Powerful Games

Social capital is not a new concept, but the way trust is earned and spent online provides an interesting background to the success of the gamification of more traditional forms of online social interaction.

Forums are a popular way to discuss new ideas, make friends and get your questions answered online. Having their roots in the pre-history of the internet, in the form of message boards on Bulletin Board Services (BBS) the stability and value of such social playgrounds is hard to deny. However, as Internet use became more and more passive in consumption of content, rather than creation, historically important systems such as Usenet fell out of fashion and popular use. As Web 2.0 exploded into the social prosumer society that we are beginning to see today it might be expected that people would flock back to these mainstays of group interaction and socialisation but, given the opportunity to post anything and everything, the idea of topical forums and message-boards seem less and less attractive platforms for creative flow.

Keeping users coming back and interacting with the group can be difficult when vast distance and times separate the inhabitants of this virtual space. But rather than disappear under the mass of otherwise disperse user content, forum managers have developed strategies for encouraging repeat, constructive visits. The StackExchange network of websites, and the flagship StackOverflow, demonstrate how social web concepts can be applied successfully to what, in essence, is an apparition of the ailing message-boards or forums of the Internet past. StackExchange sites succeed for three basic reasons: very specific subject areas with well defined structure, a reputation system, and excellent moderation.

The tightly controlled topics coupled with the rigid design of a question and answer format, rather than stifling creativity, rapidly sets expectations and ensures that all new community members understand their place in the hierarchy and how to address the group. This hierarchy is extended by the reputation points earnt, and linked to their identities, for quality engagements with the group, both for asking good questions as well as answering them. With the gathering of points users are granted increasing privileges on the sites, providing the all important reason for gathering this otherwise worthless capital. Rewards are a simple as allowing a user to vote on answers, up to and including moderation privileges, allowing these most-involved users to assist in setting the tone. This gamification, the users pathological need to earn these points, demonstrates that such a system cannot only increase activity in social environments but improve the quality of that interaction. The resultant turnout of peer-reviewed content has ensured StackExchange's accession to that of a well regarded question and answer network, to the point that, for areas covered, they are often in the top ten results of a given Google search.

The combination of the possible, and measurable, improvement in ones social standing coupled with the strangely rewarding idea of gathering points has lead to a number of successful self-sustaining communities under the StackExchange umbrella and only demonstrates the immense power of gamification and social capital in the Internet age. The remaining question: how can this new found enthusiasm be used to generate the revenue required to support these re-emerging communities and the businesses responsible for the technology?

Cross-posted from cs08jjj on social media