Why Is Turntable.fm So Addictive?

Below is a copy of my response to the TechCrunch inspired question on Quora, ’Why is Turntable.fm so addictive?’

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Hello, everyone.  My name is Ryan and I am a Turntable.fm addict.

I’ve been using Turntable.fm nonstop for the past few weeks and I’ve seen countless others admit their love and addiction.  Seth Goldstein, Billy Chasen, and the rest of the team have created an innovative social experience.  So what makes it so addicting?


Gamified Social Interaction, Media Consumption

Gamification often times gets a bad rep because of its misuse over the past few years but when done right, it can make ‘meh’ products remarkable.  Turntable.fm taps into all four components of Gabe Zichermann’s SAPS model:

• Status - Turntable.fm DJ’s are rewarded points when listeners “awesome” their music selection.  Points unlock new avatars giving users a means to represent their elite status.  Earlier today Turntable.fm introduced the ability to fan users.  Similar to Twitter following, this serves as another scoreboard for users to take pride in and envy.
  
  

• Access - Room creators can limit access to users with specific point scores, creating exclusivity just like the VIP section at a club.
  
  
• Power - Turntable.fm gives everyone the ability to fulfill their fantasy of becoming a DJ.  Hate listening to Arcade Fire for the gazillionth time?  Step up to the vinyl and choose the music.  This is incredibly satisfying, especially with a large audience.
  
  
• Stuff - Free (streaming) music.

Turntable.fm has a huge opportunity to expand on these fundamental game mechanics to create an even more engaging, sticky platform.

Real-Time Interaction

With the explosion of social it’s surprising there aren’t more web apps designed for real-time interaction.  Turntable.fm’s chat and synchronous music listening introduces a unique experience far different from other social exchanges on Facebook, Twitter, Quora, and other networks.  Being able to not only listen to music together but discuss, joke, and mess around with each other is, dare I say, magical.

Side note: Turntable.fm is one example of a new wave of real-time focused social products.  Convore, Beluga, and Idol Games’ upcoming Facebook game, Idol Worship, are a few others.

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Music is Universal, Expressive

Instagram became an overnight success largely because it is a vehicle for users to express themselves through a universally understood medium.  Like photos, music crosses cultures and generations.  People connect through music, even if they don’t speak the same language.  Often I see complete strangers strike fun, engaging conversation around the music they’re listening to on Turntable.fm.

Music is also a powerful form of self-expression.  Everyone has an opinion about music and they love to share it.  Turntable.fm is a platform to share your music tastes to an audience and it feels great to get recognition from a crowd of head bobbing avatars (read: positive reinforcement http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinforcement#Positive_and_negative_reinforcement).


I’m excited to see it evolve and look forward to more hockeystick growth:

Source: http://www.appdata.com/apps/facebook/127146244018710-turntable

Plug: If interested, check out my other post about Turntable.fm.