be scared of myself as well. All I can seem to do its scream and yell imaginary thoughts at any sign of sleep that dare show its face
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Feedback from "Noticing Newbies Newsletter (January 11, 2023)" about SMART goals:
Jason Kalinowski  writes:
I truly enjoyed your SMART goal letter. I have seen the SMART concept before when I was in the military and in my current employment, the American Red Cross. It is a concept I used often in mentorship roles. I found myself subconsciously using it throughout my life. I think writers could benefit from use of the concept!
blue  writes:
thank you so much for your time
Tina M. Courtney  writes:
I seen the word Newbie and than I said why not go ahead and review a Newbie Newsletter. First thing, congratulations on being dedicated and there for other members encouraging them to keep writing Newbie or member that is occasional writer. Thanks for encouraging newbies to want to write and feel motivated to use SMART way of thinking to writing. I don't consider myself a newbie. I've been here since 2011 but what I do see is occasional members who reviews read and yet no motivation. No so much rather we are not just the motivation. In this newsletter thanks for encouraging just to write. The SMART acronym seemed to be beneficial including for me.
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Noticing Newbies: February 08, 2023 Issue [#11806]
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