The Loop Behind Turntable.fm's Rapid Growth
A new site that's getting a lot of buzz these days is Turntable.fm. Turntable is the result of a pivot from Billy Chasen and Seth Goldstein out of Stickybits, the social bar code scanning service. And it has quickly become one of the hottest startups on the Web. But why?
Turntable has done an excellent job at a simple concept -- making music more social. My first impression was that it was silly and a bit cheesy (with the avatars and all). However, after a second I quickly saw the addicting nature of it. The Turntable.fm team has done a great job in creating a natural social loop to bring users in and wanting more.
So how does the Turntable engagement loop work?
Ryan Hoover, product manager at Playhaven, explained on Quora and posted on his own blog that here are four main elements to Turntable's loop. I liked his explanation so much I thought I would share it here:
1) Visible Progress/Reward
- DJ Points and Fans - Points and fans represent social status and serve as a leaderboard. Even as a new user, these points of recognition are understandable and help existing users stay invested in their accomplishments.
- Avatars - Turntable offers different avatars from the mundane boy for newbies to a blinged-out gorilla for veterans. The users with the most recognition (ie, DJ points) are represented in more extravagant avatars.
Examples from other services: Follower count listed on user’s Twitter profile. Exclusive items for high-level players, visible by visiting friends in Farmville. Number of connections listed a user’s profile on LinkedIn.
2) Motivating Emotion
- Head Bobbing Avatar - Turntable’s most understated feature is the head bobbing avatar. When users click “awesome”, the performing DJ not only earns points but it also taps into positive reinforcement to encourage the behavior. This feels especially great when the whole room is enjoying the music.
- Unlock New Avatars - New users choose from a limited bunch of avatars and as users level up, they unlock gaudy avatars to represent their superior status. Who doesn’t want to look cool and different?
Example from other services: Desire to acquire more Twitter followers. Desire to unlock new items in Farmville. Desire to expand ones professional network on LinkedIn.
3) Social Call to Action
- Click “Awesome”/”Lame” - Naturally you want to express your love for songs you enjoy by bobbing your head and skip awful songs chosen by DJ’s with no taste.
- Chat - Conversation are usually fun and contextual to the music being played. It’s hard not to engage.
- DJ - The most fun part of Turntable is publicly displaying your superior music tastes to share with friends and strangers.
Examples from other services: Tweet or DM a friend on Twitter. Unlock a new gift to give to a friend in Farmville. Request an endorsement on LinkedIn.
4) User Re-engagement
- Email Notifications - Emails are sent to fans of a DJ as soon as they step up to the stage.
- Social Recruiting - Turntable is better with friends. Naturally people want to recruit their friends to share their favorite music with one another.
Examples from other services: @reply or DM notification on Twitter. Facebook notification for a gift given from a friend in Farmville. Email request for an endorsement from a former co-worker on LinkedIn.
via quora.com
Right now Turntable is mostly popular with the tech crowd (the "Coding Soundtrack" room is consistently the top room on the site) but I think it shows a lot of potential as it appeals to everyone and has an immediate draw-in from the above loop.
To make addictive software, one needs to harness the power of social engagement loops. Any entrepreneur out there would do well to examine the social loop behind Turntable and think about how they can apply something similar to their own startup.
[By the way, I'm DJ @gordonbowman on Turntable. You can follow me on Twitter here to get updates of when I'll be DJ'ing.]
