Contributed by: ElyseRomano on Wednesday, March 28 2012 @ 10:38 am
Last modified on
As an English major, I'm always excited when I come across a new word. Today's new word is "gamification," an odd-sounding term that's apparently the future of Zoosk.
Zoosk shot to the top of the list of the most successful dating services on the Web since its inception 5 years ago, and the company's latest attempt to stay on top of the game is "gamification": "the use of game-like incentives such as achievements in non-gaming apps." GamesBeat recently interviewed[*1] Shayan Zadeh, CEO of Zoosk, to learn more about the new gamification feature.
"Leveraging our virtual currency system," said Zadeh, "we are able to build incentives into the product that help guide users towards deeper engagement and other behaviors we find useful." In other words, the more active you are on Zoosk, the more rewards you receive. Engaged users receive more profile views, more messages, and more friend requests, all of which add up to increased popularity (and who doesn't want to be popular?).
Zoosk's aim is to stay ahead of the competition by giving members more ways to promote their profiles. Zoosk users receive feedback on how they compare to other users, letting them know what counts towards their ranking and giving them a "badge" for their popularity. Users can also purchase advertising on the site using virtual currency, a fairly unique feature among online dating sites.
Zadeh says that implementing gamification features has gotten "more out of the system both for the users and for the business." "Providing a positive feedback loop on "good engagement" to our users has not only given them more incentive to engage with the product," he continued, "but also has been driving the members to send more thoughtful messages."
When asked about what has made Zoosk so successful, Zadeh gave credit to the interactive social networking feel of the site. In contrast to other dating sites, which have static profiles that function more as "bulletin boards," Zoosk members "build a special purpose social graph on the site which consists of people they would be interested in dating." Over time the graph evolves, allowing for "a more natural progression of relationships from the initial wink to actually going on a date."
Zadeh also believes that the young demographic that uses the site has made Zoosk an online dating success story. The vast majority of Match users are over 35, though most of the single population is younger than 35. Zoosk, on the other hand, makes online dating accessible to a younger generation - in fact, 70 percent of their member base is younger than 35 years old.
Up next for Zoosk are new features "that will allow people in a relationship to continue using Zoosk by building a digital home for their relationship." Zoosk hopes to continue to provide support for couples who met on the site, found love, and have entered committed relationships.
To find out more information about this dating site, you can read our Zoosk.com review.