Reddit is a community determined content aggregator. We are talking about a social platform in which users send posts that other users can vote for or against according to their preferences. If a post receives a lot of votes, it moves up the Reddit rankings and therefore more people can see it.
If you receive downvotes, your visibility quickly drops and disappears from the view of most users. Reddit is divided into subcommunities or subreddits. Any user can create subreddits on any topic, whether it's a general topic, like technology, or specific, like a simple joke.
Each subreddit becomes part of Reddit's full submission list, which means that a post on any subreddit (unless it's private) can make it to the front page of the website.
A screenshot from the Science subredditEach subreddit caters to different sets of rules. Make sure you fully understand this before posting. Reddit is very strict when it comes to maintaining subreddits on different topics or when it sets out to detect spammers. You can learn more about how to create your own subreddit in this post. For simplicity, let's say it's one giant forum made up of smaller forums.
Who uses Reddit?
As we mentioned earlier, a lot of people participate on Reddit. But when it comes to demographic data, we don't have much information. One of the great advantages of Reddit is that it is easy to establish anonymity. You just have to provide an email and a username. That being said, there has been some research on the subject.
Back in 2016, the Pew Research Study conducted a survey that found that Reddit users were 67% male and 64% between the ages of 18 and 29. They also found that 70% of users were white. So, the profile was “young, white and male”, essentially. Another study (though probably less serious) found similar results.
This, however, does not give us a very complete perspective. Going back to the subreddits, it's pretty clear that this demographic distribution isn't even across the site.
Being able to create a subreddit on any topic means that everyone can be considered. For example, the TwoXChromosomes subreddit is geared specifically towards women. Then there are others for different ethnicities, countries, cities, and more. In other words, the general data does not respond to the diversity that does exist on Reddit.
Karma
It is a kind of concept related to gamification: each user has a 'karma' score. This measures the quality of a user's feedback and contributions to the site based on the downvotes and upvotes we've discussed. If your comments or posts get a lot of 'up' or positive votes, your karma increases.
If they get a lot of 'down' or negative votes, go down. There is no real value to reward this. You don't get an award or anything tangible. It's just a sign or badge that tells others what a good user you are.
reddit gold
Reddit Gold is a premium option that offers additional benefits to users. For example, they can disable ads, create custom avatars, or participate in subreddits available only to people with this premium program. Nothing essential to be able to use the site, just some advantages.
An important aspect of this is the ability to gift 'gold' to other users. This has become a common way to show how much you like someone's post.
A person can give 'gold' to another for any reason. For example, after a joke or a sincere story.
Ask me anything (AMAs)
AMAs (Ask me anything) did not originate from Reddit, but now relate directly to this platform. They are exactly what they seem. A person is proposed and this person has to answer questions on any topic. On Reddit, there's a subreddit specifically for this, r/IamA. These follow the format of "I'm a ***, ask me anything."
Not only stars participate. Everyone can do it. Each subreddit will run their own AMAs based on their specific topic. For example, an AMA for a conductor on a classical music subreddit. This format has become very popular. So much so that several celebrities have taken part, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barack Obama, and Neil Degrasse Tyson.
User profiles
Although you can remain anonymous, Reddit will keep a record of your activity on the site. This will include a list of your posts or comments and a count of your karma. It will also show you how much Reddit 'gold' you have bought or the subreddits you moderate. They're very straightforward and simple, but Reddit has some plans for the future.
They are currently rolling out new profiles that allow you to choose an image, include a bio, and write posts on your Page. It's nothing very relevant, but many in the community were concerned that Reddit was trying to be more like Facebook or Tumblr. Likewise, anonymity was another topic that generated debate among users.
While everyone will need to accept the new profile, the ability to remain anonymous has not changed.
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