What I learned from the AppsLab blog - identity influences performance

I was reading a post in the AppsLab blog entitled What I Learned from "Indie Game: The Movie" and was struck by one line written by Jake Kuramoto. Check the last line of this paragraph:

Since SXSW 2010, I’ve gravitated toward the parallels between game development and traditional software development. Both involve producing lots of code, but games are seen as entertainment, which changes the design and production processes dramatically. Games are overseen by producers, akin to product managers, but the title difference is key.

Kuramoto explains how the mere fact of calling someone a producer can affect what he or she does:

Entertainment exclusively focuses on user experience; this creates a much more intimate connection with the person on the other side of the software....

But this isn't the only job title that affect the way that one works. If you were around in the early 1980s, you remember that the company then known as Apple Computer employed people who were assigned to market the new Macintosh computer.

These people were known as "evangelists." The term is usually used by religious organizations to describe people who are bringing "good news" to people who are not aware of it. Does this sound like the DOS-dominated computer market in early 1984? This fit in well with Apple's idealistic sense of its mission.

Incidentally, I'll have a lot more to say about idealism in a post that is scheduled to appear in this blog tomorrow.

A question for you - if you could change your job title today, what would your new job title be? Why?