Gamification, what is it good for?

I've been seeing ads on Sci-Fi Australia for a couple of weeks now for the Clustr application for iPhone and Android.  Apparently a social networking tool to talk to other sci-fi fans, rate shows, etc.  OK, whatever.  Such sites are a dime a dozen on the Internet.

But the thing that really pushed my "Why do I need this?" button was "Unlock exclusive Doctor Who badges".

Er?  What?  As best I can tell, they are pictures from the Doctor Who series that turn up as little pictures in the application once you've won a prize or something.  Ever heard of Google Images guys?  If I wanted a nice picture of my favourite Doctor Who character, then I'm hardly going to sign up to a service that wants the following privileges on my phone:

• Full Internet access.
• Fine GPS location.
• Read contact data.
• Modify/delete SD card contents.
• Prevent phone from sleeping.

The whole application seems to be an example of Gamification, designed to harvest personal information in exchange for postage stamp sized icons that I could Google for myself.  No thanks.