Asking for Advice (and help): How Do We Get People to Know about Us?

Usually when I am writing this blog I am giving advice - and, believe me, I am just brimming with advice. However, today, I'm asking for it - advice, that is.

We started 7 Generation Games a few years ago with very little money - a Small Business Innovation Research grant, a Kickstarter campaign. As with any prototype, our first game was buggy and rough. Over the last couple of years, we have made MAJOR improvements as we had the time, and money.

For example, Fish Lake


We've had a couple of people stream our games on Twitch.

We have a website.

 Between our personal accounts and the company account we have over 20,000 twitter followers and over 30,000 instagram followers.

We just filmed (recorded) whatever the word is - a reality TV show pilot and while waiting for it to be edited we create a youtube channel of the raw footage.

 We have had people tell us if we only had games that ran on Chromebooks
So, we have Forgotten Trail and Making Camp - and Making Camp is even free !

 We have people tell us if we only had data to document math scores improved. So, we provided multiple studies.

If you only had games that could run on an iPad or Android devices  -- so we brought you the mobile versions of Making Camp.

Part of the problem is rising above the noise. There are millions of apps to download, literally. There are tens of thousands of really bad educational games.

Please don't try to sell me any magic SEO tricks. I get enough offers for those in my spam folder and I suspect if those tricks worked so well they wouldn't need to be sending me spam.

I've also had offers from people to do marketing consulting for me for $80- $100,000 a year.

The main thing that has worked for selling our games, or even getting people to try them, has been, and you will laugh when you read this - just asking random people on the Internet. 

Yes, it's true.

 What is related to our sales or free downloads going up is just putting up blog posts or Facebook posts and asking people like you to try out our games. Tomorrow is International Women's Day and I am trying to get 1,000 downloads just because I think that is a nice round number and it would show support for a business co-founded by two women in an industry that is very often not women-friendly. (Just read the tech news if you don't believe me.)

So, I'm asking three things.

First, please head over here and download a game. Buy one, download a free one or play Making Camp online. Check us out. If you like us, give us a nice review on Google Play or iTunes.

Second, subscribe to our youtube channel. We're interested in your comments on that, too.

Third, any suggestions that you have for getting the word out on our games, I'm truly interested, just as long as they don't involve porn or SEO.
------ NOTE ----

Over on Facebook, two people suggested we should sell t-shirts. Not letting any grass grow under my feet, here you go:

I was serious as a heart attack when I said I wanted your suggestions.

By popular demand - many fans of 7 Generation Games' Native American story lines, success in raising student math scores and merging math and history have wanted to support our work but they don't have children at home or work in schools. We've received requests for our staff t-shirts from people who might be great staff members but they live a thousand miles away. Here is your chance! Get the most popular shirt in the 7 Generation Games office, as rocked by Luis and AnnMaria and our youtube channel and soon to be reality TV show.

You can now buy the shirts here.
 

For Fuck's Sake, Quit Letting Fear Control Your Life

An interviewer asked me,

 "When was the last time you were afraid?"

I answered him honestly,

"I don't think I have been afraid for a very, very long time. Not since I was a child, because I figured out early on, that is how people control you."

I remember precisely. I was 8.

Yeah, pretty crazy, but a lot of stuff in my life that seemed normal at the time is kind of insane when I look back on it. That's another story, though.

When I was in juvenile hall, this belief was even more confirmed. They find out what you are afraid of - being locked in solitary, handcuffed - whatever it is - and then they threaten you with that.

It's not that stuff didn't hurt. I was a 14-year-old girl with my hands handcuffed behind my back having a full grown man who was a guard punch me in the face. Yeah, it hurt. That's why I don't talk about this stuff very much, because it totally sucked. It's why I don't write my autobiography - because who wants to relive that shit?

I'm talking about it today, though, because I see too many people living lives that are dominated by fear, even if they won't admit it to themselves.

