I don’t know how many of you out there browse the website Reddit, but most of you have probably heard of it. If not, then I’m sure that you’ve all heard of Tumblr, Pinterest, Digg, Twitter or 4chan. If you haven’t heard of any of them, congratulations on being the most productive student at Northwestern. Allow me to be the one to ruin that for you.
Reddit is a website where people can post links to other websites (or videos or images) or post text-only “self posts.” Other users then “upvote” or “downvote” content based on their approval of it. The most upvoted posts get displayed on the front page, where more than 34 million people view it.
It has a culture all its own. The website is organized around user-generated “subreddits” which include just about any interest or affiliation you’ve ever thought of. You can find specific subreddits that I list by going to “reddit.com” and adding “/r/whatever” to the end in your address bar.
Ranging from the awesome “r/iama,” in which famous or interesting people field questions from commenters to the bizarre “r/popping,” for people infatuated with popping zits, you will certainly be able to find a group of people discussing everything you’re interested in. NU even has a somewhat active subreddit “r/Northwestern”.
Most of what’s posted on Reddit is representative of the Internet as a whole: funny pictures of cats, nerdy video game jokes, arguments about Ron Paul and screen captures of Facebook conversations. The key to getting something worthwhile out of Reddit is exploring the vast array of subreddits available. I listed “r/iama” as a good example, but here are a few more:
“r/lifeprotips” is the ultimate source for “life hacking,” or making yourself more efficient or frugal. Perhaps the most helpful tip I’ve learned involves sharpening your razor. The trick is to run your razor along a pair of jeans (not like you’re shaving them; the other way, duh!) and by some form of denim magic your razor will be sharper and its nicks will be fixed. I’m not sure if it actually works, but my brain sure tells me it works, and I do cut my face less after denim-ing my razor.
“r/askreddit” is possibly the most interesting and unique aspect of Reddit. This subreddit features interesting questions answered by the wide variety of commenters that Reddit attracts. Questions include “I just finished my first stick of Chapstick without losing it. What have you done that you never thought was possible?” and “Could I destroy the entire Roman Empire during the reign of Augustus if I traveled back in time with a modern U.S. Marine infantry battalion or MEU?”
“r/askscience” is similar to “r/askreddit,” but with a scientific focus. It can be very interesting and educational, especially when the commenters include Redditors who are bizarrely qualified in their fields (astrophysicists, doctors, archeologists).
“r/explainlikeimfive” does just what is says on the box. Experts answer complicated or very specific questions using language and metaphors that a kindergardener would understand.
Armed with the knowledge of these communities, may your procrastination yield you something more than a familiarity with Good Guy Greg and Awkward Penguin.
