"The Hive: How to Build a Smart Network and Fix Gamification"

"The Hive: How to Build a Smart Network and Fix Gamification"

In today's digital age, building a network is no longer enough to survive and thrive. Instead, we must focus on building a hive, a smarter and more evolved network that functions as a hivemind. This concept is exemplified by the fact that on Instagram, 50% of posts are generated by less than 3% of accounts. The value lies not in simply being connected, but in having an opinion and taking action towards a desired outcome.

Myspace serves as a cautionary tale, as its rapid user growth did not equate to growth in business value. Networks must be instrumental, not neutral, connecting different people and providing them with points of contact for communication and transactions. The hive increases the frequency of interactions between nodes, allowing for informed decisions in response to a changing external environment. It also decreases friction between nodes, creating stronger ties and enabling collective action.

Interestingly, the concept of the hive is becoming central to the way we think, behave, and interact. Just as ants thrive in any environment due to their fluidity, tools like Google Apps for Work, Slack, and Github are making us more like ant clusters. These tools increase the frequency of interaction within organizations, aligning everyone around shared goals and transforming businesses from solid to fluid entities.

Bees provide another fascinating example of hive behavior. The decision-making process of bees, where scout bees represent only 3% of the hive, reduces friction and allows for rapid and collective decision-making. Ultimately, just 30 bees decide the fate of 10,000. This highlights the power of decentralized intelligence and the ability of a massive collection of individual parts to evaluate inputs quickly and intelligently.

WeChat exemplifies the evolution of a consumer product into a hive. By focusing on reducing friction and providing infrastructure for users at each stage of want, need, and utility, WeChat has turned into a utility that benefits the entire hive. It is not access to new functionality that creates the hive, but rather how new functionality creates new economic opportunities.

The function of social networks has shifted from simply connecting people and growing the network to delivering a better and more immediate experience. Companies like Facebook and Snap Inc. are converging around creating real, shared experiences that bring people together. They understand that the hive is what allows for collective problem-solving and opens up new possibilities.

Gamification, on the other hand, has experienced its fair share of challenges. Many gamification features, such as points, badges, and leaderboards, have been abused and have lost their effectiveness. Offering rewards for behaviors that should happen spontaneously can actually decrease motivation. Additionally, patronizing tones and excessive cheerfulness can be off-putting to users.

However, there are ways to fix gamification and make it more effective. Examples include Duolingo, which provides a fun way of learning something people already wanted to learn, and Sublime Text, which empowers power users even more. GitHub offers a true leaderboard and a valuable currency, while Trello visualizes progress and accomplishment without the need for badges. The key is to make users feel smarter, enable discovery of advanced features, create slick and elegant UI, and allow users to define their own standards for progress.

In conclusion, building a hive, a smart and evolved network, is crucial for success in today's digital landscape. By increasing interactions, reducing friction, and enabling collective decision-making, the hive allows for collective problem-solving and new economic opportunities. Additionally, fixing gamification by focusing on intrinsic rewards, avoiding virtual currencies, and creating a user-centric experience can enhance motivation and engagement. Embracing the hive mentality and reimagining gamification can lead to growth and success in the digital world.