Ask HN: "Badges" anyone else a little unenthused?

Posted by andrewstuart on Thursday March 24, 2011 @11:28PM
from the ask-hn dept.

Seems every new site is offering me the chance to gain a badge of one form or another.

This trend doesn't grab me so much - I don't want 'badges' for anything. Is that because I'm an old grump? Are all the young hipsters super enthused about sporting all sorts of digital badges?

I like the concept of gamification but shouldn't it be more smooth and less jarring than offering 'badges'?

Are there any good websites out there parodying badges? Maybe the Hipster Hacker http://twitter.com/hipsterhacker is working on a badge heavy new social site with node.js and mongodb?

Perhaps there is a commercial opportunity for a website that converts all your digital web 2.0 badges into real world embroidered badges so your mum can sew them onto your flannel shirt sleeves.

( 13 comments | 14 points | on HN )

Re:Ask HN: "Badges" anyone else a little unenthused? by citizenkeys on Friday March 25, 2011 @12:02AM (#2367184)

Here's a good article on the psychology of badges: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2328684 . And here's one about achievement design: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2356944 .

Badges motivate users to set goals. Badges are also symbols of status and reputation.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: "Badges" anyone else a little unenthused? by andrewstuart on Friday March 25, 2011 @12:53AM (#2367316)

They look like good articles - will read them over the weekend. Maybe the badge concept is a bit less appealing if its overexposed/overused.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: "Badges" anyone else a little unenthused? by mryan on Friday March 25, 2011 @07:53AM (#2368099)

Badges do absolutely nothing for me in the web/app context. Twice in the last week or so I have clicked a link from HN and been taken to a site which awards me with a "Just Arrived" badge simply for visiting the site. I can see what they are trying to achieve as the site tells me I need to sign in with FB in order to keep the badge, but that implementation was nothing but an annoyance.

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Re:Ask HN: "Badges" anyone else a little unenthused? by andrewstuart on Friday March 25, 2011 @03:38PM (#2369985)

This example really illustrates the point.

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Re:Ask HN: "Badges" anyone else a little unenthused? by unohoo on Friday March 25, 2011 @01:16AM (#2367358)

Here's a startup idea: a marketplace for badges. if that ever happens, i will give up my tech profession and take up some other career

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: "Badges" anyone else a little unenthused? by citizenkeys on Friday March 25, 2011 @01:28AM (#2367379)

Only because you mentioned it... badges are "virtual goods", which is to say that badges are digital artifacts with a visual representation. A marketplace for badges is basically Zynga's entire business model.

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Re:Ask HN: "Badges" anyone else a little unenthused? by cheez on Friday March 25, 2011 @02:01AM (#2367433)

It already exists. Nice knowing you.

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Re:Ask HN: "Badges" anyone else a little unenthused? by lowprofile on Friday March 25, 2011 @01:03AM (#2367333)

I moved passed gold stars on my papers a long time ago, but gamefication will be a huge driver of behavior. Skinner would be proud.

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Re:Ask HN: "Badges" anyone else a little unenthused? by citizenkeys on Friday March 25, 2011 @01:30AM (#2367382)

http://star.me for all your gold star needs.

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Re:Ask HN: "Badges" anyone else a little unenthused? by trafficlight on Friday March 25, 2011 @02:14AM (#2367455)

Some badges/achievements work for me and some don't. For instance, I'm addicted to Team Fortress 2 achievements, but I couldn't care less for them on Foursquare or Stack Overflow.

I think context is important. It makes sense to me in a real game, but not so much for a website like Stack Overflow.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: "Badges" anyone else a little unenthused? by pinko on Thursday March 24, 2011 @11:31PM (#2367106)

For a second I parsed this as indicating that HN had instituted a system of badges, about which you were unenthused... phew!

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Re:Ask HN: "Badges" anyone else a little unenthused? by andrewstuart on Thursday March 24, 2011 @11:32PM (#2367108)

Given the industry trend for badges I wouldn't be surprised. Do I get an HN badge for having karma over 400?

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Re:Ask HN: "Badges" anyone else a little unenthused? by pinko on Thursday March 24, 2011 @11:34PM (#2367114)

Over 500 (or somesuch -- it's a moving target) gets you the ability to downvote.

Which raises an interesting point -- badges do nothing for me, but feature unlocking is compelling, as much as I wish it weren't. I don't actually care, but if I stop paying attention I often find myself behaving as if I did.

[ Parent | on HN ]