Amy Jo Kim on game mechanics

Joshua Porter has a really interesting interview with Amy Jo Kim.
In the talk Amy Jo points out what game mechanics are and how to apply some of them in community and web design.
By exploring this topic, I must agree with Amy Jo: game mechanics are not a panacea for web design. But I still believe that a playful approach could be used even in most serious applications, resulting in a smooth learning curve and a better overall usability.