Do it for the Lulz, the l33t, the epic win, the ZOMG! The smiley face :), the winking smiley face ;). Do it for the achievement points.
I've never been one for ribbons or medals, or statistics related to my performance like grades. In this world that probably makes me a minority.
When I play Xbox I could generally care less about what gamer achievement points I win for completing a level in a given time limit or sniping five guards with a pistol, or whatever small victories the game designers built into the program. I did experience a momentarily spasm of joy when I completed Halo 3 on Legendary, earning the skull over my two crossed machine guns but it quickly passed. The only reason I attempted it was because I thought beating the game on the hardest level would make me a better online player, but my kill/death ratio only changed slightly in my favour.
Every game now comes loaded with achievements, and there are people out there - lots of people with lots of time on their hands - who don't consider a game complete until they've earned every single achievement to be had. They will play games over and over (which I guess is a good thing in terms of value) just to get a 100 per cent completion rate and add a few digits to their gamer scores.
If you can relate, then you might be interested in a new iPhone app (just iPhone for now) that turns everyday life into a role playing game, and that gives you points and achievements for completing items on your To Do list.
Sounds corny? Maybe, but when was the last time you got any credit for going to the gym, getting your laundry cleaned, remembering to call your mom on her birthday?
Basically EpicWin (www.epicwinapp.com) lets you create tasks in a series of categories that will be familiar to gamers - Strength, Stamina, Intellect, Social and Spirit.
Every task, or "quest" on your To Do list will fall into one of these categories, and will be assigned a value in points. For example, reading a book might gain you intellect points, while visiting with your ailing grandmother or attending a friend's party will net you social points. Strength is for exercising, household chores will earn you stamina and personal goals will replenish your spirit.
As you accomplish tasks - and the app will bug you to get on with it -your character will level up and earn loot.
It's not perfect, by all accounts. Some comments in the iTunes app store suggest that you should be able to do things with your experience, like battle monsters. Others would like the program to sync with other calendars and To Do lists, or to dock points for accomplishing tasks late.
Given that this is the first iteration of EpicWin I would expect some of those things to happen in the future. However, if you're a born procrastinator - and many gamers are by nature - I would give this a try. Maybe all you're missing in life is a sense of accomplishment, however trivial it might seem. Most people won't understand it, but most people won't complete Halo 3 on Legendary either.
At $3 it could be the most valuable investment you've ever made.
Facebook Places is probably not for you
For some people social networking is all about being in the now, in which case they are probably pretty excited about Facebook Places. If you use Facebook on a GPS-enabled phone then Facebook can pinpoint your location and share that information with your friends - similar to the social networking experiment Foursquare that encourages random meetings and adventures, or Twitter posts where people tell others where they are at all times. Places can also give people a general idea where you are from your IP information, so if you visit an Internet café around the world your friends will know where you're posting from.
But not everybody wants to share that kind of information. For example, a "friend" can look at your status to see you're in Vancouver instead of Whistler, and then tell someone else who might - and this has happened - rob your home. Your boss could check up on your location at any time (golf course instead of sales meeting), your significant other or a stalker could snoop out your location when you'd rather keep that location private.
The fact is, most of the time there's no reason to advertise where you are.
Typical with Facebook, Places is automatically installed whether you want it or not (although it's turned off by default). To keep it that way, log in to your Facebook account, click on the account menu and choose "Privacy Settings." Look for the "Customize" link, then "Things I share." At the bottom of the page there's a tab for "Places I check in" that you need to click on and then disable.
That's not all. Go to "Things Others Share" and look for "Friends can check me in to Places," which you should disable as well. Then go to the Applications and Settings tab, and "Info accessible through your friends." Select "Edit Settings" and disable "Places I've Visited."
