A glance at the self-proclaimed “front page of the Internet” is like an Internet treasure hunt. The home page is filled with links to questions such as “What is the most complicated thing you can explain in 10 words or less?” The answer to that question is definitely not reddit.
The home page of Reddit on Jan. 30.
According to its website, reddit is a source for everything on the Internet. From funny pictures to uplifting stories and interesting facts, reddit has it all. All content is community-generated, with users submitting links for viewing. Posts are then voted on by other users to decide what is good or not.
There are many different features on reddit. One of the most popular sections is AMA, or ask me anything. AMAs are typically hosted by an interesting person, where users can ask them any question and receive an answer. These can be impromptu or scheduled. Some compelling AMAs coming up include actor Will Ferrel on Feb. 4 and a NASA meteor expert team on Feb. 13.
Front page of the Internet
Priscilla Ortiz, a sophomore biology major from Lubbock, is what is known as a “lurker” on reddit. Although she does not have an official account, she thinks it is an intriguing website with some amusing features. She said she enjoys reading the community question posts.
“Reddit has this Secret Santa thing, it’s a global one. I think that’s really cool,” Ortiz said. “And they do donations and stuff for random things, like the Olympic Jamaican Bobsled team. That’s super neat.”
Couple Collier and Ortiz like to share what they find on reddit with each other.
Ortiz’s boyfriend, senior computer engineering major Landon Collier, is a reddit regular. Collier said he spends around two hours a day on reddit. He subscribes to numerous subreddits, which are online communities for particular interests. Collier said he enjoys the mountain biking and astronomy subreddits. Collier also said there are subreddits for Texas Tech and Lubbock.
“Do you want to see it? I can totally find it.”
Collier said he sends links to many things he finds on reddit to his friends. During the interview, Collier pulled up a Skype message that was almost entirely hyperlinks.
The GIF Collier enjoyed this week. Click on image to enjoy animation!
“Do you want to see it? I can totally find it,” Collier said when asked what the best thing he has seen on reddit this week was. The graphic interchange format, or GIF, showed a seal looking like it was having an epiphany.
“After that, I was just done.”
Reddit may seem to have something for anyone, but not everyone enjoys it. Sophomore computer engineering major Jon Key used to be a fan of reddit, but said that it got old over time. He said that he saw the same jokes and pictures repeatedly.
“It got to the point that I felt like I know what was coming before it happened,” Key said. “I was sitting in a computer science class, and I heard some guys talking about something they saw on reddit, and I just thought they sounded stupid. After that, I just decided I was done.”
According to the website, the home page of reddit is constantly changing, with posts being up or down voted. However, since the content comes from elsewhere on the Internet, it can be repeated.
Ortiz came the closest to explaining reddit when she said it is hard to explain.
“People will post pictures of their animals or funny things that they’ve seen,” Ortiz said. “So, it’s really hard to explain it to people when I say, ‘Oh, I saw it on this website I get on.,’ because it’s kind of hard to explain.”
About Sarah Self-Walbrick
