How news site Upvoted tries to harness the best of Reddit while ignoring the rest
Reddit 鈥� the self-proclaimed 鈥渇ront page of the Internet鈥� and a frequent source for news sites hoping to harness the perspectives and stories highlighted by the site鈥檚 dedicated, sometimes quirky group of users 鈥� is launching a of its own.
On Tuesday, the social website unveiled Upvoted, a separate site dedicated to spotlighting content posted by the site鈥檚 users, which follows the launch of original podcasts, videos, and an Upvoted discussion page on the main Reddit site.
But with a staff of dedicated pulling content from Reddit and no comments allowed, the company behind what Wired 鈥渢he dark, unruly id of the Internet鈥� appears to be going in a new direction.
The new site is intended to showcase content sourced directly from Reddit, with a prominent credit back to the user who created the original post, Alexis Ohanian, the site鈥檚 co-founder said in a announcing the site. But Reddit is also positioning the site to appeal to a more general audience that might not be familiar with the site鈥檚 sometimes-byzantine inside jokes and references to previous posts.
鈥淲e're hoping to tell the whole story,鈥� Vickie Chang, the site鈥檚 editorial director, who previously served in a similar role at Myspace, the Washington Post. 鈥淎 lot of stories don鈥檛 tell you what led up to [a viral] post, or what happened after. We鈥檙e hoping to provide more details for readers.鈥�
The site will begin by posting 10 to 20 stories a day, with a goal to eventually post about 40 stories, Ms. Chang says, noting that despite the lack of comments, Upvoted is still committed to being driven by Reddit鈥檚 users. This includes the possibility of posting stories that criticize the site鈥檚 leadership, which is often a difficult decision for traditional media outlets.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 have any hard steadfast rules,鈥� she told the Post. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 a topic of discussion, the community is always going to be our first priority.鈥�
Upvoted may also be an exercise in damage control, some . Reddit has become infamous for its more unsavory elements, including some Reddit forums 鈥� known as subreddits 鈥� with misogynistic and hate-filled content and of users harassing other users.
In July, many of the site鈥檚 volunteer moderators led a against Reddit鈥檚 leadership in protest of the firing of a popular administrator who ran the site鈥檚 signature "I am a鈥� Ask Me Anything" (IamA) interviews. The online strike shut down large parts of the site.
As controversy swirled around an attempt by the site鈥檚 leadership to revamp Reddit鈥檚 policies to ban harassment, many users grew angry at what they saw as interference in the mostly-volunteer community. The turmoil and charges of censorship of Reddit鈥檚 interim chief executive officer, Ellen Pao, perhaps best known for her attempts to challenge gender discrimination in Silicon Valley.
On Upvoted, stories are organized into more general categories that mirror a traditional news site, such as 鈥渟cience and tech,鈥� 鈥渘ews,鈥� and 鈥減erspectives.鈥� But the site is also aimed at competing with other news sites that sometimes use what鈥檚 being discussed on Reddit as a springboard to drive web traffic to their own sites, Upvoted staff told Wired.
Despite Reddit鈥檚 reputation as an independent, sometimes unhinged community closely guarded by its users, it has had flirtations with more traditional media. The company was founded in 2005 as an upstart, user-driven social website, but had a by publishing titan Conde Nast, whose parent company, Advance Publications, remains a majority shareholder.
In 2012, Erik Martin, the site鈥檚 longtime general manager, who stepped down last year, told the Newspaper Association of America that the site鈥檚 users could be a strength for more traditional journalists beyond just driving traffic.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 really powerful about Reddit is it鈥檚 a bunch of people talking online,鈥� he . 鈥淲hether about politics or local happenings, you鈥檙e able to see what鈥檚 most interesting to the community.... It鈥檚 the leading indicator of what is connecting with the online audience.鈥�
In terms of advertising, the site is also diving into uncharted territory in an attempt to draw users who might have previously been unfamiliar with Reddit. It will eschew traditional banner ads or pop-ups in favor of sponsored posts paid for and approved by advertisers but written by Upvoted鈥檚 own editorial team, Wired reports.
Perhaps anticipating criticism that Upvoted could be seen as a sanitized or 鈥淧G鈥� version of Reddit, Mr. Ohanian said Upvoted represented a continuation of the site鈥檚 existing user-driven approach.
鈥淎s always, we can鈥檛 do this without you and we hope this will be a new way to amplify all the unique conversations and stories of Reddit to an even larger audience, provide more depth to stories that otherwise would only last 24 hours tops on our front page,鈥� he wrote, 聽鈥渁nd all [the] while giving you the credit you deserve.鈥�
