Ethnography Results – Week 1

Some of the available categories.

The general layout of the homepage.

Reddit seems like a very interesting system.  It can be a valuable source for breaking news, but just as easily be a source for wasting hours upon hours of time and never get anything useful done.  However, both uses are equally as relevant.  The main page displays all the different kinds of posts, but the site is also divided up into many categories for more refined interests.  Some of these include funny, politics, science, world news, programming, and many more.  So, reddit can appeal to just about internet user imaginable.

Only perusing the first page of posts on the homepage, I spent easily an hour looking through comments and going on other offshoots from links within the posts and their comments.  Most of the picture posts display a thumbnail next to the post’s title, so it’s very easy to gravitate towards those.  While the posts themselves have a vote ranking, the comments within each post do as well.  The highest ranking comments sift to the top, and are usually the most entertaining to read.  People definitely use some jargon here, and certain reactions to posts appear expected.  Why users are accustomed to certain reactions is part of the subculture I would like to investigate.

Most of the posts were picture-related, while many others were questions to viewers or stories, followed up by current events or news.  I’ll give some examples with links to close out this post.

*** NOTE: In case profanity bothers you, be aware comments might contain some.  It's no different than what you might find perusing Facebook though.

One of the picture posts as a reference
to pop culture.

Pictures:
Swedish subway system (reddit post)
My license plate has never been so fitting (reddit post)
This is what happens when I leave my husband home alone for the weekend... (reddit post)
Wolverine…or two Batmen? (reddit post)

Questions/Stories:
Worst Facebook post or comment that got you in trouble?
How can the Syfy Channel continue to fund crappy movies?
Story about getting burned by helping someone (pay attention to the top-rated comment)

Why don’t able unemployed people get bumped to the top of the jury duty list?
Have you ever taken a class where the professor literally wrote the book for it?

Current Events:
Patriot Act renewal (reddit post)
Super nova causes a star to hurtle through space at 54,000 mph (reddit post)