December 7, 2010 at 19:21Gamification - what a beast
During the development of the idea, my friend and I came across one very interesting concept that is used by almost any business, but almost no one suspects this.
Disclaimer: I do not pretend to be an expert in this field - I have spent too little time so far. But it has already been read and meaningfully enough to concentrate this in one article.
The word itself began to be circulated quite recently - just a few months ago . We will understand what it is and how to use it.
Wikipedia tells us that this is the use of game mechanisms for non-game projects. A few examples from daily life:
In the general case, all game interactions follow the following cycle:
Well - we knew that and so - all human actions are aimed at increasing one's status (rank) in the eyes of others. Well, now the most interesting:
I’ll talk about websites, but you need to understand that all these concepts can be extrapolated to any other business working with people.
Let users upgrade using your site. Moreover, this is not necessarily an increase in status in the real world - the on-site status will also work. Encourage user activity. Consider how many comments the user posted, how much others liked them, how much time he spent on the site, and how much traffic he distributed.
When you reach the next step, be sure to show the user the next goal - do not keep it secret. “You posted the hundredth comment and got the badge“ Chukchi writer ”! And after two hundred comments, you will receive a Pushkin badge. Having a clear goal - the user will follow it, in the hope of increasing their status even more.
Rewards is a great user loyalty program. Of course, a materially valuable reward will work better, but strangely enough virtual gifts and badges also work fine. In addition, the demonstration of the user's gifts partially echoes the following paragraph.
Status is nothing if you cannot boast of others. Be sure to give the user the opportunity to demonstrate their status and take advantage of it: changes in the “rank” on the forums, honor boards, the possibility of priority connection to the server, and other pleasant pluses.
Here is an example of using gamification for almost any community-driven site:
And now, having the knowledge from this article in your arsenal, you can look at the following things with new eyes:
Several services exploiting the idea of gamification:
The fact that this all really works is evidenced by the presence of numerous satisfied users and customers who write reviews like this .
Good luck in introducing gaming techniques in your business.
So gamification
Disclaimer: I do not pretend to be an expert in this field - I have spent too little time so far. But it has already been read and meaningfully enough to concentrate this in one article.
The word itself began to be circulated quite recently - just a few months ago . We will understand what it is and how to use it.
Wikipedia tells us that this is the use of game mechanisms for non-game projects. A few examples from daily life:
- Discount programs for regular customers
- Comdo-deals like “take these two things, get a third for free”
- Planning poker at SCRUM
- Promotions “Collect 10 labels - get yogurt for free”
- VIP clubs
In the general case, all game interactions follow the following cycle:
Well - we knew that and so - all human actions are aimed at increasing one's status (rank) in the eyes of others. Well, now the most interesting:
How do we use gamification to promote our business
I’ll talk about websites, but you need to understand that all these concepts can be extrapolated to any other business working with people.
Earning status
Let users upgrade using your site. Moreover, this is not necessarily an increase in status in the real world - the on-site status will also work. Encourage user activity. Consider how many comments the user posted, how much others liked them, how much time he spent on the site, and how much traffic he distributed.
Show goal
When you reach the next step, be sure to show the user the next goal - do not keep it secret. “You posted the hundredth comment and got the badge“ Chukchi writer ”! And after two hundred comments, you will receive a Pushkin badge. Having a clear goal - the user will follow it, in the hope of increasing their status even more.
Awards
Rewards is a great user loyalty program. Of course, a materially valuable reward will work better, but strangely enough virtual gifts and badges also work fine. In addition, the demonstration of the user's gifts partially echoes the following paragraph.
Status Demonstration
Status is nothing if you cannot boast of others. Be sure to give the user the opportunity to demonstrate their status and take advantage of it: changes in the “rank” on the forums, honor boards, the possibility of priority connection to the server, and other pleasant pluses.
Usage example
Here is an example of using gamification for almost any community-driven site:
- Reward the user immediately after registration - he deserves it. Give him your first badge and a small amount of on-site currency so he can try the benefits of a higher status.
- Encourage useful actions of the user - give more points for actions useful for the development of the site - if the site has a poorly filled Q&A section - give double points for questions and answers there.
- Use rewards - ranging from on-site currency and badges to quite material gifts.
- Keep ratings of the most active users, give them more authority on the site.
- Encourage social connections between users - and users will come back for communication and bring their friends.
Real world examples
And now, having the knowledge from this article in your arsenal, you can look at the following things with new eyes:
- Ratings
- Habrasvania
- Write a good post - get an invite
- Facebook Like Buttons
- Mayors at Foursquare
- tymbonuses
Several services exploiting the idea of gamification:
- FourSquare - get badges, mayor titles for check ins
- SCVNGR - the logical development of the FourSquare idea - complete simple tasks, accumulate points and get discounts, coupons and more
- BunchBall - a platform for gamification
- BigDoor - a platform for implementing a virtual economy on sites
- BadgeVille - user activity tracking, award distribution
The fact that this all really works is evidenced by the presence of numerous satisfied users and customers who write reviews like this .
Good luck in introducing gaming techniques in your business.