Gripes and Grins

Grin: Revisiting Incentive Learning & a Recap of Grockit 2011

About a year ago, I moved from Outspark to Grockit.  I remember joining the team knowing that the product had a ways to go, but the people are outstanding. 

A year later, we've done some amazing things in terms of furthing social learning: Grockit for Good tranformed Grockit into a 1-for-1 company; Grockit Answers uses video to make asynchronous social learning a reality; Grockit in Facebook lets you create private study rooms with friends; Grockit SchoolMatch helps students find the right schools for them; and Grockit is working very closely with Georgetown University to provide students and alum with online test prep. 

And, the team at Grockit has grown and proven to be more oustanding than I first understood.  Together, we've attracted another round of financing, launched an open-source project to improve our adaptive learning algorithm, and partnered with Startup Weekend and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to create StartupWeekend.edu. 

Grockit has a lot in store for this year, including working with some high-profile private K-12 schools to provide more data points supporting Grockit's efficacy in social learning.  And, I'm totally loving my work. 

Recently, I was approached by a Peter Thiel Foundation Fellow researching incentives-based learning.  Peter was an investor in Gazillion's Smartycard, a founder's fund investment. Working with the Peter Thiel Foundation Fellow has been very stimulating.

Over the last month, I've spent several hours discussing and rethinking the lessons learned in nearly two years of working on SmartyCard as a game division, and then as a potential "spinout" of Gazillion.  The mental exercises have really reinvigorated my thoughts about incentives and payments in educational games, sites and services. 

There's a real opportunity to create an incentive structure for learning in high school.  But increasingly, I'm convinced the application context in which incentives are provisioned needs to be viral -- somewhere like Facebook.  And, incentives need to appeal to ego -- the developing super-id that feeds off of social reward and "knowing" and "helping". 

Finally, I've come to realize that friends are an acceptable currency for millenials.  Offers are too.  There's one other currency that people are starting to understand -- user-generated-content.  There's going to be a beautiful little collision at that intersection, I'm looking forward to seeing it happen.

Huge Grin: SF EDU Startup Weekend

It’s nearly midday here at Grockit HQ in lovely SOMA.  It’s more than just free street parking making me smile today.  Aside from the Card 9 victory over CSU Fullerton last night, it’s judgment day here at SFEDU Startup Weekend.  We have 14 teams vying for prizes and an spot at the The Founders Showcase in what I know to be the first of multiple SFEDU Weekends.

To say the weekend is a success is an understatement.  Even before anyone gets funded or officially launched, the ideas, the atmosphere, the energy all point at ongoing success.  And, I happen to know that there will be future events as well.  That’s right, edu startup weekends will be serialized thanks to generous funding lined up by Grockit founder Farb Nivi.  More will be announced very soon via the Grockit blog, but for now, I’m really enjoying this event and looking forward to updating this blog with news about the winners. 

And, just in case you feel slighted or angry that you didn’t get an invite to be a participant, judge or mentor (mentor’s are getting a lot of love right now), I can’t really apologize – this thing became sort of a big deal late last month when the media started to take an interest.  As an organizer, I wish we could have sold more tickets or invited more judges, but we'll make it bigger and better next time.  And, we'll make an effort to boost the prize values as well.

Huge thanks to EdSurge team for taking notice, and a huge thanks to Audrey Waters for encouraging us.  Also, huge thanks to my fellow organizers, Shana, Ahmed, Farb and Dan Clemons, and all of the speakers at SFEDU startup weekend.

Here’s a photo from opening night pitches. 

Gripe: MacApp Store (updated)

First, the disclaimers.  I know a few people at Apple, and I actually know some folks that work on the store.  Second, my overall support and usability expectations are higher for Apple products, which I fully acknowledge.  Third, Apple enjoys a brand reputation for a better overall experience, so they deserve this kind of heated gripe. 

Apple, you're slipping. I know you're stock is soaring and your operating capital is nice. I don't even mind that the initial iPod wasn't your idea or design. But, I've always appreciated that your products and services just work. Except when they don't.

