Light Quest: A Gamified Knowledge-sharing System to Increase Motivation to Provide Long-tail Knowledge

Abstract

Together with the development of Web 2.0 technology, we need to focus more on large-scale knowledge sharing. Owing to the characteristics of the long-tail distribution generally observed in conventional knowledge-sharing systems, knowledge providers are sometimes unwilling to share knowledge when they are unable to obtain any feedback. However, when knowledge acquirers read long-tail knowledge, they may easily feel bored because such knowledge rarely matches their own interests. To solve these problems, we proposed and implemented a gamified knowledge-sharing system called "Light Quest," which can share long-tail knowledge in an entertaining way. In this system, the users can briefly describe knowledge they would like to share using a "Tips Card," and evaluate the cards written by other users, by choosing the best card from a set of cards that are randomly selected from a knowledge pool. The results of a four-week experimental evaluation indicated that the system could increase users' motivation to both provide and acquire knowledge.