Gamification_EmilyHunkler

Master in Communication and Marketing Online
Gamified:
How gamification can
augment user retention
AUTHOR:
Emily Hunkler
TUTOR:
Hugo Pibernat
Barcelona, 8 April 2016

Emily Hunkler|Gamified: How gamification can augment user retention| 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ............................................................................................................... i
TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................. ii
THESIS ..................................................................................................................... iii
THESIS:
1. Introduction ................................................................................................... 5
1.1. What is a game .........................................................................................6
1.2. Elements of gamification ..........................................................................7
1.3. The role of intrinsic motivation..................................................................9
2. Case study: TOMS Passport Rewards program ......................................... 12
3. Motivation for this project............................................................................ 16
3.1. Border Tramp...........................................................................................16
3.2. Objective .................................................................................................16
3.3. Data analysis Border Tramp ...................................................................17
3.3.1. Users by the numbers.......................................................................17
3.3.2. Marketing insights.............................................................................18
3.3.3. Data influences earning .................................................................20

4. Gamification and Border Tramp.............................................................. 20
4.1. In-depth user profile............................................................................21
4.1.1. User motivation overview................................................................21
4.1.2. User profile: Erin ................................................................................23
4.1.3. User profile: Adam ...........................................................................26
4.1.4. Reality................................................................................................28
5. Gamification applied to Border Tramp ...................................................... 29
5.1. Gamification methods explored...........................................................29
5.1.1. Measurement ...................................................................................29
5.1.2. Competitive streak ..........................................................................30
5.1.3. Create a Community ......................................................................30
5.1.4. Charity...............................................................................................31
5.2. Charitable donation applied ...............................................................31
5.2.1. Design................................................................................................33
5.2.2. Analysis..............................................................................................34
5. Conclusions ................................................................................................. 38

LIST OF TABLES and CHARTS ................................................................................. iv
LIST OF IMAGES ...................................................................................................... v
REFERENCES........................................................................................................... vi

1. INTRODUCTION
ABC, it’s easy as 1,2,3. Or simple as Do Re Me. Games are everywhere. We
cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand. If life doesn’t
offer a game worth playing, then invent a new one. In every job that must be
done there is an element of fun. You find the fun and snap the jobs a game. Ever
since we were children we are told to turn unpleasant experiences into positive
ones, to be optimistic, to rise to the challenge. Just think of it as a game, don’t
hate the player, hate the game.
American’s alone spent $22.41 billion in the game industry and 2014. There
are on average two gamers in each American household and four out of five
American households have a gaming device. And 42% of Americans dedicate 3
or more hours per week on video games. This is bold and powerful information that
deserves closer examination. (ESA, 2015)
In the book Gamify, the authors cite findings that “one billion people — an
astonishing one in seven of the world’s population — spend on average at least an
hour a day playing computer and video games. 300 million minutes a day (the
aggregate equivalent of 400,000 years) are spent playing Angry Birds. 170 hours a
year per player are devoted to Call of Duty. That’s the equivalent of signing off
one month of full-time work every year to the game. One in four players called in
sick to stay home and play Call of Duty Black Ops II on launch day in November
2012....As a planet, we’re spending 7 billion hours a week fuelling our desire to be
engaged with games. If brands can replicate even a small slice of that
engagement, then the payback must surely be substantial.” (Burke, 2014)
The extensive study of the video game industry makes it apparent that there
is a massive market willing to devote time and money when they are playing
games they enjoy. How can this massive potential be harnessed into a strategy to
convince people to take desirable actions that benefit companies? In 2003 Nick
Pelling created the term GAMIFICATION and the exploitation of games began.
From smartphone applications to brick and mortar marketing to public school
classrooms, turning work and tasks into a game to motivate the workers to
complete their work — changing work into goals and workers into players. It has a
name and that name is gamification.
This thesis aims to identify how gamification can be used to achieve
specified website targets. The origins of gamification will be researched and
explored and modern implementations of gamification will be explained. Once
the definition of gamification has been established, the motivation for this work will
be outlined, namely to improve the travel web site Border Tramp. Pertinent data
will be examined and explained and the goal is to ultimately establish a means of
improving traffic and engagement on Border Tramp to increase it’s profitability
and worth. In order to do this, gamification features will be proposed and
explored, ultimately landing on one option and exploring it’s effect on the existing
numbers of Border Tramp. As stated before, the first task of this thesis is to

understand fully what is gamification, what makes gamification work and what
differentiates a gamified feature from a classic game.
1.1What is a game?
“Voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles.” Bernard Suits
(McGonigal, 2011)
Sports. Board games. Card games. Games of chance. Games of luck.
Games of skill. Party games. Video games. Multiplayer games. War games. “Want
to play a game?” “Let’s have a game night!” “Relax, it’s just a game.” Games are
everywhere. Everyone seems to know when they are playing a game. But ask
those same people to define what exactly constitutes a game and concept
becomes much more ambiguous. Most likely an off the cuff definition of a game
includes the words: competition, rules, winner, loser, points. It’s true that these are
basic elements of many games. But in order to understand what is gamification, it
must first be understood what is a game.
In Reality is Broken, Jane McConigal outlines four defining traits of a game:
a goal, rules, feedback system and voluntary participation:
• The goal is the specific outcome that players will work to achieve. It focuses
their attention and continually orients their participation throughout the
game. The goal provides players with a sense of purpose.
• The rules place limitations on how players can achieve the goal. By
removing or limiting the obvious ways of getting to the goal, the rules push
players to explore previously uncharted possibility spaces. They unleash
creativity and foster strategic thinking.
• The feedback system tells players how close they are to achieving the goal.
It can take the form of points, levels, a score, or a progress bar. Or, in its
most basic form, the feedback system can be as simple as the players’
knowledge of an objective outcome: “The game is over when …” Real-time
feedback serves as a promise to the players that the goal is definitely
achievable, and it provides motivation to keep playing.
• Voluntary participation requires that everyone who is playing the game
knowingly and willingly accepts the goal, the rules, and the feedback.
Knowingness establishes common ground for multiple people to play
together. And the freedom to enter or leave a game at will ensures that
intentionally stressful and challenging work is experienced as safe and
pleasurable activity.
(McGonigal, 2011)

