[erikbye]

I agree gamification should not be used as a selling point, even though, of course, it is hugely important it seems to keep your users hooked.

But are you sure gamification does not sometimes also drive users' behavior on e.g., Facebook and Instagram?

[tlackemann]

If you're going to look at gamification as the primary motivator, I think a better examples to look at are Untappd and Foursquare. Both of these apps have very clear and positive feedback loops and use gamification well.

One app encourages me to share various beers I've had with friends. Badges are a way to have fun while doing that but the willingness for me to share in the first place was the driving motivator, not the badges. The badges are what keep me hooked however because I want to collect as many as my friends. Independent of sharing, badges mean nothing to me as an end user and were never the motivator for using the app. Sharing was.