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This is a guest post by Keith Smith, CEO and Co-Founder of BigDoor
Often the terms “social games” and “gamification” are used interchangeably, but in actuality they’re very different animals. While it’s true that gamification borrows its game mechanics from social gaming, there are many real-world situations where it makes more sense to apply gamification instead of building an entire game. First, let’s take a look at a definition of each concept:
Social games are built on a social media platform like Facebook or Google+. Casual in nature, they can be picked up or dropped at a moment’s notice and are designed to engage the player’s social network of friends. Games like CityVille, Hidden Chronicles, and Words with Friends are popular examples.
When Facebook first hit, I dropped my plan to build the world’s first hop-scotching robot, jumped the fence and made a dash for California — I knew it was going to be big. Since that time, I’ve been watching technology trends like a hawk, looking for the next big thing. There have been blips on the radar like location-based services and other services that still haven’t found their killer app: streaming music and online video. But one concept that I heard last year from early adopter Gabe Zicherman was “gamification,” and it’s definitely made a huge impact this year and will continue to do so in the future.
Quora is one of my favorite emerging social networks. The service is all about questions and answers, and the website does a great job of ensuring that’s the main focus. You can browse various topics and hear answers to questions from Why hasn’t someone built a dominant digital business card application for mobile? to What life lessons are counter-intuitive or go against common sense or wisdom? Now, after months in beta, Quora is unrolling Quora Credits, which allow people to earn questions for their hard work.
When ‘social’ was the ‘in’ thing online, businesses were falling over one another trying to turn their businesses’ online presence more social. Many were unsuccessful. Now… ‘gamification’ is the ‘in’ thing and businesses have a greater chance of riding this wave succesfully.
Gaming has recently emerged as a compelling way to engage and motivate individuals, and mobilize the masses around causes in a way that can have a significant impact. For Instance, Recyclebank’s recent Green Your Home Challenge used several gaming techniques, known as gamification, to motivate participants to learn about green living and to take small green actions.
Foodzy rewards you for making healthy choices or fun eating habits with badges. Plus, Foodzy has a social element in which it allows users to discover new products. Other users that you meet, who like what you like, can share their eating habits with you.