Moving forward with these 4 elements accepted as necessary elements to
create a game, it is prudent to determine what makes a game a game and what
makes a gamified experience distinct from a game. As it is now understood what a
game is, now the concept of gamification must be given parameters.
1.2. Elements of gamification
Image 1: Burke, 2014, p.27)
Gartner defines gamification as: the use of game mechanics and
experience design to digitally engage and motivate people to achieve their
goals. Game mechanics describes the key elements that are common to many
games, such as points, badges and leaderboards. Experience design describes
the journey players take with elements such as game play, play space and story
line.
Gamification is a method to digitally engage rather than personally
engage, meaning that players interact with computers, smartphones, wearable
monitors or other digital devices. The goal of gamification is to motivate people to
change behaviors or develop skills, or to drive innovation. Gamification focuses on
enabling players to achieve their goals — and as a consequence the organization
achieves its goals. Gamification engages people at an emotional level. In a way
that is meaningful to them. Users who engage with gamification are driven to
improve and maintain engagement because they feel challenged and also
capable of achieving the set goal. This makes them feel good intrinsically.
This feel-good sensation is called an intrinsic reward. Intrinsic rewards can
sustain engagement, whereas extrinsic rewards have a less durable impact and
may even serve to discourage players. Maintaining a sense of autonomy,
progressing toward mastery and engaging with a purpose larger than themselves

motivate people. An intrinsic reward is the feeling of pride one feels when
accomplishing a feat. An extrinsic reward is cash paid for a job done.
Player-centric design starts with an understanding of the player’s goals and
ambitions and strives for an experience that engages players at an emotional level
to help them achieve a goal that is meaningful to them, a goal that will result in an
intrinsically good feeling. If the gamification feature correctly identifies its users
affinities and uses those as a main influence in the design it is bound to have much
more of an impact. To access a target user’s intrinsic values is the key to making a
successfully gamified feature that will keep the users coming back for more.
Apart from intrinsic rewards, gamification breaks larger goals into smaller
practical challenges, encouraging players as they progress through levels, and
engages them emotionally to achieve their very best. (Burke, 2014, pp. 23-24) For
example the checkout process of Amazon.com is a gamified featured. Each step
in the process is broken into a destination along a path that begins at “sign in” and
completes at “place order.” It’s a minor detail of the total page design, but this
small detail presents to the user a journey that is up to them to complete. Only they
can finish what they started. Amazon’s checkout process is an example of how
gamification can break a process down into smaller individually achievable levels
that together complete the journey, in this case: the purchase.
Image 2: www.Amazon.com
Image 3: www.Amazon.com

By differentiating games versus gamification, it becomes apparent that the
essential element and key factor of gamification is motivation. By using game
mechanics and elements of game design that are intrinsically known to the vast
majority of the human population we can motivate people to do what we want
them to do. It can be as subtle as the progress bar as you are shopping on
Amazon as showcased previously. Traditional games exist as a diversion from
reality. A way to take a break, to entertain and tune out from daily stresses
achieving goals and overcoming challenges unrelated to the real world stress of
your life. Gamification aims to exploit the motivation people have when playing
traditional games in order to complete work/business-related tasks and
objectives. In theory, gamification should engage players on an emotional level to
motivate them to play the game, to complete the goal, to take the action. And
the goals set forth by gamification will ultimately be completing a goal established
by its designers; in the case of Amazon: completing purchases.
The vital factor of a successful gamification feature is motivation, does the
user feel motivated to play, be engaged and come back for more. So the next
step is to define motivation. In order to successfully motivate a person, it must be
understood what the principles behind motivation are. First things first, to divide
motivation into two different fields – intrinsic and extrinsic.
Extrinsic motivation is when you are compelled to do something for tangible
rewards. You are not inspired by an inner desire to feel better or help or be
connected, but rather to earn an external reward: fame, money, praise, etc. An
example of extrinsic motivation is someone who works a job they hate 40 hours a
week in order to receive a paycheck. They are motivated to show up and do the
job, however they are not invested in the work, only doing enough to get
paid. This is not the type of motivation gamification aims to harness.
Which brings us to intrinsic motivation: that get-you-out-of-the-bed–in-the-
morning motivation. When a father of three young children spends thousands of
dollars on anti-smoking patches and chewing gums to quit smoking – it’s he himself
who chooses the challenge and works to be the victor. It’s the motivation of a
long life with his family, of setting a good example for his children, of being the
man he wants his children to grow to be proud of that compels him to spend large
amounts of money on anti-smoking products. His intrinsic motivation is helping him
to achieve his own goals while at the same time completing the goals of the
companies who produce anti-smoking items. It is their objective to sell as much as
they can and by exploiting their target audience’s intrinsic motivation to lead a
healthier life they can achieve those goals.
Intrinsic motivation is the motivation that counts. It’s the motivation that gets
people to do the extraordinary on their own volition. To not only take on a
challenge but also to feel compelled from within to finish it. It’s the motivation that
truly counts; that makes things worth doing and life worth living. Let’s break it
down:

1.3. The role of intrinsic motivation
According to GAMIFY intrinsic motivation is composed of three essential
elements: autonomy, mastery and purpose.
• Autonomy: The desire to direct our own lives, in effective gamified solutions,
players opt in to participate and once they do they make choices about
how they will process through the challenges to achieve their goals. Players
are given the opportunity to discover and learn using different paths
through the solution. In some gamified solutions there are no paths at all.
Players are given goals, tools, rules and a space to “play” without being
directed on the next steps to take.
• Mastery: The urge to make progress and get better at something that
matters. We all have a deep-seated need to improve in aspects of our lives,
but often we lack the motivation to take the first step. Gamification provides
the positive feedback and easy on-boarding that can motivate people to
start performing better in a chosen area. But mastery is not an attainable
goal; it is a journey. There are many signposts along the way that indicate
progress, but there is never an end point. In virtually all of life’s pursuits —
whether it is running, panting, or learning a language — there is always
another level. Gamification is about getting better at something.
• Purpose: The yearning to act in service of something larger than ourselves.
By definition, gamified solutions are distinguished from traditional games by
their purpose. Gamification is focused on one or more of three objectives:
changing behaviors, developing skills or driving innovation. Gamification
must start and finish with a purpose that is centered on achieving
meaningful player goals … a goal much larger than themselves.
(Burke, 2014, pp.19-20)
Here we can look at these three essential elements of motivation in slightly
different terms:
- AUTONOMY
Google is famous for their 80/20 rule. This rule states that Google employees
are asked to spend 20% of their time on personal projects. Other companies have
followed suit on this – encouraging employees to set goals, both long and short
term, and in turn to show progress on these goals. In this way employees feel
autonomous, able to work with a sense of freedom and not in an indentured
servant type of setting where every weekday from 9-5 the employee’s time is not
their own, but the company who’s paying them. It is the precise opposite of
micromanagement. And as a result many great technologies have come from
employee’s 20% time. According to the New York Times (Mediratta, Bick, 2007)
Gmail was created during one person’s 20% time devoted to works of passion.

- MASTERY
It is important to discuss the concept of flow. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
originally articulated flow in his book named Flow, although it is a feeling and state
of being that each and every one of us can identify with. Flow is defined by
Csikszentmihalyi as a state in which people are so involved in an activity that
nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will
continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it. Flow is what is at
play within the motivational element of mastery. Individuals are compelled to
improve at the process they are engaged in. If it is in the sense of a true game,
Candy Crush for example, the player is in a state of flow as they complete levels
and face increasing levels of difficulties each round, at times failing and having to
try again. According to Csikszentmihalyi there are 10 factors that accompany the
experience of flow:
• Clear goals, while challenging, are still attainable.
• Strong concentration and focused attention.
• The activity is intrinsically rewarding.
• Feelings of serenity; a loss of feelings of self-consciousness.
• Timelessness; a distorted sense of time; feeling so focused on the present
that you lose track of time passing.
• Immediate feedback.
• Knowing that the task is do-able; a balance between skill level and the
challenge presented.
• Feelings of personal control over the situation and the outcome.
• And this is the important point about Flow: Flow is such an enjoyable
experience that it's ultimately its own intrinsic reward.
Image 4: Csikszentmihalyi 1990, p. 74

- PURPOSE
There are endless examples of purpose being used as a means of
motivation for making an action. A brilliant example of playing for purpose is FoldIt,
the crowdsourcing computer game that engages users to manipulate proteins,
amino acids and the like helping scientist to breakthroughs that have otherwise
not been achieved in the annals of academia. This community eventually led to a
breakthrough discovery in the search for a cure for AIDS. On the Foldit site, the
tagline is, “Foldit is a revolutionary crowdsourcing computer game enabling you to
contribute to important scientific research.” (Peckham, 2011)
2. CASE STUDY: TOMS PASSPORT REWARDS PROGRAM
As a case study one can look to Toms Shoes’ TOMS Passport Rewards
Program. Given the parameters of game design and gamification practice, this
program can be evaluated as a true gamified process.
First, the parameters of a game: Is there a goal? Are there rules? Is
feedback given? Is participation voluntary?
Image 5: Join TOMS Passport Rewards

Goal: to earn rewards.
Rules: Join and earn stamps by taking certain actions regarding TOMS shoes.
Feedback: Earning stamps, earning rewards after completing certain goals.
Voluntary participation: One can choose to join the program or not. Once a user
has joined it is still voluntary as to whether that user decides to participate in the
rewards incentives.
Now to determine how gamification is being applied to this online program.
A summary of gamification elements:
• Game mechanics, as described above.
• Game experience
• Digitally engaging
• Motivation to alter behaviors
• Enabling users to achieve goals
• Intrinsic rewards (autonomy, mastery, purpose)
It has been determined that game mechanics are present. What about game
experience? Is there a journey to follow, a storyline? Yes. In the image it is shown,
as easy as 1-2-3. 1: Sign up. 2: Earn stamps. 3: Get rewards! This is the journey of the
game experience deduced to a simple and easy to recognize format. The landing
page goes further to explicitly state journey in the next segment:
Image 6: Join TOMS Passport Rewards Journey
Does the gamification feature require users to be digitally engaged? As
shown in the image above: Yes, users must be digitally engaged to participate in

the program. In order to complete goals and advance levels the users must shop
online, receive emails; use social media and check-in to Tom’s stores.
Next, are the players enabled to achieve their goals? First these goals must
be identified. In the terms of this feature, the user’s goals are to receive rewards.
The rewards are listed in the above image as well as an enticing showcase of
featured rewards also found on the landing page (see image). As the users are
motivated to earn rewards they are completing tasks that help TOMS Shoes. By
taking actions such as sharing on social media, receiving e-mails, and shopping
TOMS is also achieving their own objectives of sales and marketing.
Furthermore, gamification needs to have intrinsic motivation to truly be
successful, is that at play here in TOMS Passport Rewards Program? To assess
intrinsic motivation there are three actors at play: autonomy, mastery and
purpose. Autonomy: yes. Players are in control of how much they wish to shop, and
they are aware that if they choose to connect on social media or to check-in to
designated places they will earn stamps -- however there are many options for
earning stamps and for choosing which rewards to receive.
Mastery? This is perhaps a bit lacking, as there are no real skilled tasks to
complete. Shopping and taking online actions to connect the company to your
online social circles mostly earn the stamps. However there are different
designated levels and while a player may spend a short time on level one, quickly
obtaining a level two status, the player will then be increasingly challenged to
achieve a level three status, the highest level to earn. In this there is a sense of
mastery at play.
Purpose? Yes. As TOMS Shoes is famous for their One for One program,
stamps are earned by supporting this. When a player shops at TOMS they are
donating to the less fortunate. Some of the rewards are also focused on giving.
While a player might receive a discount code, there is also a reward to have
money donated in the player’s name. Players can are also eligible to win a trip to
volunteer on a One for One give in person. This type of purpose feeds into the
player’s intrinsic motivation to succeed and complete tasks.

Image 7: Join TOMS Passport Rewards the rewards
Image 8: Join TOMS Passport Rewards: Levels

3. MOTIVATION FOR THIS PROJECT
The objective of this project is to determine how gamification can be used
to enhance user engagement on the Border Tramp website. Furthermore, how this
engagement can be interpreted to encourage advertising and investors in an
effort to monetize the site.
There is any number of ways to increase user audience, most notably by
paying for user acquisition. The problem with blog readership is that users generally
will find one specific blog entry that provides the information or opinion they are
seeking and leave, with no intentions of returning.
3.1. Border Tramp
BORDER TRAMP MISSION
Border Tramp exists to guide budget backpackers through traveling in
Central America. Chicken buses and strange cities at night can be
intimidating — Border Tramp helps.
Border Tramp is a travel guide to touring Central America on a tight budget.
The site contains extensive information on where to sleep, how to travel between
destinations, bus schedules, restaurants, sightseeing, and much more. The prices
and information are updated at least once a year and there are various
contributors who travel the region finding new tips and advice.
Border Tramp has had a steady, albeit small, traffic flow since being
launched. Advertising the site is limited to word of mouth and a
guerrilla/grassroots-style advertising of placing vinyl stickers in hostels and
restaurants as well as smaller stickers in places like bus windows, bathroom mirrors,
and hostel lockers. Occasionally, the Border Tramp contributors have come across
a backpacker on the trail who sees the sticker on a work computer and recognizes
the brand. It is by no means the “go-to” source of information for travelers, but it is
one that is known and thought of as useful by those who use it.
3.2. Objective: Monetization
After four-and-a-half years of curating a website with a wealth of
information, Border Tramp would now like to explore the option of monetizing the
site. Common forms of monetizing a blog include affiliate marketing and
attracting advertisers. While acceptance into affiliate marketing is not contingent
on website traffic, the affiliation’s earning potential is directly affected by the
numbers. Furthermore with attracting advertisers it is very important to use the
website’s number to showcase that target audiences are present and that there is
both quality and quantity traffic flowing in Border Tramp.
In the following pages there is a review of current traffic over a 30-day
period during the lead-up to the high season for travel in Central America. Each
table will be further analyzed in the text, which follows the graph.

3.3. BORDER TRAMP BY THE NUMBERS (30-day period)
As the objective of this project is to augment certain KPIs of Border Tramp,
there must be a baseline established. For the purposes of understanding what
makes Border Tramp what it is the numbers behind the content must be explored.
While a web site is very much defined by its content and it’s mission, it is how it
actually performs that determines what is the essence and potential of a site.
3.3.1. Defining the user:
Among the most essential elements of what makes an online service what it
is, are the users. Of course every sit has a target demographic in mind when first
creating their site, but knowing the true data is of the utmost importance. Here the
demographic data from Google Analytics will be showcased.
USER TYPE SESSIONS BOUNCE PAGES TIME
New user 1,067 49% 3.24 00:01:43
Returning user 295 47% 3.75 00:04:24
Table 4, Google Analytics
COUNTRY SESSSIONS % NEW NEW USERS BOUNCE
USA 283 90.5% 256 46%
MEXICO 212 78% 164 44%
COSTA RICA 118 92% 109 47%
RUSSIA 112 9% 10 83%
GUATEMALA 89 75% 67 42%
CANADA 64 77% 49 15%
GERMANY 41 85% 35 22%
BELIZE 39 59% 23 51%
PANAMA 311 81% 26 56%
LANGUAGE SESSIONS
English – USA 588
English – GB 128
Spanish 57
German 38
English – CA 36
French 21
Spanish – ES 15
AGE SESSIONS
18-24 68
25-34 253
35-44 90
45-54 57
GENDER SESSIONS
Female 338
Male 267

OS SESSIONS %NEW NEW USERS BOUNCE PAGES TIME
iOS 436 58% 254 60% 3 0:02:45
MAC 347 94% 325 69% 2 0:00:48
WINDOWS 335 85% 284 2% 6 0:03:36
ANDROID 222 83% 185 67% 2 0:01:52
LINUX 8 88% 7 13% 2 0:00:00
WINDOWS
PHONE
8 100% 8 63% 4 0:01:19
CHROME 5 60% 3 0% 9 0:04:33
BLACKBERRY 1 100% 1 100% 1 0:00:00
These six tables give an overview of the users landing on Border Tramp. This
shows that the average user is between the ages of 25-34, more likely to be a
woman than a man, English speaker, using an iOS browser in the United States of
America. While this is what the statistics show it is also important to note that the
variation between genders is quite minimal (56% female, 44% male).
Looking at the tables of geographic location we see that the USA is
followed closely by Mexico. This most likely reflects travelers using the site while in
Mexico. This same inference can be extrapolated to the other Central American
countries, which appear in this table.
There are many different insights to be taken from these tables, but for the
purpose of understanding a general overview of the Border Tramp user, the
analysis of these numbers shall only serve for the aforementioned insights: Border
Tramp is accessed by English-speaking Americans between the age of 25-34 who
use iOS devices, and are generally landing on the page for the first time.
3.3.2. Marketing insights:
In the previous section the true user data was established and discussed.
Apart from knowing who is using Border Tramp, those users can then be analyzed
to asses the marketing potential of the site. To attract advertisers of quality over
quantity, the message must be one the users will be drawn too and find
appealing. In the following tables use data from Google Analytics to analyze the
users online profiles and habits to bring to light marketing insights of Border Tramp.

AFFINITY SESSIONS NEW USERS BOUNCE PAGES TIME
Travel beach
bound buffs
330 256 36% 4 0:03:15
Movie lovers 326 254 30% 4 0:02:50
TV lovers 292 217 27% 4 0:03:38
News junkies 291 232 36% 3 0:02:12
Cooking
enthusiasts
246 198 39% 4 0:02:26
Technophiles 233 182 29% 5 0:03:37
Outdoor
enthusiasts
220 162 33% 4 0:02:57
Shutterbugs 212 174 31% 4 0:02:49
Travel buffs 212 167 36% 4 0:03:04
Health &
fitness buffs
202 151 33% 4 0:02:41
MARKET SESSIONS NEW USERS BOUNCE PAGES TIME
Travel hotel 436 336 34% 4 0:03:25
Air travel 324 245 30% 4 0:02:48
Hotel Mexico 217 173 37% 3 0:03:00
Financial
services
161 128 37% 4 0:02:43
Real Estate 155 120 23% 5 0:03:27
There is also a plethora of marketing insights available. First to look at the
numbers from an acquisition standpoint, it must be noted that these numbers are
acquired with zero paid ads or promotions. Over the thirty-day period there was a
nearly 100% increase in organic search users landing on Border Tramp. At the same
time there was a nearly 100% decrease in social referrals. Notably there were no
social posts during this time. That said, it shows that the organic search traffic is a
thriving source of traffic for Border Tramp and the site would benefit immensely if
more attention were to given to search engine optimization as well as paid boosts
for keyword search results.
When approaching the idea of affiliations and site advertisement it is key to
know the user's interests and affinities. Ideally the users would be interested in travel
and adventure, culture and experience and thankfully the numbers do reflect this.
Large majority of new users on Border Tramp are listed as travel buffs and
enthusiasts, and furthermore they identify as health and fitness and cooking buffs.
To translate those affinities to in-market segments the potential
advertisements and affiliations can be identified: Hotel and accommodation
bookings, air travel, car rental, etc.

3.3.3. How the data can influence earning potential
By investing advertising money into Border Tramp companies devoted to
the travel industry could reap benefits immediately. Apart from integrating
advertisements, professional affiliations can be made. Appropriates affiliations
would include best price flight search engines and hostel/accommodation
booking sites such as Hostelworld.com.
Hostelworld.com offers a percentage reimbursement depending on a
monthly threshold of reservations made through the affiliate’s site. This method of
monetization could be a smart move, as it requires zero investment and very little
effort to implement.
As shown in the data, Border Tramp is reaching a very clear and well-
defined audience. This is valuable as it shows that the users are a quality
demographic and can be marketed to in a focused and specific manner.
As for any monetization strategy, user retention is an important aspect of
any site. It shows that users are loyal and therefore may be more open to
marketing attempts. In order to examine user retention more closely, it is smart to
take a deeper look at the users, and then the numbers to see how the site is
performing.
4. GAMIFICATION and BORDER TRAMP
Gamification is manifested in many different ways and these features can
be used in any number of approaches. The goal is to use a gamified feature on
the site of Border Tramp to augment user retention and engagement. Having
increased retention and engagement data to show potential affiliates would go a
long way to prove the worth of Border Tramp as a source of marketing revenue.
It has been established that gamification is used to increase user
engagement and retention. Through gamification users become hooked to the
feature of the site and come back for more, attempting to better their status, to
improve their skills and achieve the established goal.
For the purposed of Border Tramp, the goal must first be established in order
to consider appropriate gamification strategies to achieve this goal. The endgame
for Border Tramp is to secure a method of monetization. According to industry
professionals, common methods that travel blogs and content-based websites use
to monetize is through advertising, affiliate partnerships and lead generation.
(Quora, https://www.quora.com/What-impact-does-social-login-have-on-
conversion-rates)
Taking this into consideration, all these methods are based on traffic: the
higher the traffic to the page the more earning potential. Therefore increasing
traffic to the site fundamentally supports the path to monetization.