I don't get the Mac App store App.  I'm installing an app to buy an app.  That's me inserting a hurdle between me and the store.  It just feels like a dumb DRM move.  Really, Apple? What's worse, it's not working. 

The Mac App store help page has 5 entries in the troubleshooting, my issue is one of them.  Here's what they have to say about my symptoms:

"If nothing happens after clicking Buy when purchasing an app

Select the Purchases view at the top of the Mac App Store window. Look for your purchased app. If it is listed under Purchases and says Installed next to it, check your Dock or Applications folder for the app. If the app's listing under Purchases says Install next to it, click the Install button. The app will then be downloaded and installed into the Applications folder. You will not be charged again for the app.

If the app is not listed under Purchases, your previous attempt to buy was not completed and you were not charged for the app. Navigate to where you tried to purchase the app earlier and click the Buy button for the app. This will charge your account for the app. If you delete the app and wish to to reinstall it later, you can use the Purchases view to reinstall it without being charged again."

So five minutes ago, I submitted this help ticket.  It wasn't really a request for help, more of a taunt with several veigns of criticism, mostly about their physical operations as well. I'll keep everyone up to date on the resolution. 

I have a brand new macbook pro and I downloaded the app store app and signed into the store with my existing apple ID, which I use for iTunes and my other, older Macbook Pro.  I'm trying to buy a lot of sotware for this new mac, without going to a physical store.  But, when I go to buy, I get through the buy flow, confirm the purchase intent and then I don't get anything -- no DL dialogue, and my account status shows that I have zero purchased software.

 Seriously, this is really pissing me off.  Getting to an Apple store is a real pain-in-the-ass because your physical stores are located where there is absolutely no parking (Downtown Palo Alto, Union Square SF?!) or the store is a renovated closet with asinine store hours for people that want to work  (Stanford shopping mall, open at 10am?!).  The options for me right now is order online and wait 24 hours for an empty box or submit this ticket and wait 24 hours.  Awesome.

 

Updated Feb 11 4:17PM PDST

Response and my second efforts below. Now this is going to get interesting.

Hi Tina,
I have no idea what you're talking about in this email.  Per my ticket info, I'm having trouble buying Keynote for my Mac via the Mac App Store.  The only thing that is related to iTunes is my Apple ID.  What do I have to do to buy and download software from the Mac App Store?

Sincerely,
Aaron Burcell

PS -- I'm blogging this experience in an effort to help others, because this experience is pretty darn sucky.

----- Original Message ----
From: "macappstore_english_us_support@apple.com" <macappstore_english_us_support@apple.com>
To: xxxxx@yahoo.com (edited for posting)
Sent: Fri, February 11, 2011 3:21:32 PM
Subject: Re: Mac App Store Account and Billing; Follow-up: 138883781

Dear Aaron,

Tina here from the iTunes Store. I hope you are having a wonderful day so far. I see from your email that you have some of your purchases that you have recently made, not showing up in your download queue for you to download and add to your account. Being an iTunes Store customer myself, I can understand your eagerness to get this resolved. Please be assured I am happy to help you in any way I can.

Aaron, I have added the three orders on your account that you have recently purchased back to your account for you.

Please follow these steps to download the items:

1) Make sure you're using the latest version of iTunes. It can be downloaded free of charge from the iTunes website:
 
http://www.itunes.com/download

Note: Installing the latest version of iTunes will not affect your library or any items in your account that you haven't downloaded.

2) Open iTunes. From the Store menu at the top, choose Check for Available Downloads. You can also click this link to do the same thing:

https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/checkForPurchases

3) Enter your account name and password, then click the Check button.

The items should begin downloading and appear in your Purchased playlist. If you receive an error message while downloading, try again after turning off any firewall or web-accelerator software that you may have installed. If the download process is interrupted for any reason, it should resume once you reopen iTunes.

