Akoha was one of seven companies chosen from 50 video game and virtual world start-ups. GamesBeat determined the finalists based on “the degree of innovation, potential for business success, and freshness”.

“We’re obviously thrilled to be named as a What’s Got Game? finalist,” said Austin Hill, Akoha’s chief executive and co-founder. “We see it as yet another positive indication Akoha has started to gain significant traction as more people learn about how we’re creating a game focused on large scale social change.”

Hill will deliver a five-minute presentation today on the GamesBeat 2009 stage before a panel of judges that includes VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi, Jamil Moledina of EA Partners; Ed Fries, CEO of Figure Prints and former head of Microsoft Game Studios; Kevin Bachus, co-founder of Microsoft’s Xbox; James Cham, associate partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, Eric Goldberg, head of Crossover Technologies; and Jay Eum, managing director at TransLink Capital. The audience will also select a People’s Choice winner.

Inspired by elements of social entrepreneurship, massively multiplayer and reality-based games, Akoha users carry out missions that involve performing small acts of kindness for others. These activities are described on “mission cards”, and as players perform more missions, they advance in the game, recruit new players, and spread good deeds across the world.

Since the launch of Akoha’s private beta at the TechCrunch50 conference last September, there have been more than 3,000 mission plays in 37 countries. Akoha has established an initial target of 25,000 mission plays as part of a partnership with the charity group Room to Read that will see the construction of a library in Nepal.

While the growing number of mission plays is exciting, Hill said it is also encouraging to see how the game is inspiring people to change how they view the world. This was highlighted, he said, in a recent blog post in which an Akoha user said:

“When I started playing Akoha, it was mostly because it was fun to play missions and see my karma points collect. Almost six months later, I’ve begun to notice a change in the rest of my life…..What I really notice though, is that I say “Thank You” an awful lot more. Often times it’s just in my head, but more and more I’m willing to stop people (whom I don’t know) and say “Thank You”. These things make me smile and brighten my day, and hopefully by passing that on, I can make someone else’s day better.”

Some of Akoha’s recent accomplishments include a presentation at TED University in January. At TED, Akoha introduced its new Inspired Minds mission cards that were inspired by various TED speakers and talks. The new cards include nine new missions such as:

Share a TED Book – Inspired by the TED book club in which books that change the readers’ view of the world are sent to TED community members.

Photograph the Need for Change – Inspired by the TED Prize winner and photographer James Nachtwey, who has used photography to document wars, conflicts and critical social issues.

Calculate your Carbon Footprint – Inspired by Nobel Prize Winner and TED speaker Al Gore’s call for urgent change to help fight global warming.

Share a Documentary – Inspired by TED Prize winner Jehane Noujaim’s TED talk and the Pangea Day project in which documentary films where shown at live sites in Brazil, Egypt, India, Rwanda and the United States

Hill said the company’s success and growth over the past few months have set the stage for significant moves forward in 2009.

“We’re looking forward to an exciting year as Akoha attracts more players,” Hill said. “There’s growing interest and enthusiasm in helping to make the world a better place, and Akoha well-positioned to be part of it.”

About Akoha

Akoha combines online games, social networking and real-world activity to help make the world a better place. Akoha players carry out acts of kindness - known as “missions” - to collect points recruit new players and, as important, spread acts of kindness.

The Montreal-based company was founded in 2007 by long-time friends and entrepreneurs Austin Hill and Alex Eberts, who believe games and online communities could make a positive impact on people around the world.
Akoha is currently in beta but it has already attracted accolades from organizations such as the Canadian Innovation Exchange, Banff Venture Forum and the Crunchie Awards. To start playing Akoha, mission decks can be purchased at the Akoha Store -http://store.akoha.com/

Akoha Media Contact:
Mark Evans
mark@akoha.com
416-910-8895

Hill’s presentation is about how Akoha is embracing elements of social entrepreneurship, massively multiplayer and reality-based games to create real-world missions that benefit other people - everything from giving someone your favorite books or inviting a friend out for drinks to buying someone chocolate.

During his presentation, Hill will talk about the personal story that inspired Akoha’s creation, while getting into the details about how the company’s systems was developed, and the critical design problems that Akoha had to overcome to create its gameplay combination of real-world game-cards and back-end systems and social networking work.

“What I’m hoping to provide is insight into what inspired myself and co-founder Alex Eberts to create Akoha, which has become a labor of love for both of us,” Hill said. “As well, I want to provide perspective, information and, hopefully, valuable knowledge about some of the key considerations that go into developing a game that you hope resonates with people.”

