Media Copies Them (Content). Review on Reddit

This is one social networking site that I'd rank above twitter. Twitter has become somewhat manipulated by corporates whereas reddit on the other hand is a word-of-mouth kind platform. Platform where word-of-mouth or opinions of people in general holds some value. One place where you can catch up with the latest buzz. People in India are not well acquainted with this platform, but you need to use to it to realize the power of reddit,

Let me first explain what reddit is and how it works. Perhaps that will create some interest in you to try it. Reddit comes from the words'read-it'. It is a user driven platform. Redditors post links of articles they come across and think are unique.

Other users upvote or downvote the post. In a way, this is how content is monitored on reddit. Apart from upvote and downvote, redditors can comment on the post, also post something that's on their mind. Somewhat like quora, except the identities here are hidden. This makes it easier for the users to voice their opinion.

Based on user upvotes or downvotes on your posts and comments, you accumulate some points - that's called Karma. Reddit has various subreddits, based on interests. There is r/india, r/technology, r/gameofthrones, etc. So  you post only the relevant content on the subreddit. Every subreddit also has moderators. These moderators set some ground rules on how the subreddit should work and the kind of content that is allowed on the subreddit. They monitor content on the subreddit based on ground rules. While posting a content there are some reddiquettes that need to be followed. You need to add flair to the post, for example, if it is political or non-political, this helps drive better engagement. Just like Wikipedia, reddit has its language to add links or to quote someone, etc.

One interesting thing that got me glued to reddit was the AMAs aka Ask Me Anything. That's a Q&A of surprise guests or anyone in general with the redditors. You get know some interesting things about those personalities. Few people who have been through an AMA are Deepinder Goyal(he was royally screwed), Rahul Dacunha(The man behind those creative Amul ads. One smart guy, his AMA was amazing.), Meiyang Chang(The actor, singer.

Boring AMA), Tathagata Satpathy(Odisha MP. An interesting dude who can quote Pink Floyd and has smoked weed) and East India Comedy(I am a fan of this group. Yet to read the AMA). There is a reddit lingo - few jargons you will find on reddit only like TIL(Today I Learned), IAmA, AMA, ELI5(Explain like I’m 5), FTFY(Fixed This For You), CCW(Comments and Criticisms Welcome), and many more.

Based on the concept, it is fabulous. UI needs to be improved in my opinion. They should work on the app. It is still not so user friendly. Information depth is awesome. Content quality is pretty good. Reddit being a user driven platform, you can count on its content timeliness. Any news posted online is on reddit in a few minutes. That quick! Redditors are some smart people. These are avid readers with great knowledge. Every topic discussed has users who have in-depth knowledge and are willing to share. Many a times I have come across stories in various media websites that are inspired from a reddit discussion. Hence, you also improve your general knowledge and are not just wasting time when you're on reddit.  And instead of reading the'inspired', formatted and interpreted version, you get to read the raw, original one.

I started off as a curious user unaware of what reddit was, just going by a friend's recommendation. Now when I know how it works, I enjoy it. The best thing I love about reddit is how passionately they are fighting for #NetNeutrality. They have been working on creatives, coming up with ideas on creating awareness, drafting tweets, brainstorming on how to approach or tackle the issue. So far the only social media platform in India that is actively taking a stand on Net Neutrality. Hats off to them.