I do not consider myself a gamer. Then I realized I am an elite player in American’s AAdvantage program. I have never made a mileage run, but know plenty who have. Games are everywhere. One of the hottest areas of the online engagement economy is gamification, a strategy that meshes games and marketing. Games can be tailored to drive engagement, loyalty and virality. Zicherman and Linder’s Game-based marketing is a must-read on the topic.

The experiential nature of games allows users to sense, feel, think, relate and act. When combined with marketing, games drive a desired behavior. As Zicherman points out an engaging experience has to be authentic. It must align with the experience by it a conference, airline travel or McDonald’s. Games are fun and entertaining. They encourage engagement for users to participate and to contribute. Games are educational. They provide something to learn including levels, points and even virtual currency. Games provide an escape. Escapes are themes, stories or quests that take a user from point to point. Games should have an esthetic or loyalty component. A player must want to be there and willing to come back.

The experiential nature of gaming allows users to sense, feel, think, relate and act. If you are concerned with site loyalty, virality and engagement check out this book. It has ideas on campaign and continuous games that can be used to engage the community.

You can also read this book review on Amazon.com. Disclosure, the wife works at Amazon.com but does not read my blog.

Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson’s book Venture Financings: How to Look Smarter than Your Lawyer and VC is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. I am looking forward to it having taking a venture financing class as part of my MBA this year. The more you know about venture financing, the better you off you will be when your startup is ready. Plus the less hand holding your lawyer has to do, the better for everyone.

Entrepreneurship is… from Tyler Mayeno on Vimeo.

Great video featuring Richard Tait on dreams, passions and entrepreneurship. I have been lucky enough to meet Richard a few times. He is nothing short of inspirational. The video will not tell you that he is a huge soccer fan and a recreational player. You can figure out a little bit about what makes Richard tick by reading his favorite book, Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with Grace by Gordon MacKenzie. It is an unconventional book full of drawings and color. It just might make you ask, “Where have all the artists gone?” For me, the book is a useful guide to creativity and the creative processes in the real world. Check it out.

There is an old adage that is all too often followed, “Want more sales? Hire salespeople.”

Sales and who you hire to represent your company is critical. The success or failure of CRM, revenue generation and the company in general are dependent on how the organization learns from prospects and customers.

A terrific read on this by Veritas founder, Mark Leslie: The Sales Learning Curve

A Conversation On Cool and the impossible cool
Cool sites, great images. Worth checking out.

My brother Ryan is an excellent writer. He often gives books as gifts. I came across this article in the WSJ: A True Adventure at Sea and on Shore by Angus Phillips and was reminded of one of the great gifts he has given me over the years.

Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana, Jr. is an amazing true story. Dana was part of the well-heeled Bostonian political class. He was in this third year at Harvard when he contracted the measles. Recovery was slow and his eye sight poor, so he decided to go to sea as a sailor. This class jumping was unusual. He and his family could have easily afforded a passenger trip; however, he determined it would do him more good to work. He left on the brig, Pilgrim, in 1834 and returned in 1836. Crossing the Horn twice and traveling round to California before the Gold Rush and before it was part of the United States. It is a fascinating tale of men, new worlds and character. I will agree with Philips, it is not an easy read, but it will grip you.

Low, low price of $0.00 on the Kindle. Happy reading.

Great post from Garr Reynolds on courage and determination. Check Presentation Zen: Before success comes the courage to fail

Recently, I have been having similar conversations a lot. Brad Feld, my wife (who does not read my blog) and I were talking about marathon running. All three of us had an experience in long distance runs (Disclosure: I have never run a marathon, but have done a half) where you don’t really know where you are or what is going on. You are just running. It is a metaphor for business and life. Sometimes you need the courage and determination to see your goals through even if you do not know where they are going to take you. You know that there is a finish line, but you have no idea what it looks like or how you will feel when you get there. Sounds trite and rote. You have read it a thousand times. So have I. The funny thing is that I found my mind drifting to this monkey above on my last run and how many times I have “fallen from the tree.” Somehow, it never stops me. I get back up and keep on going.

I read Born to Run by Christopher McDougall last summer. This great book has had a dramatic impact on my life. Growing up I was never much of a runner. We, my siblings, swam, year round. Running was not my thing. It was only just over 2 years ago I really got into it. At first I could not even finish 3 miles. On one of the earliest runs, my wife pushing the stroller with my son smoked me. My wife is an amazing athlete so it was not a surprise but it did hurt to not be able to keep pace. The odd thing was I felt great physically after the run. I kept doing it and within 4 months I finished a half-marathon. I have not stopped since.

A few things did change. I found that minimalist running shoes worked really well. I ran my New Balance MT100s into the ground just as I was reading Born to Run. I am running in the updated MT101′s now. They are great. The book convinced me that I did not need my orthotics. I ditched them and have not looked back. What is even better, the lingering knee pain in my left knee is gone and the callused skin on my feet is incredibly improved. Yesterday, I ran for 90 minutes on road, trail, beach and stairs totaling approximately just over 10 miles. My legs feel great today. Check out this TED talk and then read the book. Amazing stuff. Your body will thank you.

Spend the 7 minutes to check out this awesome video by Steve Blank.

Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed: Steve Blank

Lots of actual books read this year. Here are the top 5 I read in terms of personal impact:

4 Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss
Enjoyable and eye-opening read. Worth checking it out. Digging into his new book The 4-Hour Body.

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
A different historical and enlightening read. I was amazed at how interconnected many of the great men of science have been throughout history.

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
An addictive read. Made me ditch my orthotics.

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Another great book with useful strategies by the Heath brothers.

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Re-read for the first time since high school and it has proven to be have biggest impact on me in 2010. A classic worth revisiting in the upcoming year.