Gamification involves using game mechanics and rewards to increase engagement and loyalty for non-game applications. It uses game-like mechanics to improve experiences rather than creating full video games. Gamification is a process, not a single project, and should have clearly defined goals. Some key advantages include helping with community curation, market amplification, market research, and customer retention, though there are also disadvantages like distorting social interactions. Gamification is currently in the "peak of inflated expectations" on Gartner's hype cycle and is expected to grow significantly in areas like employee performance, innovation management, education, and customer engagement over the next 5-10 years.