By Josh Davis

The word “gamification” is popping up all over the Internet and business world.  The idea is that if you can make a process into a game with rewards and detailed stats, you can make that process more compelling.  If it is more compelling you will keep coming back to it, and then it becomes a habit.

Unsurprisingly, actual games do gamifying best; game makers have years of experience consuming and creating games.  But gamification can apply to a number of different areas.  Social check-in services use the idea of points and badges to keep people using their applications.  SalesForce.com has actually implement game like elements in their software to keep workers focused on getting “next steps” done.  Many web sites employ a progress meter to encourage new users to complete a number of steps so they will explore and gets the most out of a product.

Some would say that if you have to turn something into a game, then it likely isn’t worth doing on its own.  While there might be some truth to that, gamification can actually be used to get people to do things that they otherwise wouldn’t, and those actions can provide real value to themselves and others.