By its very nature as a free online forum for posting videos, YouTube's community is essential to the site's overall health, and the new 'YouTube Hero' system is an attempt to get the community more involved in its own moderation and upkeep. The gamified system rewards points for actions that help the community as a whole, and these points translate into tangible benefits for YouTube users.
To become a YouTube Hero, anyone with a Google account simply has to sign up. They can then earn points by either reporting videos that violate the YouTube community guidelines, contributing to video subtitles, or answering questions on the YouTube forum.
With enough points, YouTube Heroes gain benefits on the site. The early levels include special "hero hangouts" and exclusive workshops, but the top YouTube Heroes can even get sneak previews of product launches.
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Gamified Volunteer Platforms
- Gamified volunteer platforms have the potential to increase user participation and community building in various industries.
- User-driven Moderation
- User-driven moderation systems are a disruptive innovation for online communities, as they can reduce the workload of community moderators and promote user empowerment.
- Incentivized Contributions
- Incentivized contribution systems can encourage user engagement and content creation across various industries, from social media to e-commerce.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Social Media
- In social media, gamification and incentivized contribution systems can increase user engagement, improve content moderation, and promote community building.
- E-commerce
- In e-commerce, user-driven moderation and incentivized contribution systems can help improve product reviews, customer support forums, and user-generated content.
- Education
- In education, gamified volunteer platforms have the potential to improve peer-to-peer learning, student engagement, and skill building.
