Fun, fun, fun
By Linda King, G2G3
Must.. blog... more... often... that's my (slightly late) New Year's resolution. Yes, have still been neglecting the blog in favour of Twitter, guilty as charged. Twitter's been great though, it's offered an immediate communication channel with partners, customers and everyone in the industry interested in our offerings. Follow us on Twitter by clicking here.
The last few months have been very busy in the land of G2G3... new simulation variants based around new industry scenarios, new clients, new technologies, new products and new people. Lots of our news is on our 'News' page, so check it out just in case you have missed any!
We're having a lot of fun in the office at the moment working on an image refresh for our website and marketing products. As a company who promotes fun in learning and also has fun as one of our company 'core values', we have decided to try and ensure that this is reflected in everything we do... so we're looking forward to revealing a new look very soon that I hope you will all love. Keep your eyes peeled for the updates!
itSMF Fusion in Dallas
By Linda King, G2G3
G2G3 are heading out to Dallas this weekend to the itSMF Fusion event being held from September 20-23 at the Gaylord Resort! We're exhibiting at booth number #2114, so if you're coming to the event, please come along and say hi!
It's been an exciting year for us with being selected as a Gartner 'Cool Vendor', also with the launch of our first virtual simulation for IBM and our new Business Continuity and ITSM health simulations. We'll be showcasing all these simulations, as well as our renowned ITSM and Project Portfolio Management simulations on the booth.
Henry Strouts will also be delivering a simulation to the pre-conference academic summit on 19 September.
Hopefully see you all there!
Wow, how time flies...
By Linda King, G2G3
I can't quite believe how long it has been since the last time we've blogged on this page. To be quite honest, the blog has been rather neglected in favour of Twitter.... We've been rather enjoying the immediacy and interaction that Twitter offers, and have found there to be a lively community around ITSM and serious gaming in Tweetville. You can follow our Twitter feed here.
Anyway, the guilt around neglecting the blog has caught up with me, so I thought I'd write a quick update. It's been a busy summer here at G2G3... we've been working hard on 2 new simulations for a very large IT vendor client of ours, more details of which will be revealed in the near future. We've also launched a new 'ready-to-go' ITSM simulation in the form of Polestar Health - this new simulation is based in an exciting healthcare scenario and offers an low-cost and time-effective alternative to traditional ITSM or ITIL Foundation Training for Healthcare organizations. The full press release can be read here.
We're also getting ready for the Autumn event season... the team will be heading out to the itSMF USA Fusion event in Dallas at the end of September. We'll be showcasing our face-to-face and virtual simulations on the stand. We'll also be running a simulation at the pre-conference academic summit. If you're at the event, please come by booth 2114 to say hi!
Lots of other things happening as well... I look forward to giving you some exciting updates over the next few months!
Interaction action through social gaming
By Linda King, G2G3
Today I was invited onto Spymaster - a social game based around Twitter. Each player becomes a master of a spy ring based upon their Twitter followers list. The more people that follow you and are playing characters in Spymaster, the more powerful you will be. We've had a bit of fun in the office this morning attempting to assassinate the G2G3 MD!! (with some success I'd like to add!)
Social gaming is an interesting concept - and it's potentially something that can be leveraged within business. The more powerful Twitter becomes as a business tool, the more likely it will be to be leveraged in situations such as these. For example, is it possible to create an ITSM social game? A game which crosses boundaries of organizations, this could be something quite powerful. However, I'm sure this would also have its challenges.
At G2G3 we're exploring all these options and trying to push the boundaries of learning. The future of our interactions is changing and we need to move with the times. And if we get to assassinate the MD along the way, then that just adds to the fun of our research!
Update and G2G3 Connect
By Linda King, G2G3
Things have been very busy here at G2G3 over the last few weeks!
We were exhibiting at the Service Desk Show in London the week before last, and also ran a successful simulation session whilst there for itSMF. I've attached a photo (below) of G2G3's Henry Strouts on our (very small) stand at the show itself. Had some great feedback at the event, with a lot of stand visitors finding our offerings innovative and different in comparison to the many tool vendors who tend to dominate that show. It was also good to catch up with many of the faces in the industry, old and new.
We've also recently launched an exciting new initiative called G2G3 Connect - this is a referral program that will reward anyone at all for connecting us with companies that could benefit from our solutions. We get a significant amount of our business through positive word of mouth - and we've simply put some formality around that to ensure that anyone who does recommend us gets well rewarded for our efforts. For more information about G2G3 Connect, please see our web site.
G2G3 at Service Desk Show, London
By Linda King, G2G3
Only a week to go now until the Service Desk and IT Support show next week at Earls Court! For the first time, G2G3 will have a stand there - we're be there at stand 716, so please come by to say hi and check out some of of our latest innovations - including Phoenix, our Business Continuity simulation and the IBM Virtual Service Management simulation.
We're also going to be running the simulation session for itSMF on day 2 (29th) - come along and take part in this accelerated simulation taster session, being facilitated by our Head of Business Development, Henry Strouts at 12.45. If you've ever wondered if ITIL simulation could provide benefit to you and your organization, then this will be the ideal session for you.
Also, don't miss our on-stand competition - enter to win an iPhone!
Look forward to seeing you there!!
Windows - Life Without Walls. Er… whats holding the roof up?
By Derek Watson, Creative Director, G2G3
The recent Microsoft 'Life Without Walls' campaign seems a bit odd to me..... I am not sure if I would like to remove the walls in our house, we like some privacy! Does this new marketing slogan instead reflect how open PCs are to hackers, viruses and spyware? If I am not mistaken, does a window not hold you back as much as a wall? I can’t throw a photobook through any of our windows without opening it and we have doors in our walls which allow me to do the same thing. And no walls, means no 'Windows', doesn't it?
Also, whilst watching the latest of Microsoft’s ‘You find it, we’ll buy it’ ad campaign, which has actors pretending to spend Microsoft’s money on a PC which isn’t a ‘pretty but expensive’ Mac, a few thoughts occurred (I can hear the groans).
If Microsoft were to say to me, ‘here is $1500, buy a computer, I am pretty sure I would spend as close to $1500 as I could (and probably still get the MacBook we have at home or the iMac.) I certainly wouldn't but the cheapest I could find at the predefined spec.
Apple have always projected the image of quality, ease of use and a sense of rebellion against the world of the standard PC, to those who like to ‘think different’, to whom price is secondary. Microsoft’s ‘Apple Tax’ is an odd sales pitch as it is saying ‘you know you really want a Mac but are too poor’… you would like an Aston Martin but get a Mazda (no offence to Mazda, they are excellent cars as I am driving our second Mazda 6 these days, but the Aston showroom is next door to the local Mazda dealer and I am pinning my hopes on Ernie the Premium Bond Computer! Is he a PC? There goes my DB9 then!)
The PC industry is obsessed with Netbooks at the moment but these are derided in the ads also, seen as too small as the shoppers go for big screens (which seem to be the same, if not lower resolution, as the the stunning ‘small’ MacBook LED screens).
The ads seems to back up Apple’s Macs are better than PCs campaign, but PCs are cheaper (unless you match the specifications), and that Macs are aspirational.
Sorry, blog-rant over, back to designing our new simulation...
