Think of loyalty programs: you’re often in certain hotel chain (no matter where in the world) and when you get there they’ll greet you by name, get you to your favorite room, with a great view and once you’re there, there’a little surprise: a hand-written letter from the manager with your favorite chocolate and wine.nnNow think about the process behind it: having your name, frequency of hotel use, top locations, favorite room style, floor, food habits (if you eat in the hotel restaurant, that can easily be tracked against your bill. Ensure that system is global so no matter where in the world when I pull your name, I’ll know what to offer you.nnThat’s how ‘gamification’ works in the real world. You get to know your MVP, give access, easiness, reduce friction, and make the person feel valuable in exchange for my loyalty to you. Once you have these lined up, it’s unlikely someone will change hotels because they don’t want to lose all of that comfort and status they’ve achieved.nnThe trick is about applying the same gamification mechanism in online communities by offering the members things (access, status, etc.) that they would not want to lose.