UX for Beginners

Chapter 19. Motivation: Status

The other motivation that makes social networks and games work is the desire to control, compare, and compete with others to be the best.

Status

Decide for yourself. Call it freedom, or autonomy, or responsibility, or authority, or control, or rebellion. One way or another, you wanna be the boss, at least of yourself.

People always want to be in charge of themselves and their own decisions, even when someone else might do a better job, like when buying stocks or when that freedom might create more risk (like getting more responsibility at work).

You should let users have control, but help them make better decisions if you can and eliminate any chance of a major screw-up. Confirm dangerous choices or make those choices hard to do accidentally—“are you sure you want to launch the nukes, Mr. President?”

Be the best. Achievements, dominance, winning, popularity, money, talent, sex appeal, or some other version of that idea, which makes you more of something than most other people.

This is just straight-up competition, but it doesn’t always come in the form of a game or a sport. Anything that can be done by all users, whether it is looking good in a profile picture or having the most followers, can (and will) become a competition. You just have to choose a way to use that competitive motivation.

Never move down. Remember: we are motivated to protect what we have gained. People will fight to keep their current status, even if it is made of something imaginary like ...