The acts of kinds done by Akoha players are described on “mission cards”, and as players perform more missions, they advance in the game, recruit new players, and spread good deeds across the world.

Since the launch of Akoha’s private beta at the TechCrunch50 conference last September, there have been more than 3,000 mission plays in 37 countries. Akoha has established an initial target of 25,000 mission plays as part of a partnership with the charity group Room to Read that will see the construction of a library in Nepal.

At the recent TED conference, Akoha launched its new Inspired Minds mission cards that were inspired by various TED speakers and talks.

TED provided some of the initial inspiration for Akoha after Hill and Eberts attended the conference in which the theme was “Ideas Big Enough to Change the World”. As well, Hill and Eberts received encouragement during the Sundance Film Festival where some of their friends were discussing movies that could make a difference.

“Akoha emerged from discussions that Alex and I had about the power of communities and the changing nature of play,” Hill said. “They sparked ideas into a business that we’re confident will have a positive impact on people around the world.”

About Akoha
Akoha combines online games, social networking and real-world activity to help make the world a better place. Akoha players carry out acts of kindness - known as “missions” - to collect points recruit new players and, as important, spread acts of kindness. The Montreal-based company was founded in 2007 by long-time friends and entrepreneurs Austin Hill and Alex Eberts, who believe games and online communities could make make a positive impact on people around the world.

Akoha is currently in beta but it has already attracted accolades from organizations such as the Canadian Innovation Exchange, Banff Venture Forum and the Crunchie Awards.

To start playing Akoha, mission decks can be purchased at the Akoha Store - http://store.akoha.com/

TWiT.tv had a great interview with Austin Hill, CEO of Akoha a few days ago for the show Net@Night.  Hosts Amber MacArthur and Leo Laporte did a great job covering Akoha, where it came from and what it is.  Enjoy it here!

Montreal, January 27, 2008 - Akoha Inc., a developer of online and real-world social games designed to make the world a better place, is excited about the opportunity to share its message next week at the world-renowned TED conference.

Austin Hill, Akoha’s CEO and co-founder, will be speaking at TED University about how the concept for Akoha emerged at a TED conference that featured the theme, “Ideas Big Enough to Change the World”, and how the game links players’ activities to philanthropic projects such as a school being built in Nepal in partnership with the charity organization Room to Read.

Inspired by elements of social entrepreneurship, massively multiplayer and reality-based games, Akoha is a real world and online game in which players carry out missions that involve performing small acts of kindness for others.

The activities of Akoha players are described on “mission cards”, and as Akoha players perform more missions, they advance in the game, recruit new players, and spread good deeds across the planet.

Akoha will be giving away 2,200 decks of its new Inspired Minds mission cards to TED attendees. These missions were inspired by various TED speakers and the talks available at TED.com. Nine new Akoha missions are included in the Inspired Minds deck. These missions include:

Akoha Inspired Minds deck: New mission cards that are contained in the Inspired Minds deck of missions.

• Share a TED Book – Inspired by the TED book club in which books that change the readers’ view of the world are sent to TED community members.
• Photograph the Need for Change – Inspired by the TED Prize winner and photographer James Nachtwey, who has used photography to document wars, conflicts and critical social issues.
• Calculate your Carbon Footprint – Inspired by Nobel Prize Winner and TED speaker Al Gore’s call for urgent change to help fight global warming.
• Share a Documentary – Inspired by TED Prize winner Jehane Noujaim’s TED talk and the Pangea Day project in which documentary films where shown at live sites in Brazil, Egypt, India, Rwanda and the United States.

“Much of the inspiration for our work on the Akoha project grew from our attendance at the TED conference, so we are very excited to be able to introduce the project to the TED community.” Hill said. “With so many people involved in projects to improve the world, this is a great audience to share Akoha’s message as we continue to expand our beta community of players.”

Over the past four months, Akoha has experienced significant progress as it continues to develop and improve the online game. Among the company’s recent achievements include the launch of its private beta at the TechCrunch50 in September, and the release of its public beta in December. To date, Akoha members have carried out more than 2,000 mission plays in 33 countries. An impressive 60% of beta players have joined Akoha as a result of someone giving them a mission card.

Akoha Missions Map: New map lets players track the path of missions and Akoha player activity around the globe.

Akoha Mission Management: New Mission management page lets players manage the Akoha missions they have undertaken.

