I picked this up via a tweet from David Jakes yesterday — a post on Hugh MacLeod’s blog that, from the perspective of someone who works for a company that develops technology for classrooms, really resonated with me.

Kathy Sierra‘s mostly talking about marketing and PR and online brand-building here, but she could just as easily be talking about education. Sometimes I think we need to stop fussing over the latest gadgets and apps and “pixie dust” and, as Kathy says, ”just make people better at something they want to be better at.” Like reading, for instance…

Read these last two paragraphs pasted below (or better yet, click through and read the whole thing) and let me know what you think.

Be the one people talk about NOT because of your latest gamification and WOM campaign, but because it is obvious to your users and those they influence that your brand, product, book has made them better at something. Something they care about. Don’t be the slot machine of your industry. Give people an experience that leaves them feeling a little better about their own capabilities, not better about the faux-status awards they know, in their heart, are not examples of anything more awesome than a marketer’s attempt to use them. Just make people better at something they want to be better at.

When your goals and your user’s goals are truly aligned, you don’t need pixie dust. Don’t out-spend, don’t out-friend, and please don’t out-badge. There is a world of difference between helping someone *appear* more awesome and helping them actually BE more awesome.

(Photo by stevendepolo)