This article provides information about resuming interrupted downloads:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1725

If you don't see the items in your iTunes Library, please include this information in your response to this email:

- The name of your Internet service provider (ISP)
- The type of Internet connection (such as dial-up, cable modem, or DSL)
- Any troubleshooting steps you may have taken
- Any error messages you may have received

I would like to make sure that your iTunes experience is the best it can be. If you have any further questions regarding this issue Aaron, please reply to this email and I will be delighted to assist you. Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Tina
iTunes Store Customer Support


Please note: In the week of February 6th to February 12th, I work Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday 12:30 PM to 9 PM. I also work Tuesday and Thursday 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. I have Monday and Saturday off.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assist you. You may receive an AppleCare survey email; any feedback you provide would be greatly  appreciated.

Customer First Name : Aaron
Customer Last Name : Burcell
email : xxxxx (edited for post)
Web Order # :
Support Subject : Mac App Store Account and Billing
Sub Issue : undefined
Comments : See additional info below
OS version: Mac OS X 10.6.6
Country: US
Apple ID: edited for posting
Specific request: This app didn't function as expected
Item title: Keynote
Details: I have a brand new macbook pro and I downloaded the app store app and signed into the store with my existing apple ID, which I use for iTunes and my other, older Macbook Pro.  I'm trying to buy a lot of sotware for this new mac, without going to a physical store.  But, when I go to buy, I get through the buy flow, confirm the purchase intent and then I don't get anything -- no DL dialogue, and my account status shows that I have zero purchased software.

Seriously, this is really pissing me off.  Getting to an Apple store is a real pain-in-the-ass because your physical stores are located where there is absolutely no parking (Downtown Palo Alto, Union Square SF?!) or the store is a renovated closet with asinine store hours for people that want to work  (Stanford shopping mall, open at 10am?!).  The options for me right now is order online and wait 24 hours for an empty box or submit this ticket and wait 24 hours.  Awesome.

TrackID: 13512158

Grin: I joined Grockit!

I recently joined Grockit as the VP of Marketing.  It all happened really fast, so I thought I'd post a short (relatively short) explanation. 

When I left Gazillion last Spring, I knew I wanted to return to the intersection of games and education.  I just didn't think an opportunity would come to me so quickly after my SmartyCard experience.

SmartyCard was an awesome experience.  The solution was elegant, the people were very talented.  And, even if the company was short-lived, SmartyCard alumni have gone on to do wonderful things at Xbox, Kabam, Google and A Bit Lucky.  All of that noted, I think all SmartyCard alumnus miss going to bed at night knowing that they were working on learning games -- even if we were *only* focused on supplemental education. 

To that last point, when I was approached by Roy Gilbert and Farb Nivi to join the team at Grockit, I pounced.  I'd been following Grockit.  But, I had no idea what kind of ambition, vision and company culture existed at Grockit until I met the team in late January.  The team here is genuinely brilliant.  The company culture is a unique combination of high-velocity, lean-practices and grown-up interpersonal communications. It helps that the executives are so accomplished, and the venture investors are outstanding.  These people are stewards of an awesome service and an awesome company culture.  And, there is so much more here: There's a genuine determination to change and improve how people learn and teach. 

And, it's that revolutionary attitude that gets me up every morning.  That's why I've always worked at startups.  Not for the $ or the drama.  I love big ideas.  Grockit is a big idea.  I'm honored to join this team. 

Now, I have to get back to work:)

 

Grin: First Round Capital, funny guys, great holiday e-card

This just landed in my inbox this morning.  I really like the guys at First Round Capital.  They've never given me money, but I really like these guys. Just watch the first 3 minutes if you're short on time, totally worth it.  

 

 

Another game launched yesterday

The team at Outspark pushed out another game --Divine Souls -- our second game this fall.  The PR has been great, and the user uptake is outstanding so far.  In the midst of the sprint, I took a few minutes to do an interview with an overseas games industry veteran.  Check it out. 

Grins: Vaportrail and the film "Race to Nowhere"

Two new things that are making me smile today: Vaportrail and the film "Race to Nowhere".  The film's trailer is below, and for those that followed me at SmartyCard, I have to say this is a really critical issue I see developing early on in the Los Altos School District here in Northern California. 

