It’s been an extended two years since I’ve written my final replace. Things have been fairly loopy.

At first I believed nobody would have observed as who cares a few random individual’s yearly replace, however I began getting repeated messages from distant pals on how they haven’t obtained my replace emails for a very long time and requested if they’ve been faraway from the checklist someway.

I suppose folks do discover once I slack off on stuff like this.

The previous two years have been fairly wild (it’s lengthy however hey – two years of updates!).

Here’s the tl;dr

1. I moved my whole household again to Taiwan March of 2020
2. Twin daughters Symphony & Harmony Chou are nearly 4
3. Consulting Company (Octalysis Group) and Education Platform (Octalysis Prime) rising and doing properly.
4. I used to be lucky sufficient to additionally educate my Octalysis Framework to Yale & Oxford University. Google Scholar reveals over 1500 tutorial journals and PhD thesis
5. My guide has bought greater than 100,000 copies
6. I spent a while as Head of Creative Labs and Head of Digital Labs at HTC, contributing to the way forward for AR/VR and the Metaverse
7. I began my very own NFT undertaking referred to as Metablox with my 16 12 months work companion Jun Loayza who’s from Google/Youtube. Was self-funding however just lately a pal satisfied us to take his $100K funding so thought would possibly as properly open a spherical of investments.

1. My transfer to Taiwan

March of 2020, my whole household of 5 moved from California again to Taiwan on account of COVID-19. It was a surreal expertise…we heard that San Francisco can be on lockdown that very midnight. The very first thing we did that morning was to purchase an additional freezer and stash all of the fridge and freezers with additional meals in an effort to bunker down.

Then within the early afternoon, we questioned, “why not just fly back to Taiwan?” So we discovered a a method ticket for the 5 of us that flew out that very same night. We had two hours to pack for an indefinite journey to Asia and not using a place to remain but. It was like operating away from militant invaders – we simply grabbed all we might to outlive the journey and didn’t even have room to seize some valuable heirlooms we left in California. 

I used to be fairly impressed with my household, as a result of beforehand even for a three-week journey to Taiwan, they required a complete month to pack. This time the whole lot was finished in two hours and earlier than we knew it, we had been on a aircraft.

Taiwan has been nice. It has remained COVID-free for more often than not and barely did any lockdowns. It gave me a variety of freedom and since all my work was finished on-line pre-COVID anyway, it didn’t have an effect on me that a lot.

Just the hours had been exhausting. I had conferences with Asia shoppers beginning at 9AM, and I might even have conferences with shoppers within the US beginning at 3AM. I’ve now realized to understand the worth of sleep an increasing number of (possibly as a result of I’m getting previous too into my mid 30s haha…)

For those that ask, I feel I’ll keep right here in Taiwan for the subsequent few years as I actually take pleasure in it right here. Later on, I feel it is likely to be higher that I convey my daughters again to the States for his or her schooling – who is aware of what the world will appear to be at that time.

2. Twin Daughters turning into 4

My twin daughters Symphony and Harmony are turning 4 years previous (on Dec 31). Even although they had been solely born 20 seconds aside, it’s unimaginable how their personalities had been so completely different ever for the reason that first 10 minutes within the hospital.

Symphony is fast on her toes and requires a variety of emotional consideration. She is an avid communicator and has a excessive sense of justice in her.

Harmony form of lives in her personal world and likes to daydream quite a bit. She doesn’t want an excessive amount of affection and would usually push us away to do different issues if we hug her for greater than 3-4 seconds. She cares about being fairly A LOT, and infrequently will let you know the alternative of what she needs however nonetheless hope you work it out and provides it to her anyway.

I’m undoubtedly utilizing my gamification information on parenting them, and I’ve taught them many ideas similar to Choice and Consequences (they’ve a way of company), doing helpful issues (talk) as a substitute of ineffective issues (crying), being sacrificial to others which is aligned with our non secular beliefs, consuming healthily (they now often use sentences like, “That’s a donut! Which is unhealthy, so I will only eat one occasionally!”), expectation administration (you don’t get the whole lot you need), amongst many different ideas.

I hope I’m nurturing correct people that might have a web optimistic sooner or later world.

Pro Tip to folks: most individuals know counting to three has immense energy to get youngsters to do issues (due to the emotional pressure that will get constructed up over these few seconds), however I’ve realized that counting down from 10 earlier than they cease one thing comparatively addictive may be very useful.

If you simply shut down the iPad earlier than they comply with it, my twins would throw a tantrum for presumably the subsequent hour, crying and screaming on account of this sudden reduce off of dopamine. But if I inform them, “Alright, I’ll give you 10 more seconds. 10, 9 ,8 ,7….” by the point I depend to 2 they’re all mentally ready so once I flip it off they only get up and go to mattress.

It may not work for each little one, however why don’t you attempt it out  someday? (in case you have younger youngsters)

Overall we’re fairly completely satisfied as a household.

3. Consulting and Education Platform doing properly

My consulting/design firm The Octalysis Group has been doing properly and rising. We have been serving to quite a lot of tasks in conventional industries (manufacturing, retail) to Metaverse corporations, to tasks like Microsoft Edge.