• I'm afraid we won't get along if we work together.
• I'm afraid of what people will say if I quit my job.
• I'm afraid no one will love me if I break up with my boyfriend/girlfriend .
• I'm afraid I'll lose everything if I start a business.
• I'm afraid immigrants will take my jobs if we let them in the country.
• I'm afraid Muslims will kill me if we let them in the country.
• I'm afraid my mother won't love me if I say honestly what I think.
• I'm afraid my children won't respect me if I admit I made mistakes.
• I'm afraid if I leave this group of friends I'll never find real friends again.

I could go on and on and on.

When did we become such cowards?

If I was afraid of something, I would do it and then I wouldn't be afraid any more. The worst thing that you think will happen probably won't and even if it does, you'll survive it and be stronger.

God, just stop!  If I could do it when I was 8, you can sure the fuck do it now at however old you are.

Judo stunt workout

Friday it was pouring rain in Los Angeles. Not many kids came to practice and I can't blame them. Some of our kids ride their bikes or skateboard to get to practice and we got several inches of rain. They would have arrived cold and soaked to the skin. Other kids are dropped off by their parents or take the bus but, possibly because some trees had downed power lines, many stop lights were out causing major traffic jams. Practice was over at 5 PM and I didn't get home until 8 PM. Now, I did stop over at another school and meet with someone for half an hour, but still it was pretty crazy because I only live 17 miles from the school.

So, it seemed like a perfect day to do some new fun drills.

It may not be obvious what we are doing from this video.

Did you ever think about the fact that o soto makikomi  is a perfect throw if you are fighting more than one person? I've noticed when working with people who do stunts in the movies that this is one of the throws they like because as you are going to grab the person's head you can throw punch and hit someone behind you or to the side. Thus, it's a great throw for one of those fight scenes in the movies when you are attacked by multiple villains.

As you can see, the person doing the throwing gets practice doing a good judo throw and the focus on punching someone to the side gets them to get that arm around the head which students often seem to not get far enough. The further around the head you can get, the tighter the throw is going to be.

At the same time, that the person is working on their throw,   the one being  "punched"  is working on his or her falls. Now, falling probably isn't the most fun skill to work on as a general rule, this activity makes it fun. Also, I know that the ability to fall without hurting yourself is really useful to people doing stunt work.

So, there you have it, a fun drill for a rainy day, that teaches good form for throwing and falling.


 When I'm not teaching judo, I make awesome video games that teach math and history and are fun to play. You should check them out. Some of them are even free. Whether you have a Mac, Windows, iPad or android, we've got you covered.

Manny Gamburyan Gives Private Clinic for Gompers Judo

I've seen Manny Gamburyan coach kids many times and I know what a rapport he has with kids like our Gompers Judo team - that is, they are attentive, respectful and interested in learning judo. When I heard he was available for private lessons and clinics, I contacted him the same day.

I often hear judo coaches complain about the difficulty of retaining teenagers in the sport but I don't always see them making an effort to understand what might be of interest to that age group. Manny is someone they have seen on TV and he is a lot closer to their age than I am! He has shown how judo can apply outside of tournaments in his ten-year career in the UFC.

It was a GREAT clinic. He started by asking students what they wanted to learn and when they said, "matwork" (kids after my own heart) he showed a pin and a choke.

I then asked him to show a throw.

Then, he gave the students a pep talk about staying in judo and about becoming a more respectful person, giving examples from when he was young and not as respectful as he felt he should be, and learning to be more mature.

We are at a middle school and many students came over from the gym and sat watching for the whole hour and a half class, waiting patiently to get an autograph, a selfie or a picture for instagram. Manny stayed for an extra half-hour and talked to every single kid, signed every autograph.

I am old. I admit it because it's true. It's nice to have someone young come to practice, randori with the students and give  fresh perspective.

It was GREAT.

I'm not sure how you contact Manny to get a clinic or private lessons if you don't have his number, but you can tweet to him @mannygamburyan on twitter.  https://twitter.com/MannyGamburyan?lang=en
or you can call or text me and if I know you're not a weirdo I'll give you his contact information.