Now, about VaporTrail. These are my friends and former colleagues at Utterli/RPM Communications, based back in Boston.  VaporTrail is a really interesting idea, and they have a big new national customer to be announced in the near future.  I like these guys a lot, very smart, very forward-thinking about real world solutions for business managers on the move.  Keep tabs on these guys.

 

 

Working at Outspark

I'm so tired. I'm tired like when I had small children waking me up every hour.  Someone asked me over IM to compare Outspark to other startups.  I had no way to express the delta.  Until I saw the video below. 

So, what's my day like?  It's sorta like this amazing play below... I have a solid team with great talent, but what's really impressive is the way they think in mid-air, bat things around and move the ball on instinct.  And, btw, they're all still here in my office working on the launches of Fists of Fu and Divine Souls. 

 

 

Grin: YouTube movie trailer

As far as parody goes, this is good.

Grin: I joined Outspark

In May, I joined Outspark.  This news explains why this blog has been relatively quiet and I nearly disappeared from industry social functions.  Joining a startup requires a huge time investment, but Outspark has lived up to the hard-driving, hard-working reputation that stood out even amongst startups.

Who is Outspark?  Historically, Outspark has been that quiet company that periodically pops up with a big game partnership or stuns a conference audience with specifics of game economics and audience behavioral details.  More specifically, Outspark is the premium free-to-play games company founded in 2008 that has done three consecutive up-rounds in some of the hardest venture raise times, ever.  Recently, Outspark's game identity has shifted from early hits Fiesta and Secret of Solstice to the up-coming games Divine Souls and Fists of Fu that provoke "gamer pubs" editors to declare "Free to play has grown up!"

Before I explain how and why I joined the team at Outspark, I just want to finish my chapters on SmartyCard. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Gazillion working on SmartyCard. I joined the team to reunite with Rob Hutter, founder of Gazillion. I really connected with the SmartyCard team, and I have so many new friends from the entire experience.  But, even as SmartyCard was a critical success and favored by millions of families, SmartyCard's destiny is to be added to a tween-focused media company or a traditional educational publisher's portfolio.  I can't really say much more about that, but I am very sure that Rob Hutter will continue to pursue and invest in learning and earning as a motivational factor in tween-focused games and media.

So, why did I join Outspark? The short answer is the Outspark team.  Initially, I was attracted to the success of Outspark's micro-transaction-fueled business. Secondarily, when I saw the games Outspark is unveiling now - Divine Souls and Fists of Fu - I started to see and believe that Outspark had smartly built on initial successes, and took the time and effort to find high-quality games with the potential to be real hits.

But again, the real clincher for me was the team. The entire Outspark team is impressive, including the other recent arrivals like Steve Sims, a veteran of EA and Nvidia and Deepak Gupta, a veteran of Technology Crossover Ventures (invested in Netflix).  I made a personal connection with Outspark founder Susan Choe.  I see in Susan the same qualities that I first saw in Raymie Stata (CTO of Yahoo), Michael Cerda (founder of Threadbox, now of MySpace) and Steve Perlman (founder of Moxi, WebTV and OnLive).  Founders are obsessive, effusive and committed to their businesses and anyone that really believes in the vision.  These qualities are attractive to me.

So, how has it been?  So far, so good.  Applying my web marketing bag-o-tricks to Outspark has helped create some additional lift in traffic, new users and registrations.  And, I'm really digging the late night hours and bringing together a new marketing team. But, the best is yet to come.  The U-ex designers and engineers at Outspark are working with me to reshape the web user-experience and reinvigorate the large, thriving game communities totaling ~6.5M players. And, the PMs and GMs in Steve's group are helping define some really compelling promotions, social apps and games that will give people even more reasons to play.

So, what's ahead? MMO RPG's are the original social games.  People play and connect in MMOs -- not like the asynchronous messaging and sharing mechanics found in SNS games.  I want to help players connect, play and create, because at Outspark, people come for the games, but they stay for the community.  The future of successful games companies will evolve from efforts to enable organic game communities and encourage player creations that shape and promote games.  Stay tuned to Outspark.  We're doing something special.