A very common mistake when you are doing any kind of research is what i call the hammer approach. There is a saying that when a person has a hammer, every problem starts to look like a nail.

So I like to put some serious effort in not saying that everything is a game or that games are in everything. But ont thing I can say with no fear of being wrong: most of the success stories of the last decade had some component of the Play Factor.

eBay
Can’t you see how much of a game is it? I will go on the mechanics of these things in later posts, but the thing is: the rush of bidding and fighting for your great deal is nothing more than a game.

Social Networks
This is so obvious. In Facebook, My Space or Orkut you collect people, groups and even play with other people. There are strong gaming and playing components at the core of the social networks.

YouTube
When you watch, you press play and have fun. Then you browse and browse through tags. You comment and have the social rush of saying funny things and sending links and ideas for your friends. You set up your favorites and playing lists. Or else, you make your videos and share with people and waits patiently for comments.

Amazon
Search for a product. Read what other people say. Write your own review or else say how many stars you give to the product. Hey. They show that people that bought this one liked that other one. Cool, what are they saying about it. There’s is a bargain here. Cool, let’s grade the seller! The interface makes you play as you shop. That is why this is so addictive.

And there is more. Just look at how your most favorite websites work and you will see the Play Factor in them. The best sites and best media products have this component. And they have different concepts. Not evey people love to bid. Some only like to browse products. Not everyone feel well about colecting stamps in a social network environment. We look for the ones that fit with our tastes. That is why we love them.