1. Reddit 101
Amy Li
WRT426 Digital Identities
Image from:
http://adpressive.com/blog/reddit-to-
become-social-media-juggernaut-in-2013/
2. What is Reddit?
Reddit: noun; a type of online
community where users vote on
content
Verb; to take part in a reddit
community
(Definition from Reddit.com)
Related words:
Redditing, redditor, Subreddit (an
independent Reddit community
within the greater Reddit
community) Image from:
http://proseotalk.com/2012/01/22/ever-
disappeared-down-the-reddit-rabbit-hole
3. History
• Created by Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian, two
graduates of University of Virginia, in June 2005
• October 2006 they sold it to Condé Naste
Publications, multilingual reddits
• September 2011 it became part of Condé Naste’s
parent company: Advance Publications
• In 2012 Reddit participated in the SOPA blackout
Vreeswijk, Simon. "The History of Reddit." Stikky
Media. Stikky Media, n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013
http://www.stikkymedia.com/blog/history-reddit
www.reddit.com/about
4. How Reddit works
• Reddit is a liberal, open platform where the
community can post anything.
• Redditors vote on stories—up or down; Popular
stories rise to the top and less popular ones fall to
the bottom
• Anyone can post links or open discussions on Reddit
• Comments can be made on each post
http://www.reddit.com/about/
6. Reddit Gold
• June 2011 Reddit introduced “Reddit Gold,” allowing
Redditors to enjoy the following additional features for
$3.99/month:
– Trophy on your user page
– Turn off sidebar ads
– Option of seeing twice as many comments at once
– Ability to see 100 subscribed subreddits on front page listing
– Highlights new comments
– Adding notes to your friends
– Access to a secret members only community
Vreeswijk, Simon. "The History of Reddit." Stikky Media.
Stikky Media, n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013
http://www.stikkymedia.com/blog/history-reddit
7. IAmA- AMA
• I am a [profession or title] Ask Me Anything
– A way to interview people.
• Commentators begin a post describing who they are and
what they do, redditors reply to post with questions and
commentator picks which questions he wants to answer
• Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Snoop Dog, Al Gore have done
IAMA/AMA posts (http://www.reddit.com/r/IAMAFamousArchive/)
• Stephen Levitt, author of Freakonomics did one today at
noon. He announced on the Freakonomics blog this
morning, telling readers: “ These are the sorts of questions
I’m looking forward to:”
– Redditors can also submit requests within the
subreddit community
Image from:
http://proseotalk.com/2012/01/22/ever-
disappeared-down-the-reddit-rabbit-hole
8. How to be successful on Reddit How to fail miserably at
Reddit
– Interact with the community
•Self promotion- posting links
– Post pictures of cute
only to your personal blog;
cats, newsworthy
it’s okay to post a few when
articles, funny memes
mixed with other links
– Actively participate in •self promoting will not
discussions; vote on other earn you karma
posts points, risk being marked
– Earn Karma points (points as a spammer
determining your •Posting personal content-
contribution to Reddit; keep the links to facebook
earned by following steps profiles or private
above) information off the site
Bottom line: Be funny, witty and interactive, but don’t
try “too hard” to put your own content out there.
9. Mobile Apps
Smart phones have various free reddit reader apps in the market
• iPhone
– iReddit: the official reddit app created by Condé Naste
– Alien Blue-Reddit: Third party app by Morrissey Exchange Pty Ltd
• Android
– Reddit is Fun: Third party app by Talklittle. There is also a paid version
for $1.99 that offers more features
– Reddit Reader: Third party app by Dahlenapps
– Bacon Reader for reddit: third party app by Onelouder apps
• Blackberry
– Reddit in motion: Third party app by Domisy Dev
Editor's Notes
In 2006, the multilingual feature also became an option. Users can select various languages in their personal preferences, allowing them to see reddit posts in all languages that they can read in.
On the front page, redditors can see their interests based on the subscribed interests at the top of the page. Each of these is called a “subreddit” and can be edited. You can subscribe and unsubscribe from different subreddits at any time. Posts posted in these areas are subsequently divided by “Hot,” “New,” “Controversial,” and “Top.” You can also view subreddits that you saved.
Something unique to Reddit is the IamA-AMA community. Reddit calls it a “New” way to interview people. All AMA’s require proof of identification. This can be done by posting it directly in the thread or emailed to moderators if it must be remained confidential.