Crafting Experiences that Engage Our Innate Tribal Nature

Humans need each other to survive. Scientists believe that our brains have special cells that allow us to understand how others are feeling. This shows that we rely on our ability to empathize with others to thrive. Our brains are wired to seek out connections with others to feel valued, loved, and included in a group.

We do Lots of the stuff every day because we want to feel like we belong to a group. Whether it's hanging out with friends, going to church, or watching sports, we all crave that feeling of being connected to others. Technology has made it even easier for us to stay connected and get that sense of belonging. Companies have been popping up left and right, trying to find new ways to make us feel like we're part of a tribe.

But it's not just about getting prizes. We also like things that keep us interested. Whether it's texting or Snapchat, things that help us stay connected are cool, but things that surprise us are even cooler. Lately, all the new apps and websites that make us feel good about ourselves show just how much we love getting likes and comments from our friends.

Stack Overflow

Have you ever heard of Stack Overflow? It's like a huge online clubhouse where people ask and answer technical questions. It's kind of like Quora, Wikipedia, and YouTube, but focused on tech stuff. The cool thing is that all the content on Stack Overflow is made by regular people like you and me. Every day, over 5,000 questions are being asked and answered for free! Some of the answers are super detailed and require a lot of tech knowledge to write. It's a great place to learn and help others out!

Have you ever wondered why so many people spend their time answering questions on websites like Stack Overflow for free? Well, one reason is because they enjoy the feeling of helping others and being recognized for their knowledge. It's like getting a virtual high-five from the online community!

The company came up with a cool way to reward users for being awesome on the site. They created a points system where you can earn points by doing certain things. The more points you have, the more power you have on the site. If you're in the top tier, you rule the site. You can edit stuff and even ban other users. But remember, these points aren't just for fun - they give you special perks.

Points on Stack Overflow are like gold stars in school - they show how much other people appreciate your help. You never know how many points you'll get for answering a question, so you have to do your best and hope others like your answer. It's a fun way to show off your skills and earn respect from the community!

Points are like superpowers on this site! You earn them by being awesome and helpful to others. It's not some computer deciding who's cool, it's all the other users who decide. So, when you get a lot of points, it means you're respected by the community. That's way better than just getting a badge from a machine. Points are the real deal!

Living out our lives while expanding our minds with status

Status is super important. Like, really important. Some smart people think it's so important that it can even affect how long we live. Research shows that social status is a big deal when it comes to our health and lifespan. A scientist named Robert Sapolski studied monkeys and found that the ones with higher status tend to live longer and healthier lives. So yeah, status is a pretty big deal.

More research has found that when we feel good about ourselves, our brain releases a chemical called dopamine. It's like getting a little reward for feeling important. On the other hand, feeling left out or like we're not as important can make our brain feel like we're in pain. It's pretty cool how our brains work!

When people feel like they belong to a group, it can have some cool benefits. This guy named Albert Bandura studied how we learn from watching others, and he found that when we see someone getting rewarded for doing something, we're more likely to start doing it too. So, websites that make us feel like we're part of a tribe can help us learn new things and change our behavior. It's like when you see your friend getting a high-five for doing well in class, and then you start trying harder too.

Bandura found that people learn best when they watch others who are similar to them or a little more advanced. This is the same idea that social media sites like Facebook and industry-specific sites like Stack Overflow use to show content that is most relevant to their users.

League of Legends

Let's talk about how people learn from each other and how being part of a group can be rewarding. Take Riot Games, the creators of the game League of Legends, for example. When the game first came out in 2009, it was a huge hit. But there was a problem - the players were not very nice to each other. They were mean and sometimes even abusive. A magazine even made fun of Riot Games, saying that League of Legends was popular because it was free to play, but also because the players were so mean to each other.

The guy in charge of making the game was worried that people didn't want to play it because some players were being mean. He said, "Nobody wants to play a game with somebody mean." So, the game company made a special team called the PB&J Team (Player Behavior and Justice Team) to help fix this problem. The team had two really smart people with PhDs - one studied how our brains work and the other studied why people behave the way they do. They used ideas from a guy named Bandura and added a cool feature to the game that rewards players for being nice to each other.

The system was made to stop mean behavior by letting players report others for being rude. If someone is reported, they have to go to a "Tribunal" where other players decide if they were being mean. The company's president, Marc Merrill, says this helps players understand that being mean has consequences. If someone is found guilty, everyone knows about it and they might lose games, which means no one will want to play with them.

To encourage working together and being nice to each other, the company came up with a cool system called “Honor.” This system gives out points to players who are awesome and helpful. These points can be seen by other players and can be given or taken away by teammates or even opponents. Ever since this system started in 2012, Riot Games has noticed that people are being nicer and more helpful to each other.

When companies give out likes, follows, and honor points, it shows off how popular someone is in their group. This can encourage others to act the same way to get those rewards. By using different ways to give out rewards, companies can make social media more fun and addictive for users.