... There has been plenty of research on this topic and the conclusion indicates that rankings within a forum community are important in the minds of a large number of its members and thus encourages the membership to be more active since a side goal is to achieve a higher ranking and establishing a certain level of importance.
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Perhaps... but most marketing professionals also know they need to never take this "research" too seriously. For the many years I worked in Corporate America, I took all this stuff with a grain of salt each and everyday. It was a part of marketing we all knew existed, but I never gave it much credence. Most of it was BS and only applied to a small minority of people.
David
Well David...If you read my post carefully, I made the point that I would do away with the "like" and "rank" system here on the forum. The purpose of the statement I made which you quoted was just to pass on to others what research says goes on in the minds of many folks. It didn't say "ALL" folks but the number is significant enough that it does have merit. Nearly every major blog/website uses some sort of "like", "reward" or "ranking" system and it seems to reinforce membership participation when compared to those that don't have that kind of system.
Bottom line, a lot of folks enjoy being complimented (liked) and being "ranked" high as a member of a forum and will respond with more participation when they feel good about the community in which they are a member. The "system" has found a way to do that whether we "like" it or not!