The numbers illustrate a user profile that can be elaborated in order to
achieve the optimal gamified feature for Border Tramp. The ability to identify the
target audience and what their interests and motivators are is the key to creating
a successful gamification strategy.
4.1. In-depth user profile
With Border Tramp there is a target audience and an ideal user journey that
was taken into account in the design process of the site. Here that user journey
hypothesis will be discussed and then compared with the data available to
decipher if users are in fact using Border Tramp as projected.
Identifying affinities and what the target user values is of the utmost
importance in terms of marketing the site and reaching that demographic.
Gamification theory relies on users autonomy: that the user feels in control and
makes a deliberate choice to engage with the feature. In order to achieve this,
the feature must appeal to the user, and this requires an in-depth understanding of
what the target user finds appealing. First their motivators must be established. Erin
and Adam have the same pains and gains in life -- what frustrates them and what
gets them up in the morning?
4.1.1. User motivation overview
Let’s meet our users; first a quick look at what drives them. Erin and Adam
have the same pains and gains in life -- what frustrates them and what gets them
up in the morning? The importance of knowing the users of a site will and should
influence every aspect of an online site.
FRUSTRATIONS MOTIVATIONS
Pressure to fit in Reading
Money Nature photography
Keeping a job Travel journalism
Having a purpose Social interaction
Money to travel Making friends
Competing with friends Making people happy
Creative blocks Being active
Feeling uninspired Exercise
Politics Learning
Injustice in the world Helping
Being complacent Empathy
Excess Working
Over-indulgence Feeling worthwhile
Inefficiency Efficiency
Apathy Celebrations
Table 9, User affinities

Table 8 lays out the supposed and hypothesized affinities of the users.
Whether male or female, both of these users share core principles and morals. They
are creative, active and motivated people, very idealistic and with strong beliefs
in how the direction their life should go. An important takeaway from this table is
that the target audience is social. They are people who travel, whether with friends
or alone, and they meet and make friends along the way. They enjoy learning and
conversation is an efficient and engaging way to learn about cultures and how
humanity throughout the world operates differently and often the same. These
core values of the target audience are vital to keep in mind when thinking of ways
to intrinsically engage them once they have entered Border Tramp.
In order to fully understand who Border Tramp’s users are, and what is the
typical user journey, we must further explore their profile and how they are finding
using Border Tramp -- both in theory and in the wild.

4.1.2. User profile: Erin
Image 9: User profile: Erin

Erin is a 25-year-old American university graduate who has tried her hand at
lots of jobs. She loves to write and to know as much as she can while maintaining
an open mind about divisive topics. She reads the news daily and curates her
exposure with a variety of national and international publications. She is
environmentally minded -- a stickler for recycling and minimizing waste. She is
borderline obsessive about eating clean and healthy. Cooking is a favorite hobby
of hers and when she’s not reading about world news she is browsing cooking
blogs and recipe sites.
Erin does enjoy shopping but she values quality over trend and price.
Therefore, she will gladly spend $150 on nice hiking boots if they are top of the line,
tested and recommended for her purposes and she knows she’ll use them. Same
goes for her hiking backpack, which she researched for 3 months before making
the final decision to spend $350 on a 50L pack. In the back of her mind she always
has efficiency on her mind -- is there a better, faster, more productive way to
accomplish a task?
Of course she has her off days. While Erin spends 4 to 5 days a week
exercising she does like to let loose on the weekends. She goes out with friends,
drinks heavily at times and is not shy about drugs. She acknowledges their risks and
is wary of doing them often, but also enjoys disconnecting from reality and her
stress at times.
She knows she wants to be useful and she knows she wants to experience
all she can in life before having to make the decision whether to settle down in
one place for a long period of time. She knows her career is important to her but
she also knows that to live a life most worth living she has to learn things on her own
volition and through experience, not a classroom.
Because of these motivations she has save money to spend an extended
amount of time traveling alone. As she has never done this she has decided to
start close to home in a well-known backpacker’s hot spot: Central America. She
has found a program to spend her first month living with a local family in Antigua,
Guatemala where she will study Spanish and learn more about the local culture.
She then hopes to spend at least 6 more weeks traveling the region -- without
much planned ahead of time.
Erin’s Border Tramp Journey:
On a hot and sunny Caribbean coast morning Erin wakes up, ready for her
final beach day before heading inland for some jungle adventure. It’s been a
great week of snorkeling, dock lounging and rum punch parties but it’s time to get
some interior Central America experience. So before hitting the sand, this
independent girl is going to get her things in order for the early departure
tomorrow. She gets her tablet out and searches -- “Palenque from Tulum”
Somewhere among the page 1 search results she finds Border Tramp -- she has

seen the site a few times before -- stickers in hostels and restaurant
recommendations in Isla Holbox and Tulum.
She’s also used the site before. When initially planning her trip she stumbled
upon it, but hadn’t paid much attention. During her first month studying in Antigua
she read some hostel and restaurant reviews for the town there -- just to get an
idea of the scene. This name recognition helps guide her decision to click on the
link. Perhaps she is a bit exhausted by scanning the travel forums of Trip Advisor
and lonely planet.
Through the link she is brought to the Getting//Going Palenque page. She
finds the information she is looking for and furthermore clicks to the Sleeping link --
trying to get an idea of what to expect when she gets into town, an idea of where
she might stay. She scrolls the page and sees that maybe the town doesn’t have
quite the “hostel culture” she’s grown accustomed to on the coast. Well, she’s not
down here for all fun in the sun anyway. She sees the link for eating in Palenque
but resigns to figure it all out later. She’s here to enjoy the scenery and the people -
- not be on her tablet all day. She locks the screen and packs it away in her locker,
grabs her bikini and asks the other girls in the room if they’re headed to the beach.
Image 10: Border Tramp: Getting//Going: Palenque

4.1.3. User profile: Adam
Image 11: User profile: Erin

Much like Erin, Adam is a recent university graduate with designs to spend a
month or two traveling Central America. Adam has always been a curious guy
and not one to make decisions based on what his friends are doing. Maybe
because of this confidence and uniqueness he has also never been lacking for
friends. He has been popular and has never had to try to hard to be among the
best athletically and academically. He was a 4-year-varsity soccer player and also
played on his Division II team in university on a scholarship.
Adam is a bit of a news junkie -- any and all of it, he is up to date. He
especially likes to watch the stock market and be up to date on the tech sector
and start-up business culture. Despite his interest in business, his true passion is
writing. Since high school he has finished each day by reflecting on his
achievements in a journal. His talents and fortunate place in life is not lost on him.
He most enjoys writing about personal experiences and how they impact
him. He enjoys the challenge of trying to articulate emotions and sensations. He
has spent most all of his life focused on achieving -- in school, at soccer, with his
clubs and academic extracurriculars (he plays the trumpet too). Now that he is
finished with undergrad and has some money saved and time to spend he
decides to check out from the hustle and bustle and go experience the world he
doesn’t know.
He knows he won’t constantly be immersed in the local culture. He knows
the Central America is among the most popular destinations for young budget-
strapped backpackers, from all over the world. But this is all part of the appeal. Not
only will he meet and interact with native tribal people, but also with young
travelers from all over the world. He is anxious to absorb it all and then to put into
words on paper his impressions and ruminations.
Adam’s Border Tramp Journey:
Adam is flying into Cancun, Mexico but he knows he does not want to stay
there. So he searches “getting out of Cancun” among the top three results is the
Isla Mujeres info page. He remembers seeing a friend of his posting on Instagram
last summer while in Isla Mujeres. He remembers he thought the picture looked
amazing. A hostel with hammocks everywhere, on the beach, volleyball, a bar
with young people sitting around in their bathing suits smoking joints and sipping
from coconuts. He thinks to himself, “Yeah, I’ll start in Isla Mujeres as an easy
acclimation into the Latin American scene.” New search.
Adam then searches “Getting to Isla Mujeres from Cancun” and he
inevitably lands on Lonely Planet. However he has the book and he’s looking for
some more narrative perspectives -- something he can see as firsthand
experience. He scans the search pages and gives a few a look, then he comes to
Border Tramp. It took him some time but he found it, likely on the second or third
page of the search results.

He enjoys that there are pictures of the experience — the site explains not
just that there is a ferry leaving every half hour but that you can hop in a colectivo
from the main bus station and get straight to the ferry for 75 cents. And it explains
what a colectivo is, and has a picture of it. Adam did not know what a colectivo
was, but now he knows they are going to be a big time budget savior for him.
Adam bookmarks the site so he can come back to it later. He doesn’t want to
have to peruse the Google search results pages again.
4.1.4. Reality
To discover whether these intended user journeys are realistic assumptions
of how users are finding Border Tramp in the wild, site analytics must be consulted.
The best way to decipher how users find a site is through organic search traffic and
the search terms used.
When examining the traffic data of Border Tramp a logistical problem
presents itself. The majority of organic search terms are represented by (not
provided). The cause of this is owed to users making inquiries while logged into
their Google accounts. According to Matt Malone in an article for the Gravitate
blog, in 2011 Google switched to a secure server (https), which encrypts search
results. Meaning anytime you’re logged into Google (i.e. Gmail, Calendar,
YouTube) your searched become protected, leaving all keyword data as (not
provided) in Google Analytics. (Malone, Gravitate)
In order to work around this and determine how organic traffic was landing,
there is a filter to apply through Google Analytics. Through a Kissmetrics tutorial,
Border Tramp’s data can be mined for other information that reveals more about
these visitors and what they are doing on the site. This method does not reveal the
organic search terms used, but creates a landing page report.
The purpose of this filter is to extract the (not provided) terms. To do this, the
URL is extracted and overwrites “not provided” with the user's landing page
(Kissmetrics). This gives a better understanding of what the user may have been
searching to land on specific pages.
Through this filter we can see that the projected user journey is a likely
one. The vast majority of (not provided) organic traffic is landing on the site’s
homepage. During one 30-day time period several users accessed the site to
discover information on getting and going to various locations in Mexico. As
hypothesized, the users find Border Tramp and explore the site how it is intended.

Image 12: Google Analytics Border Tramp
Upon applying this filter, there is a user that becomes quite obvious: The user
who needs the bus schedule. Apart from the homepage the second most
frequent landing page is one of nothing more than a picture of the bus schedule
in Nicaragua running between Penas Blancas and San Jose. The bounce rate for
this landing page is relatively low at 36%, the site average is 40%. It is fair to assume
users land on this page, find the information they are looking for, the bus schedule,
and 60% go on to explore the site further, on average one page deeper
5. Gamification applied
In order to discover a feasible gamified feature to incorporate onto Border
Tramp, several different methods were brainstormed and considered. It has
previously been established that gamification must fulfill certain inherent qualities
in order to be successful: autonomy, mastery and purpose. Apart from this, how to
engage users in this way is open to creativity and imagination.
5.1. Gamification methods explored
In order to develop the most effective feature for gamification the users
affinities must be considered. The motivations and driving forces of the average
user are paramount to engaging them in a gamified feature. In the previous
section the foundational user profile was established. Below, a variety of proposed
gamified features for Border Tramp are explored.
5.1.1.Measurement:
Measure the user's progress. Take for example the checkout progress bar of
any e-commerce site, it has been gamified to encourage the user to complete
the purchase and in doing so fulfilling the progress bar’s destiny.
For Border Tramp’s purposes this has been developed into a series of road
signs. Certain accomplishments will be identified and displayed as completed

once the user has achieved them. The idea would be to display a customized
journey to each user in the form of a road and with challenges and
accomplishments displayed as road signs.
Examples of accomplishments:
• First chicken bus ride
• Haggle prices at famous markets
o Chichicastenango
o Merida
o Panajachel
o Antigua
• Rate 5 hostels
• Scuba dive in Belize
• Visit a cenote in Mexico
• Eat strange local foods
o Crickets
o Guinea pigs
o Chicha
• Surf in El Salvador
• Climb how many volcanoes
These achievements would be broken into levels and then given titles so that
each user is a different level of traveler within the Border Tramp community.
Does it fulfill the requirements of a successful gamification strategy? Yes. Does it
encourage retention? Yes. As user complete goals they are encouraged and
motivated to record those achievements and move further along in their journey.
Does it encourage user engagement? Yes. Users must interact with the site in order
to complete goals and visualize their journey along the road.
5.1.2. Competitive streak
By incorporating features such as leader boards onto sites a common goal
is created that had previously not existed to the user -- they want to reach the
leaderboard. By creating a competition among users there is a community
created and a motivation to be better and do better at whatever goal it is the
game-maker has deemed the objective.
This technique is engendered automatically in many different gamification
strategies. It is often the byproduct of many gamification implementations. For
example, the measurement strategy mentioned above would be wise to have a
leaderboard. Not only are people competing intrinsically to achieve their own
travel goals, but also with a leaderboard there is the added layer of intrinsic
motivation to travel more than your peers.
5.1.3. Create a community
Aren’t most things better with friends? When you have a means to compare
your own experience and to share your accomplishments or frustrations it creates

