Reddit is also mostly anonymous. People typically have multiple accounts and often make "throwaways" when sharing information they don't want connected to their primary account(s).
Each subreddit has a distinct culture with acceptable rules and conduct. These are actively moderated by moderators. This active moderation virtually eliminates spam. Even though spam is greatly limited, it is really easy to sign up and make an account. You don't even have to confirm an e-mail address.
I have primarily used reddit for fun, so it will be interesting to see it from a Web 2.0 instructional perspective. I am looking forward to seeing something familiar through a new lens!
I've never been able to get into reddit, and I'm not sure why. But I have a student who is doing research in there right now, and maybe I can get her to do a guest post for us. :)
ReplyDeleteReddit tends to be pretty heavily weighted towards men. There are quite a few female users, but young male users are the majority. I would be really curious to learn about research on reddit from an academic standpoint.
DeleteI'm glad you said that, because in my head I've always thought "It's a guy thing," but then I feel bad about dismissing a platform as such. However, it just doesn't resonate with my interests and interaction style all that much. I've been much more interested in platforms where people tell their stories (with commentary) over time.
DeleteI feel very similarly about Pinterest. My wife LOVES Pinterest and many of her friends do to. Though I do use it on occasion (when a Google image search requires me to log in to Pinterest to see a picture), its format and style just doesn't appeal to me. As it turns out, it 81% of users are female and 93% of total pins are from women. I like that other people curate content that is useful for me, but the entire basis of the site just doesn't resonate with me like reddit does.
DeleteWith this being said, there are subreddits that women tend to frequent. One is even on the default front page (/r/TwoXChromosomes). Additionally, I think some subreddits seem to appeal to men and women more or less equally (/r/ama or /r/TodayILearned).
Reddit definitely isn't for everyone, but it does have a big impact on what becomes popular on other parts of the web. I like that there are a variety of social media platforms that cater to different preferences for communication, even if these tend to amplify the "echo chamber effect."
Reddit terminology has also started to move beyond the confines of reddit. For instance, the ubiquitous tl;dr (too long, didn't read) was popularized on reddit, but I often see it used in other situations.
Yeah, I knew Pinterest tilted that way. I'm not a huge Pinterest user, either. Or, well, I use it but do not really network on there. You could say I use it as a 1.0 tool. :)
DeleteI've followed reddit culture over the years, but I just can't find something to keep me coming back to it for anything other than academic purposes. It's fascinating, sociologically, but I just can't connect. But this is the beauty, I think, of these tools and communities. There's enough that everyone can find their peeps, their vibe, etc. There's no reason why we all have to be following the same things or interacting in the same ways.
Bruce, I was unaware that a lot of information first comes from Reddit. I have always wondered why they call it the front page of the internet. I guess that would make sense if a lot of information came from there. I really like the memes I see on Facebook so maybe I will check out Reddit more frequently.
ReplyDeleteThere are a small percent of things that originate on Facebook, but often Facebook memes come from reddit first. Facebook videos have a very high likelihood of being copied from YouTube.
DeleteNew Reddit user here: this is going to be interesting... ;)
ReplyDeleteVideo gamers love Reddit!
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity, have you ever checked out the /r/korea subreddit? I visit it often, but the comment sections can be overly negative at times. There are too many long-term expats that seem overly bitter.
DeleteWow....I took a look at Reddit today, in an attempt to see if I like it or find anything useful about the website, and I regret to say that I really do not like it at all! I feel that the structure within is very messy, super disorganized, and the mechanics of "upvote" and "downvote" on submissions do not make any sense to me. Furthermore, there are simply too much trolling happening in there, and really a lot of distorted viewpoints about the world you can find!
ReplyDeleteA major part of reddit is its exclusivity. It has a lot of in-jokes that make the comment sections more difficult to understand. These also vary heavily by subreddit. It specifically is not all that hospitable to new users. The site isn't extremely difficult to navigate, per se, but finding the content you want can be difficult. If you want to find some interesting topics, I suggest reading some AMA's (Ask Me Anything). If you do a search in Google, you can find some really interesting past ones. In these, the interview is crowdsourced.
Delete/r/askreddit often has interesting topics.
/r/askscience can be good too.
It really depends on your interests. If you find a subreddit based on your interest, it can be engaging. Just keep in mind that its exclusivity and in-jokes are part of what make it an interesting place.