In 2005,
two computer-science nerds created Reddit, the self-proclaimed “Front Page of
the Internet”. Today, their puny side project receives over 15 million unique page
views every month, and its users pack the site with news, discussion, personal
anecdotes, and cheap laughs. The site is infamous for infecting its readers,
like a virus that requires hours of mindless scrolling a day, and Reddit’s
rapid growth since its creation proves that it is both contagious and
infectious.
A growth
like Reddit’s is impossible when a website cannot support its own traffic,
which one needs money to do. At this
stage of development, most websites choose to shower their readers with
obnoxious ads to maximize their profit. In contrast, Reddit chose to place ads
sparingly to maintain its infectivity. And the site tries to make its few ads
“funny, cool, or interesting, and always relevant to your interests.” They even
encourage their readers to report ads for not meeting these standards.
Reddit’s
advertisements are tucked away in the sidebar, and they often advertise other
parts of the website, creating endless portals to entrance its victims. Logging
on now, there is a picture of an ancient computer, leading to the charming
‘subreddit’, /r/retrobattlestations. The ads with products behind them are
treated like any other post on reddit: They are at they mercy of reddit’s
users. Advertisements are upvoted, downvoted, and even commented on. In the
comments of an ad for a fantasy football app, one user, /u/inkei18, is “not
very impressed”. Any of the app’s potential customers can view this statement.
Even the
sparse and occasionally interesting ads on Reddit can be an eyesore to any
reader, so Reddit employs a system of donations, called “Reddit Gold”, to
decrease the amount of ads necessary to maintain the site’s traffic. Reddit
Gold adds a few nifty features to your reddit experience, such as the ability
to know when your username is mentioned in a comment. Users can buy themselves
Gold, or they can give it to other redditors publicly, usually after a person
makes a particularly funny comment. This system is designed to encourage
donation while increasing the infectivity of the content on the site, with many
people working harder to create content to earn themselves a donation.
Reddit’s
central desire is to create a growing mass of loyal readers. To the site,
advertisements are a necessary evil that allows survival with the
side effect of potentially turning readers away. Reddit’s strategy has so far
infected millions, and millions more could potentially fall victim to the site
as well in the near future. Reddit doesn’t want your money. Reddit wants to one
day be the true “Front Page of the Internet”.
Liam, this post is very informative. I applaud you for writing about a medium that no one has explored. This automatically makes your post interesting to read. I confess, I have very little experience with Reddit. I entered the site once, and immediately saw some creepy images. I got out quick. Honestly, the open nature of the forum made me worried that my computer would attract an actual virus. For that reason, I found your extended metaphor to be particularly appropriate. For the record, I don't know how computer viruses work, so don't judge me if my fear was irrational.
ReplyDeleteYour post tempts me to revisit the site. You do a really nice job of extolling the open-minded, liberated nature of the forum. I found your explanation of the Reddit approach to sponsorship to be very compelling. I was not reading your post as a teacher, but as a reader who wanted to learn something new. You satisfied that desire. Thank you.
You also write very well in this post. There are very few distracting technical errors which made your post even more enjoyable for me to read. There is one exception that I want to draw your attention to. Please look at this sentence:
"The site is infamous for infecting its readers, like a virus that requires hours of mindless scrolling a day, and Reddit’s rapid growth since its creation proves that it is both contagious and infectious."
I like that you try to weave an extended metaphor in this post. However, when you do this, you have to be sure that all of your references correspond with the metaphor. How does a "virus" require "hours of mindless scrolling." This appears to me to be a mixed metaphor. Viruses do not require "scrolling." Also, the conjunction "and" ruins the sentence because it forces separation between "virus" and "contagious and infectious." Viruses are "contagious and infectious." These are not additional attributes.
Regardless, this is quite good.