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When I'm not teaching judo, I'm making games. Please check them out. You can learn math, social studies, build your vocabulary.  Here are some free games and demos for you just because I am so nice. (Manny has been a good influence.)

Choking Makes Me Happy

I'm not sure why this choking drill made me so happy on Friday, but it did.

Maybe it is because it reminded me of when I taught it to my daughter, Ronda, when she as that age.

Maybe it reminded me of all of the times my friend, Tina Thomas, and I ran through it at Venice Dojo just for the hell of it  - so often that Gary Butts took to calling it the "Rousey Roll".

Maybe it's because I remember all of the times I did it in tournaments, starting from when I was 13 years old - old enough to choke but not old enough yet to do arm bars.

Maybe it is because I've been working so much the last several weeks that I am happy just to be on the mat, outside, anywhere but adding one more reference to a report, writing another paragraph, staring at another budget.

More likely, it is all of those things. I don't know. I just know that sometimes, choking people makes me happy - even people I like!

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My day job is making video games. Support me by buying a game or donating one to a school. Give it to anyone you'd like to be smarter.

Fish Lake runs on Mac and Windows

Forgotten Trail on Chromebook, Windows, Mac

Making Camp on iTunes and Google Play

Government Bureaucrats are Braver Than Me

I've worked with federal employees for most of the past thirty years. I have found most of them to be conscientious, competent and sincere in their belief that they are working for the good of their country. This stereotype of people raking in huge salaries doing very little work has never fit with my experience.

So, I'm not a big hater on government bureaucrats, but still, "brave" was one of the last adjectives I'd use to describe them.

Most people I've seen who spend a career in big government, big business, big universities or any other "big" go along to get along. They are comfortable with following the rules from the top down. After doing their job and following orders for a couple of decades, they can retire with a pension. That's the deal.

Lately, though, I have seen people I know making major steps outside of their comfort zone. Of course, Sally Yates, who was fired for refusing to enforce an executive order she believed indefensible, was the highest profile.

However, there are other people I know who just quietly left their jobs because they felt that the policies they would be expected to enforce were immoral.

Think about that for a minute. Whatever you believe - whether you adamantly are sure that abortion is murder and a sin or you think that women have the right to choose what happens to their own bodies - however you come down on any side of a moral issue - would you really quit your job over it?

Think how often have we seen people doing things we think are horrible, whether it is foreclosing on a family farm or refusing an elder medical care that would make their life less painful because "It's my job."

It would have been so easy for the people who quit those jobs to say,

"I need to think about my family. I have kids in college, a mortgage. I could lose my house. My children need an education. What can I do?"

But they didn't. That took bravery. They are braver than me because, as we all know, it's pretty much an instinctive reflex for me to tell anyone who wants me to put up with unethical behavior to go fuck themselves.  For these people, it was out of character and it took a lot of courage.

On Tuesday, we were recording next week's podcast (not up yet, but you can listen to all of our other podcasts here) and for a moment, Maria and I discussed whether it was a bad idea to be too outspoken about how loathsome we believe the immigration ban is, how I feel not having the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the National Security Council is wrong and a lot more. Then, I thought of Sally Yates, of the anonymous civil servants I knew who had quit their jobs because it violated their conscience. So, I leaned into the microphone and said,

I call bullshit on all of you people who said, 'Oh, we're not against immigrants, just illegal immigrants.' Well, FUCK YOU because you are a liar. You can't change it now. Sixty days ago you were fine with legal immigrants who had done everything right to get into this country but now, today, you're not? Go fuck yourself!  Oh, now, it's brown immigrants you're against. If they're not the same color or religion as you, even if they are legal, even if they did everything right and waited all of  those years like you said two months ago, that you were okay with them then, NOW all of a sudden only certain legal immigrants are okay? Well, FUCK YOU, for denying entry  to the United States people who risked their lives as interpreters for us.

Yes, Maria waived the one swear word per episode rule for this.

So... maybe fewer people will buy our games. That is the tiniest sacrifice compared to giving up your job, your pension, your certain future and your quiet life.

