Behold Upvoted: A Comment-Free, 'Redditorial' Offering From The Internet's Id
Venturebeat
Reddit co-founder and contributor Alexis Ohanian has published a statement detailing the website's most recent venture, Upvoted. However, despite proclaiming that "the best part of Reddit has always been you: the anecdotes you contribute...and the comments you leave", the news site will be noticeably comment-free.
In a move seemingly away from the website's reputation as the 'Internet's id' - that is, the unruly and unpredictable underbelly of news and social media - the company is attempting to gain control of the news stories that originate from Reddit, but are overshadowed by larger organisations who adapt their content.
The venture has been circulating since January, commencing with a podcast dedicated to giving a voice to "Redditors whose stories grace our tens of thousands of frontpages". By April this had progressed into a weekly newsletter to separate the wheat from the chaff and highlight the best stories that readers may have missed amongst all the drivel. Ohanian gushed at the success of the concept, making the point that: "today, it has over 212,000 subscribers, an average open-rate of 32 percent and CTR (Click-Through Rate) of 35 percent (…those are really good percentages)". This latest evolution sees a small editorial team (around 10 employees) expecting to put out around 10-20 editorial articles per day, with an eye for even more in the near future.
Contrary to the name, there will be no 'upvoting' system by which a reader can engage. Rather, there is a link which allows the reader to discuss the article in question on Reddit. The site is something of an experiment into new ways for the company to gain additional ad-revenue; by circumventing more traditional advertising such as banner or pop-up ads in favour of sponsored content paid for and approved by partners. These articles will still be written by the same editorial team, headed by former Myspace editorial director Vickie Chang.
"We’re hoping to appease both the hardcore Redditors and non-Redditors alike," Chang said. Writing as a non-Redditor myself, it has at least piqued my interest!
SMF rookie, fresh out of academia, looking forward to more creative ventures. With a love of current affairs, green tea and an ever insatiable wanderlust, Katie is ready to have her voice heard. Follow her @KatieAtSMF
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Behold Upvoted: A Comment-Free, 'Redditorial' Offering From The Internet's Id
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Monday, October 12, 2015
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Reviewed by Unknown
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Monday, October 12, 2015
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