My gamified Education Platform Octalysis Prime has additionally been rising too. It’s been my ardour undertaking with over 900 movies of my newest analysis and design methodologies. We have a DAU/MAU (Daily Active User over Monthly Active User) of 38%, and seven out of 8 consultants/designers employed by The Octalysis Group got here out of OP. It actually is the most effective stuff I might provide and individuals who be taught it find yourself wielding the powers of the Octalysis Framework.

Here is.a podcast interview Professor Game did with me that explains extra about what’s Octalysis Prime.

I can’t anticipate Symphony and Harmony to start out digging into all my life’s information through Octalysis Prime.

4. Octalysis Framework in instructional establishments

Previously I’ve taught my Octalysis Framework at locations like Stanford, Google, Uber, LEGO, TESLA and so on. The previous two years I used to be very lucky to additionally get invited to show my framework at Yale University and Oxford University. These are respectable colleges my mind wouldn’t have the ability to get into as a scholar. But as I’m very blessed to find the Octalysis Framework, I had the chance to share it at these locations.

When I revealed the Octalysis Framework in 2012, I simply needed software to resolve issues. I didn’t have any ambitions inside academia. But this 12 months I additionally did a search on Google Scholar and noticed that there are over 1600 Ph.D. thesis and/or tutorial publications creating by-product work of the Octalysis Framework.

I really feel extraordinarily blessed that my creation has been acknowledged and appreciated not solely amongst the enterprise world but additionally the tutorial world.

5. Book promoting over 100K Copies

My guide Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards has bought over 100K copies, which is kind of good for a “niche” matter guide. Some people within the Blockchain/NFT/Web3 world has even referred to as it a should learn.

What’s fairly thrilling is that in Q1 2022 I’m scheduled to satisfy with the President of a rustic that’s recognized for its software program improvement prowess. No particulars but however I’m instructed they’re concerned about making my guide required studying for all faculty college students within the nation. That can be depraved cool if my work truly makes that large of an impression.

6. Head of Creative Labs & Digital Commerce for HTC

While I used to be in Taiwan, by way of a church connection, I used to be linked to Cher Wang the Founder and CEO of HTC. It seems that she has additionally learn my guide, so for a time being I turned the Head of Creative Labs in addition to Head of Digital Commerce for HTC, serving to their VIVE model push the boundaries of VR and AR on the planet and put together for the upcoming Metaverse (or Viverse).

After some time and serving to launch some breathtaking VR Headsets such because the VIVE Focus 3 and VIVE Flow, I nonetheless needed to work on another tasks I had in thoughts similar to Metablox, so I transitioned my function to serving to their Social Media as an evangelist.

7. My model new undertaking: Metablox NFT

After seeing the entire NFT motion (in addition to advisory tasks) and the way it might tie into the upcoming Metaverse, I began analyzing what would make an NFT have lasting worth (trace: Scarcity, Meaning, and Community).

The Metaverse is especially attention-grabbing to me as a result of it’s a singular mix of all my previous experiences: gamification (since 2003), digital worlds (since 2007), AR/VR (HTC VIVE), Blockchain/Crypto (labored with Ethereum Cofounder Anthony Di Iorio), and NFTs.

I needed to take my previous expertise and see if I might create distinctive worth and foundational pillars of the upcoming (and I imagine inevitable) Metaverse.

Because of that, I began my very own NFT undertaking referred to as Metablox with my 16 12 months work companion Jun Loayza who’s from Google/Youtube. Jun and I met at UCLA, and for 16 years we’ve got labored on quite a lot of corporations collectively, with some modest successes and a few memorable failures.

Metablox NFTs are mainly actual world locations powered by actual life reminiscences. You personal actual life addresses (we’re beginning with San Francisco), and degree it up by importing significant reminiscences linked to it (so it might generate increased MetaRent).

The mission is to protect probably the most sacred reminiscences of a neighborhood, and I imagine the longer the undertaking lasts, the extra useful these NFTs can be as they’re infused with generations of significant reminiscences.

It’s scaling the idea of landmarks and historic websites as I imagine each location might turn out to be a historic website if folks knew in regards to the superb issues that occurred there.

Legendary Macro Analyst/Investor (former Goldman) and Crypto believer Raoul Pal additionally interviewed me about my Metablox undertaking.

If you might be inquisitive about what I’m as much as or simply need to assist our efforts, you’ll be able to test us out at our Metablox Discord Channel (no obligation to get any NFTs)

Earlier, Jun and I had been on the course of financing the entire undertaking ourselves since fundraising may be very time consuming and distracting (we’re lucky sufficient to have such capital ourselves).

However, a contact of Jun’s. satisfied us to take his $100K as funding, so we thought it will solely be honest that we open a spherical to anybody in our community who is likely to be .
I’m not going to make use of any hype language for this, moreover saying that Jun and I wholeheartedly imagine on this undertaking to ensure that us to throw our lives (and financial savings) into it.

Naturally, IF this turns into a giant success, the early individuals would reap probably the most rewards. But after all it might additionally fail and turn out to be zero, like several new modern endeavor.

Let me know when you is likely to be . Our Whitepaper will be discovered right here.

Alright, that’s all! My two years price of noteworthy updates.

Would like to additionally hear what you might be as much as because it’s been exhausting to maintain observe of pals, particularly when my time spent on FB have decreased fairly a bit.

Hope all is properly and God Bless!
Yu-kai Chou

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