Honestly, look in the mirror and ask yourself, would you really quit your job because it violated your ethics, your morals?  I'm finding that some unexpected people would and it gives me some faith back in humanity.

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If you still want to buy our games, you can find them here. Get smarter, have fun. Learn math and social studies. Donate to a school. Donate in the name of your favorite politician, or Betsy Devos.

 

Why Women Put Up with Dirt Bags

I've seen it, you've seen it, we've all seen it. You have a friend or family member who is with a guy that is so much of a complete waste of oxygen that you keep asking,

Why in the hell does she put up with that guy?

As I was taking a shower this morning (source of many of my greatest insights) ,  I remembered a couple of decades ago when I was teaching a course on History of Psychology, discussing a guy named Alfred Adler who was most famous for coining the term "inferiority complex".

In a nutshell, while his buddy, Sigmund Freud, thought everything was about sex, Adler thought it was all about inferiority. Basically, we come into this world helpless, surrounded by big people more powerful than us and it's in our nature to try to overcome this inferiority.

Adler's theory about people wanting to feel powerful explains a lot of women (and some men) who stick with spouses, friends, significant others who are just plain awful.

Let me give two examples:

Jane is a clerk at 7-11. She graduated high school, got a minimum wage job and has her own small apartment. She's kind of average - which in the U.S. means 10 or 15 pounds over a healthy weight. She's a nice person. She's not setting the world on fire but most of her friends would describe Jane as "okay". 

No one would describe her boyfriend, Bob, that way. The only thing standing between Bob and sleeping behind the dumpster is Jane. In fact, "dumpster fire" might be a good way to describe Bob. He's drunk most of the time, doesn't bathe, has never had a job in his life and his nickname for Jane is "Fat Bitch". Why in the hell does she stay with him?

Jane may tell you that she loves him and no one else understands him. I suspect it is more like this - Bob enables Jane to feel superior and powerful. She has a job (he doesn't). She has friends (he doesn't). She has a decent personality (he doesn't). She's not an alcoholic (he is). Also, he doesn't cause feelings of anxiety about leaving her for a better person - where is he going to go? Even if she is working at a minimum wage job for a jerk of a boss, she can feel like she is a savior in her personal life. Even if Bob doesn't acknowledge it, she knows.

The funny thing is, I have seen many Jane-and-Bob couples and if he happens to sober up and get a job, more often than not, she dumps him!

Let's take a second example:

Janet is a star. She has an MD from an Ivy League university and is on staff at a good hospital. Her goal is to get board certified in cardiology and work at one of the top hospitals in the world. She hits the gym nearly every day, spends a good amount on her hair, nails, make up and clothes so she looks good but not so good that you'd imagine that's all she thinks about. Her friends would tell you that Janet has it going on - but that boyfriend of hers - eyes roll.

Robert manages a shoe store and is a class A jerk. He is always putting Janet down, telling her that she doesn't understand "the real world". He dresses like a million bucks using the credit card on their joint account. He talks down to her constantly about her lack of knowledge of the stock market, economy, etc. - although he dropped out of business school and has zero expertise in stocks other than dropping a bundle of her money. All of Janet's friends and family loathe Robert and have no compunction telling  her so.

So ... what the hell?

From Janet's point of view, Robert needs her. The only thing keeping him from being a social pariah is her.  He'd never go to events sponsored by the American Medical Association if it wasn't for her. She's a good physician but there are better physicians the hospital could hire, but there is no way on earth Robert could find a better girlfriend than her. To her friends, Janet is a star but at the hospital she is just one of several really amazing doctors. Robert, on the other hand, would be nothing without her. By the way, if she admitted that he was a condescending, mediocre creep, what would that say about her for dating him for six years?

So, there you have it, from me and Alfred Adler, why women date douche bags.

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My day job is making video games.

Fish Lake runs on Mac and Windows

Forgotten Trail on Chromebook, Windows, Mac

Making Camp on iTunes and Google Play