a community of like-minded users who are ideally your target audience. With an
active community you are gaining valuable information from the audience and
you must reward them for sharing such valuable insight with you -- this instant
gratification can nurture and encourage a thriving user audience.
This technique may also manifest as a byproduct of gamifying a process. If
there is a leaderboard, this means other users can see the names and
accomplishments of their peers. It simply takes opening a channel of
communication between the users and a community is created. The ability to
connect and feel a part of a group is the key to creating a community on any
website. To enable the sharing of experiences and opinions, this is what will create
a community among Border Tramp users.
5.1.4. Charitable cause
People are prone to intrinsic motivation when a force of greater good
drives them, if their actions will help someone who needs it. TOMS shoes, every pair
you buy there is another pair given to an impoverished child in Latin America. Not
only do people like the shoe but also they are motivated to make the purchase
because it has a greater reason than consumerism.
To achieve a successful feature, it must be a cause that the target
audience feels a connection to. Understanding Border Tramp users better and
more thoroughly, through data analysis, an ideal cause can be chosen to benefit
from a gamified feature encouraging users to engage with site and donate
money.
5.2. Create a community with social login applied
Creating a community is an ideal goal for Border Tramp as a loyal
community of users can be valuable to any website. Not only are users invested in
the community they are a part of, but also in the maintenance of the community
which is Border Tramp. Ideally the Border Tramp community would come to be
viewed as ambassadors of the site and a loyal audience, the data of which would
prove very valuable from a marketing perspective.
The idea of creating a community is in line with the target user’s affinities. As
established there are people who like to talk, learn and socialize with like-minded
peers. On the road, there are many questions and concerns that arise and having
a community to voice these concerns and questions seems to be an intuitive
strategy to connecting the Border Tramp users to one another.
When the users are given the option to connect with people who are on the
same journey as them, experiencing similar challenges and discovering new
treasures, the target user will feel inclined to connect with those people. Especially
when it is as simple as a single-click login with a social media account (Facebook,
Google, etc.). Because the gamification feature being proposed is not being

tested, the most effective way to project its effect is to find a KPI that is
measurable, and in this scenario that would be the social login option.
Image 13, Janrain
According to an industry research report published by Janrain, a company
specializing in customer identity management and social login systems, 88% of
consumers have encountered social login before, 51% report using it and 91% of
those users are satisfied with the experience. This report also found that users are
64% more likely to return to a website that remembers them without a name and
password.
The proposal is to implement a community by means of an interactive map.
On this map users who have opted to login using a social account will be able to
see other members of the community, where members are, where they are going,
where they have been and will also be able to chat. The community will be a
forum where like-minded users who are traveling on a similar journey to be able to
discuss, advise and congratulate. These features are very much in line with the
intrinsically positive values of the target audience.
Along with being a preferred sign in method, social login will make user
demographic information easily attainable for Border Tramp. Social login, once a
user has consented, will give the site access to verified and reliable user data that
can be used to improve not only the gamified feature but also the site and
marketing efforts in general. Reference image 13 shows merely the basic
information that is made available through a social sign in registration, beyond
these basics there are numerous miscellaneous data points beyond these:
interests, education, favorite books and movies, etc.

Image 14, Janrain
Given the proven acceptance and conversion of social login along with
the fact that is easily measurable and trackable, it is decided that this will be the
most effective way to project the effect on traffic and user retention the
community map gamified feature could possibly have on Border Tramp.
5.2.1 Design
For the purpose of this work, the community will be measured by an optional
social login, as previously established. The design is imagined as an interactive
map feature in which users who login with social (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) will
check-in at each destination. By means of this feature users will find others who are
in the same location, who were there recently, or who are planning on being
there. This will encourage an exchange of information and tips from everything
ranging on best transportation, best places to eat and what to do.
The concept that traveling is better with friends is strong in this feature.
Travelers already join one another for nightly barbecue parties, they share
information, encourage new friends not to miss certain towns and adventures.
Friendships are forged on the road and are often maintained through online social

networks. This feature takes an existing phenomenon and gamifies it. It takes the
intrinsic values of the user that were previously established: social interaction,
learning, helping, being proactive, etc. By harnessing the desire of target users to
connect with like-minded travelers and help them out, and likewise reach out to
other when they need help or advice.
This intrinsic value becomes the intrinsic motivation for the community map
feature. The user’s goal and objective is to update their location and to stay in
touch with the community. In order to stay in touch they will watch the
communications in the forum and answer questions and offer help where they
can, earning status along the way as well as a feeling of accomplishment as they
are interacting with real people who are actively benefitting from the goodwill of
the community. While it will be overtly a community of helping out and sharing, an
inherent level of competition will exist as users will want to be the most helpful, to
have visited the most sites and to be the most experienced and most
knowledgeable in the community.
Concurrently, the goal behind the scenes will be to increase user retention,
which at the moment is practically non-existent. Using a social login requirement
for users to participate we can project the effect this will have on Border Tramp in
terms of user retention.
5.2.2. Analysis
As established in the previous section, social login sees an average
conversion rate of between 40 and 60 percent. For the purposes of this project a
50% conversion rate will be used to project how the community map feature will
affect Border Tramp’s user retention. In order to analyze how this feature would
help to accomplish the set goals of increasing user retention rates, the existing
numbers must be established.
The numbers acquired for this analysis were obtained through the Google
Analytics Cohort Analysis feature. The numbers are taken from the dates of
February 4, 2016 through March 3, 2016 and the cohorts are measure by user
retention. This is to say that each day's new users are tracked for how many days
they return to the site in a 12 day period. It is an effective method to measure user
retention on the site.
Once the number of new users and returning users is obtained, each day
becomes an individual cohort with the following days retention rates measured by
individual users as well. For example, if 28 new users enter Border Tramp on
February 4, those 28 are a set cohort and each of those users who return to the site
after February 4 become a percentage of that cohort, which represents the
retention rate. If one user from the February 4 cohort returns to the site on February
25, the one-day retention rate for cohort 28 is 3.57%.
In order to get a visualization of the retention rate and pattern over a 30
day period, this process must be applied the entire 30 day period. This means there

will 30 cohorts, each representing the new users of each day throughout the 30-
day period. The existing retention rate is shown here in the chart 1.
Chart 1, Actual retention
In this visualization it becomes quite obvious that the retention rate is quite
close to nonexistent. Quickly dropping from an already low less than 6% to under
1.5%. This also makes is clear that retention is an area that could and should be
greatly improved. In this first iteration and proposal for a gamification feature on
the site, it will be measured how a feature with social login can affect retention
rate.
As was discussed in the previous sections, the industry standard of 50%
conversion will be applied to forecast how a social login feature will influence user
retention on Border Tramp. This is to say that 50% of each day’s users will opt-in for
social sign in. Those numbers will adhere to the same formula as stated above. In
chart 2 it is shown how the forecasted retention curve would appear.

