Shelly Ryder Maura Frost I often hear people say that gamification "doesn't work". That's a common sentiment when using points, badges, and leaderboards (PBL). Those are first-generation strategies and can work in some use cases. Here's what I've found:
The "engagement" effect with PBL drops since most people suffer from reward fatigue and indifference.
Earning endless points is meaningless
Hardly anyone cares about leaderboards
Badges are digital stickers. Hardly shared, and no one cares.
There are much better ways to add gamification to drive behavior change. If you're looking for an incentive framework, I highly recommend the SAPS model, by Gabe Zichermann.
Status, Access, Power, and Stuff. Once you understand your end users' personas, you can start figuring out what kinds of incentives they'll find appealing.
But is sounds like Access would be an important one for your end-users...and lots of cool ways to add/offer value to them to keep them engaged.
