Guardian games blogger Aleks Krotoski has a great post on the way that game-like elements are creeping into many Web services, from eBay to YouTube. She cites Max Kalehoff on the way that YouTube is like a game: you collect things, get points, trade, get feedback, and customize the experience.
Indeed. If YouTube does it, who else does it too? Well, the first one’s obvious: eBay. The reputation system there is second to none, inspiring thousands of spin-off applications.
Any successful marketplaces, including Web 1.0 stalwarts like Amazon.com, do it too. But then this proposition begins to thin out. MySpace and other social networking software do it, sure.
Social virtual worlds like There.com and Second Life (which recently had its first winner, Anshe Chung) do it as well. Yet other contemporary 2.0 beacons, like Flickr and del.icio.us, don’t meet all of the requirements. These sites have been purchased by the big boys for loads of money, but have they captured the imaginations of the masses like YouTube and others who apply game-like foundations?
(via Wonderland)
Update: Jonathan sez, “Frequent flier programs seem deliberately designed to create game structures: points, experience levels, prizes – even rare items only available to high level players. Not surprisingly, this has in turn bred a new generation of gamers who use sites like flyertalk.com to plan and execute complex mileage runs calculated to extract maximum points through ingenuity and patience. I defy you to tell the difference between a mileage runner and a WoW power leveller.”