Chart 2, Forecast retention
This table shows the forecasted retention curve once a social sign in feature
is implemented. It is immediately clear that there is a prominent and obvious long
tail curve in this forecast. Not only did the curve gain a trend, but it also
skyrocketed to roughly 50% one-day retention rate, which tapers sharply after
that. In the following table we can see the two curves on the same chart.
By seeing the two curves comparatively on the same axes it is quite obvious
that the social sign in has a profound and significant impact on the retention rate
of Border Tramp, most notably on the first couple day’s retentions rates.
Chart 3, Actual vs. forecast retention

The objective this feature was meant to achieve was to increase user
retention and as has been shown, it is forecasted to do just that. Below are two
more charts which illustrate the retention in terms of total number of daily active
users (DAU) on the site during the designated time period. The first chart shows
existing users and the following chart is the projected number of daily active users
once the social sign in feature is implemented.
Chart 4, Actual DAU
Chart 5, Forecasted DAU

The lines visible are labeled retention, new users, and total. Retention refers
the users who are returning from the beginning of the designated time period and
the new users’ line refers to first time visitors on the site. In terms of these numbers,
the only measurement the proposed feature will effect are the returning users and
therefore also the total users each day.
On the tables, as in the previous ones, we can see that the social sign in
feature is projected to have a measurably positive effect on the KPI we want to
improve: User retention.
6. CONCLUSIONS
After reviewing the existing numbers and forecasting possible effects, the
goal of this paper was to establish a recommendation on how to apply
gamification within the web site Border Tramp.
It has been noted that there are many KPIs of Border Tramp that are lacking,
however there is an enormous amount of useful content, and with minimal
adjustments and implementations these numbers have the potential to be easily
augmented and improved.
In this thesis the concept of gamification has been established and
explored, both in general terms and in terms of how it can be used to improve
Border Tramp. Furthermore, ideas of gamification were developed and considered
in order to find the best method of feature gamification on Border Tramp. Most
important of this was identifying the user.
In order to identify the target Border Tramp user, first the ideal and intended
user was profiled. Upon identifying whom Border Tramp hopes to reach it was
essential to determine who Border Tramp was in fact reaching, using the data
found through Google Analytics.
Through the analysis of the existing data on Border Tramp those numbers
were used to make a forecast in how implementing an interactive community
map could likely benefit Border Tramp, improve its KPIs and in turn brighten it’s
marketing and monetization outlooks.
A social sign in method was determined to be an effective way to forecast
a measurable change on user retention. Ultimately this did forecast a favorable
change in user retention – a 50% increase in fact. However, the forecasted
retention does have a sharp and immediate drop off after the first couple days.
The ultimate goal was to have a more long term impact on user retention,
to encourage user to come back again and again, during the planning of a trip
and while they are traveling. Furthermore a successful gamified community map
would encourage members of the community to remain engaged beyond their
trip – after they’ve returned home and are still able to reach out, help out and be
in touch with people on the road.

As this paper only measures the first iteration of the map, that of the social
sign in, it is prudent to consider that further studies of this business case would
garner more in-depth results. It is recommended in the second iteration of this
study, to further determine how this gamified feature will affect Border Tramp to
include KPIs outside of just user retention.
It has been shown that the interactive community map can and should
have a positive effect on Border Tramp in the desired ways and is worth further
study and test implantation in order to know how a gamified feature could have
further positive and possibly negative impacts on a site such as Border Tramp.

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Game Mechanics illustration, Burke p. 27............................................7
Figure 2: Amazon purchase process, Amazon.com ..........................................8
Figure 3: Amazon purchase process II, Amazon.com........................................8
Figure 4: FLOW chart, Csikszentmihalyi, p. 74 ....................................................11
Figure 5: TOMS Passport Rewards , www.TOMS.com .......................................12
Figure 6: TOMS Passport Rewards Journey, www.TOMS.com..........................13
Figure 7: TOMS Passport Rewards Rewards, www.TOMS.com ........................15
Figure 8: TOMS Passport Rewards Levels, www.TOMS.com.............................15
Figure 9: User profile: Erin .....................................................................................22
Figure 10: Border Tramp: Getting and Going: Palenque,
www.bordertramp.com ......................................................................................25
Figure 11: User profile: Adam...............................................................................26
Figure 12: Landing pages by session, Border Tramp Google Analytics..........29
Figure 13: Social Login preview, Janrain............................................................32
Figure 14: Social Login profile data points, Janrain ..........................................33

LIST OF TABLES and CHARTS
Table 1: Border Tramp Users by gender, Google Analytics .............................17
Table 2: Border Tramp Users by language, Google Analytics ........................17
Table 3: Border Tramp Users by age, Google Analytics ..................................17
Table 4: Border Tramp Users by user type, Google Analytics .........................17
Table 5: Border Tramp Users by country, Google Analytics ............................17
Table 6: Border Tramp Users by operating system, Google Analytics ...........18
Table 7: Border Tramp user affinities, Google Analytics ..................................19
Table 8: Border Tramp market insights, Google Analytics ...............................19
Table 9: Border Tramp target user profile affinities............................................21
Chart 1: Actual retention curve for Border Tramp ............................................35
Chart 2: Forecasted retention curve for Border Tramp ....................................36
Chart 3 Actual vs. forecasted retention curve for Border Tramp....................36
Chart 4: DAU actual for Border Tramp................................................................37
Chart 5:, DAU forecasted for Border Tramp ......................................................37

REFERENCES
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New York: HarperCollins
Burke, B. (2014) Gamify: How Gamification Motivates People to Do Extraordinary
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Border Tramp (2011) Border Tramp: Traveling the Yucatan and Central America on
$20 a Day, [Online], Available: http://www.bordertramp.com
PHD., Atkinson, C., Devoy, M., Holden, M., Ralston-Good, F. and Reid, A. (2013)
Game Change, London: PHD.
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