Trophy Shelves (GT#64)

• Mature and Stalled × Stayin season

• Mercado Libre · 2026

  Mercado Libre: seller reputation as currency

  Q2 2026 (8-K, Aug 5, 2026): 89M unique active buyers (71M a year earlier, +26%), fintech monthly users 88M (+30%), MELI+ subscribers up 72% YoY (no absolute number), and users active in both commerce and fintech up 37%. Many causes; the mechanism link is our inference.

  M4 ×StayPay
  NumberALinkDCase grade for the number: A. Evidence grade for the mechanism link: D.Analyst inferenceCorrelational

• Airbnb · 2017

  Round

  Airbnb: reputation beats similarity

  In an experiment with 8,906 Airbnb users, high reputation significantly increased trust between dissimilar users, offsetting the pull toward similar others; analyses of about 1M real Airbnb interactions agreed (Abrahao et al., PNAS, Sept 2017).

  M3 ×DiscoverStay
  NumberALinkACase grade for the number: A. Evidence grade for the mechanism link: A.

• TechniqueCLimitedEvidence grade C. Limited evidence: few or small studies.

  Store value that makes the product better with use

  a product that improves as you use it

  Design the investments users make so they build up in forms that improve the next visit: content they collect, data about themselves, people they follow or who follow them, and skill with the tool. Say plainly when a recommendation comes from what they stored.

• TechniqueDPractitionerEvidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.

  Reputation that carries real value

  earned reputation as stored value

  Let users earn a reputation (ratings, badges, response scores) that changes what they get: better ranking, higher prices, more trust, new privileges. People stay where their reputation lives.

• TechniqueDPractitionerEvidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.

  Get variety from people and creation

  variety that renews itself

  Products whose novelty comes from other people and from what users create stay fresh; products whose content can be finished become predictable. Add co-creation, community galleries, shared spaces or user templates so the next visit is never fully known.

• TechniqueDPractitionerEvidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.

  Alfred Effect (GT#83)

  visible personalization

  Personalization so well fitted to a user that switching feels unthinkable, even when a rival is better or cheaper. Chou stresses making it noticeable: many users never realize a product has learned them before they churn.

• TechniqueDPractitionerEvidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.

  Rockstar Effect (GT#92)

  earned audience status

  Let users build an audience that wants to hear from them, such as one-way followers or readers, and mark audience milestones. When people feel they earned that attention, pride keeps them creating and bringing others in.

• TechniqueDPractitionerEvidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.

  Evergreen creation for veterans

  user creativity that renews the experience

  Give veterans tools to create, combine and share, so their creativity keeps producing new experiences without the team shipping endless content. Chou ties the early fade of most games to missing Endgame design, and names creative, strategic systems as the main remedy.

Sources

• Actionable Gamification · Yu-kai Chou

  Ch.9, p.216 · Ch.9, p.217 · Ch.9, p.218 · Ch.18, p.487 · Ch.9, p.195

Source IDs: GT#64 · CD5

Book content is paraphrased, never quoted at length. Last verified October 24, 2026.