The book Society 3.0 written by Ronald van den Hoff, grabbed me. The book matched my thinking about our society, it intrigued me from the first page to the last one. The co-working organization Seats2meet, founded by Mariëlle Sijgers and Ronald van den Hoff, brings the theory of society 3.0 to life!

You have to read the book and experience the atmosphere at Seats2meet to fully understand what it’s all about. I did and it just makes me happy to witness that it works. People with passion are co-creating beautiful things, generating new business in a warm, friendly environment. The funny thing is, this great co-working space is offered for free!! Well not completely free, visitors have to pay with social capital. I haven’t heard of it before I visit a Seats2meet location and the experience turned me into a believer. Might even be a part of the solution for the financial crisis we momentarily undergo. Social capital can be seen as a favor you give others for free! Most of the time it’s sharing knowledge, matching people is something that often occurs as well.

A community that uses social capital is flexible and can start a business faster, with less investment. At Seats2meet the community consist of educated, smart, and/or passionate people. I see a wonderful mix of talent. On a daily basis new business is generated by independent professionals that often help traditional companies make progress in this new enfolding era and making a living out of it.

Not long ago I sat at the table with the founders of Seats2meet, talking about my passion: Gamification. “Well”, they said, “put on paper what you would like to do and maybe we can start a pilot together.” Now a couple of weeks later I feel like a kid in a candy shop, because they gave me a sort of open assignment to improve ICT based on Gamification principles. I can’t think of an organization that is better suited for applying Gamification.

We are just starting. Together with their innovative and motivated ICT team I will work on solutions that makes their community flourish even more. Using game elements to improve: conversions, insides about the community, sharing of knowledge, engagement and innovation is what comes to mind at this point. Knowing the organization this small list will expand and change in time. Surprising initiatives will rise an shine, that’s what I love about this project. It is impossible to tell in which direction it will evolve. All stakeholders are excited about it and they understand the importance of innovation, that’s all one could ask for. Can’t wait to see the first improvements go life. I will keep you informed when things progress.