I Read It Somewhere
A platform that isn’t being used enough.
Social media completely changed the landscape of journalism; now anyone can post news. That is not to say everyone is a journalist, but that is a topic for another post. This post is about the platforms themselves and one platform, in particular, Reddit. I think Reddit may be the best place to post news thanks to one particular feature Reddit lacks: the personal page.
Reddit is different than every other major social media platform because users post to smaller, divided communities called “subreddits” in lieu of posting to one’s personal page. These subreddits can be something as obtuse with millions of subscribers such as “r/funny” to something as niche “r/crt” where cathode-ray tube enthusiasts go to talk about the good ole days. These subreddits are a great proving ground for articles to flourish under the watchful eye of consumers with greater knowledge and interest than most. Instead of using a hashtag, which does nothing on the site anyway, journalists could post the article under multiple subreddits. For example, if a journalist was writing about the impact of diesel emissions on coral reefs, they could link that published article on the subreddits of the vehicle manufacturer, the part of the world where this data was collected, and environmental protection subreddits.
The way that Reddit helps consumers curate content is helpful for the content creator as well. The “upvote/downvote” system will help the creator better understand the desires and needs of various groups of consumers categorized by topic.
People on Reddit are not just consumers, either. I have spotted posts on Twitter and Facebook that I know began on Reddit countless times. This means that people on Reddit share, which is the original intent of the site: “read it.” As we know, content interaction is the gold standard. This sharing had one of its biggest impacts just earlier this year as everyone was talking about r/WallStreetBets.
Reddit seems like a website that isn’t being taken advantage of enough. Consumers on Reddit appreciate good content and share what they believe is helpful.
