Is Productive Entertainment really an oxymoron?

Within the last couple of weeks, I came across a very intriguing article describing an event that immediately brought my attention to some of the concepts discussed in our classes.  This article (link: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20108763-10391704.html) describes the molecular structure of a protein vital to scientists research of HIV/AIDs.  This structure baffled scientists for over a decade until online non scientist gamers developed an accurate model of the protein’s molecule………….. in less than three weeks!!  Given the extremely complicated nature of protein modeling, a company called Foldit developed an online game to tap the brain power of thousands of online participants. 

Although “crowd-sourcing” has been in existence for a while, this is by far one of the largest such contributions by any such group that will hopefully prove vital to HIV/AIDS research.  I was baffled by this article and soon began to ponder the true potential of a person’s brain and how companies can better unlock such potential through entertainment mediums.  As I look back on a long career of video gaming which included such prestigious accomplishments as defeating Hitler and a fictional cast of Nazi specialists and fulfilling my dream as a professional football player, I (along with millions of other gamers), have thorough enjoyed a few hours of mindless pleasure, however, could I have put those hours and willingness to accept a virtual challenge to good use instead?  Referring to the mp3 of “Switch,” and its example of the elephant and the rider, our modern society craves hours of mental idleness and mindless entertainment (the elephant).  However, if organizations can effectively harness the momentum and ability of those being entertained and steer them onto the road of productivity, the sky is the limit! (Sorry for the cliché). 

Maybe now, after so many modern consumers have continually gorged themselves on the mind-numbing benefits of decades of advances in technology and entertainment, both organizations and customers are beginning to realize that entertainment and productivity do not have to be mutually exclusive.  Could such productivity gains be intertwined into other popular entertainment mediums such as television or web browsing?  Organizations successful in such endeavors instantly instill an emotional connection with its customer base who gain an addictive sense of accomplishment as well as a continuous platform for positive PR and cause marketing campaigns.  Just for our own pondering, the average American watches about 153 hours of television every month at home.  What if organization’s were able to harness a portion of those 46,050,982,500 hours a month for their own interests while providing meaningful entertainment?  A difficult balance, but a powerful concept. 

-Brandon Belk