At TED 2009, Akoha plans to unveil a number of improvements to the user experience and interface. This includes improved site navigation, new ways for players to track their missions on a world map, new profile pages, and a new mission management page that enhances how players manage and track mission cards.

Another part of Akoha’s goal to help make the world a better place are partnerships with philanthropic organizations around the world. Akoha’s first partnership is with the charity organization Room to Read. It involves a community challenge to sponsor the construction of a library in Nepal as 25,000 missions are completed by the Akoha beta community. This will see Akoha sponsor the construction of a new library, and fill it with books, games and posts.

“Our involvement with Room to Read is an example of how Akoka’s players are already playing missions to support causes around the world,” Hill said. “It shows the promise of the impact Akoha can have on making the world a better place. We welcome the opportunity to create partnerships with a growing number of organizations focused on making a difference.”

Since December, anyone who has been interested in joining the beta and purchasing starter kits and mission decks has been able to do so at Akoha Store: http://store.akoha.com/. Today, the new Inspired Minds deck is also available.

About Akoha

Akoha combines online games, social networking and real-world activity to help make the world a better place. Akoha players carry out acts of kindness - known as “missions” - to collect points recruit new players and, as important, spread acts of kindness. The Montreal-based company was founded in 2007 by long-time friends and entrepreneurs Austin Hill and Alex Eberts, who believe that games and online communities could make make a positive impact on people around the world.

Akoha is currently in beta but it has already attracted accolades from organizations such as the Canadian Innovation Exchange, Banff Venture Forum and the Crunchie Awards.

About TED

TED is a nonprofit that organizes events where some of the world’s leading thinkers and doers are invited to share what they are most passionate about. “TED” originally stood for Technology, Entertainment, Design — three broad subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future. In recent years however, TED has widened its scope, identifying and showcasing interesting and relevant ideas in any discipline. Attendees have called it “the ultimate brain spa” and “a four-day journey into the future.” The diverse audience — CEOs, scientists, creatives, philanthropists — is almost as extraordinary as the speakers, who have included Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Frank Gehry, Paul Simon, Sir Richard Branson, Philippe Starck and Bono.

TED was first held in Monterey, California, in 1984. In 2001, Chris Anderson’s Sapling Foundation acquired TED from its founder, Richard Saul Wurman. In recent years, TED has expanded to include an international conference, TEDGlobal; media initiatives, including TED Talks and TED.com; and the TED Prize, an annual award granting three individuals “one wish to change the world.” TED2009, “The Great Unveiling,” will be held Feb 3-7, 2009, in Long Beach, California, with a simulcast event in Palm Springs, California. TEDGlobal 2009, “The Substance of Things Not Seen”, will be held July 21-24, 2009 in Oxford, UK.

Akoha Media Contact:
Mark Evans
mark@akoha.com
647-273-6747

Fellow Akohans,

Akoha will have a chance to present at TED 2009.  This amazing opportunity will give us a chance and platform to spread the message of Akoha to others, in hopes of igniting their inspiration and motivations to spread kindness through play.

TED 2009 is a conference whose mission is to showcase the ideas of thought leaders to change the world.  Standing for Technology, Entertainment and Design, it brings together masters of these fields that enlighten the listeners with inspirational topics.  Previous speakers have included people like Richard Branson, Bono, Paul Simon, Jeff Bezos, Al Gore and many, many more.

Past TED Talks

There are many astounding TED talks that continue to inspire others to bring about world change.  For example, Bono’s call for action at TED resulted in one million people signing up for the ONE campaign whose goal is to eradicate poverty.  TED videos can be found on the TED Talks page.  Additionally, there is content on YouTube (search for TEDTalksDirector).

Inspiration and Action

By using the TED videos as inspiration, we want you to get you involved.  In the coming days leading up to TED 2009, Akoha will be announcing new missions, upcoming changes to the Akoha site and various ways that you can get involved with Akoha.  Stay tuned to this blog by subscribing to the Akoha RSS feed for more updates.

You can follow us on Twitter too:

• The Official Akoha Twitter Account
• Our CEO Austin Hill is on Twitter.  He talks about what it’s like to be a serial entrepreneur and to inspire world change.
• I’m the Akoha Community Manager, and you can find me (Sean Power on Twitter) as well.  I’ll make sure @akoha and @seanpower follows you back, though it might not happen right away.

Trying to figure out how to play your next Akoha card?  Check out this blog post that outlines a few tips on how to play Akoha.

Want to talk to us?  Find out different ways that you can reach us on our blog.