Why more people are joining this social media discussion app

Subrsquos strike rate 10037rdquo ldquoSo sad to hear this Hope they find the strength to go through this phase of their livesrdquo ldquoKusha was really into open relationships and Zor didnrsquot want to continuerdquomdashThis writer got sucked into the world of Reddit last month when content creator and actor Kusha Kapila announced her separation from her husband fellow digital creator Zorawar Singh Ahluwalia A subreddit called rInstaCelebsReddit started a discussion on the split opening the pearly gates to raw unedited gossip heaven The comments were varied Some expressed despair some discussed theories and some delighted at the fact that the subreddit had predicted the divorceThe opinions may be real but people commenting donrsquot have their real faces on We have usernames such as _burgandyonmyshirt moonpiexox01 expert snitch and jaani_dushmanmdashmore anonymity more audacity The gossip the communities the reviews and the general ldquoletrsquos do as we want letrsquos be who we arerdquo vibe of Reddit is slowly drawing those bored of the ring lights and cube croissants of Instagram or the tailored sarcasm of X The registered users of the American social news aggregation content rating and discussion website are commonly referred to as Redditors They submit content in the form of links text posts images and videos each of which is then voted up or down by other members Posts are organised by subject into usercreated boards labelled Communities or SubredditsShruti Pednekar Farzana Patowar Rohan Chaubey and Anoop MishraOn another day we went down the rabbit hole at subreddit rBollyBlindsNGossip which has 573k followers The topic of heated discussion Why actor Deepika Padukone looked a bit uncomfortable while husband Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt chatted cosily at the head of the runway at the Manish Malhotra show Another group was discussing lsquoBruh why are the kisses so forced and cringersquo referencing the smooches in the latest Karan Johar hit Rocky and Rani Ki Prem Kahani It was raucous and hilariousSubreddit rBollyBlindsNGossip which began in February 2018 says that their members observe celebs and post observations as topics which transmutes into gossip at some point Though few members post gossip direct sources when asked whether the site verifies their content the response the anonymous moderators of the community was ldquoWe have no means to verify the source of gossip posted by members We used to remove all lsquoOriginal Gossiprsquo posted via lsquoSourcersquo For instance The news of Aliarsquos pregnancy was broken on this Sub at the time of AliaRanbirrsquos wedding We removed it as we felt it may be a fakeprank by a member After this we decided to let members post original gossip under the tag lsquoExaggerated claims no sources no proofrsquo It is up to members to cross question and decide to believe or discard it Members who want to post OG gossip also insist on remaining anonymous If someone says they are a celebrity and wants to do an AMA Ask Me Anything we request a picture with a placard We have a dormant Twitter sic account where we ask for verification via DMrdquoIn a world without strict guidelines who draws the line ldquoWe are okay with all kinds of gossip except outing someonersquos sexuality and about celebrity childrenrdquo says the moderator ldquoWe allow MeToo allegations after cross questioning We remove all posts and comments that incite hate against vulnerable groups or use abusive language We are also against the culture of lsquoban and boycott Bollywood brigadersquordquoAccording to the traction data provided to the subreddit by Reddit they get 93 million page views per week Approximately 200 posts are submitted and 1500 new members join subreddit every day ldquoWhy itrsquos so popular and important is because it is a safe place to interact with likeminded people and debate freely with opposite viewsrdquo the moderators told us in an email interviewThatrsquos what fans of the social media platform say as well Entertainment writer Farzana Patowari logs in most of the time ldquoto read trash comments about people I feel some kind of joyhellip it feels so good to see people being honest Unlike Instagram where we are always thinking about what is the right thing to say or not here we can be politically incorrectrdquo The last post she really enjoyed was the one where actor Ileana Dcruz posted a photo with her ldquoallegedrdquo lover ldquoPeople were wondering if it was a footballer and some just saw it as a publicity stuntrdquoldquoOf course itrsquos gossiprdquo says Patowari who checks the app last before she hits the sack ldquoBut sometimes itrsquos legit information I also like that many people talk about their communities For example I used to live in Pune and people would talk not only about civic issues but also where to go where not to gordquoDombivlibased Shruti Pednekar feels that Reddit is a raw real and saner world ldquoItrsquos anonymous so no one is judging yourdquo says the video producer ldquoand you can be real and say what you want without thinking lsquowho is approving of my wordsrsquo I am very active on RedditmdashI leave comments and ask questions about anything and everythinghellip And if I am disturbed by a thread I exit the post If you are on Reddit know that people may say anything so donrsquot take anything personally and leave if itrsquos not going down well with yourdquo Pednekar spends at least two hours a day on the platform much more than she spends on InstagramAs of February 2023 Reddit ranks as the 10th most visited website in the world according to Semrush which works in keyword research and online ranking data Many experts say that since its inception in 2002 the site has grown year on year been lauded for building a community and helping raise funds for various issues even though it has been criticised for its propensity to spread potentially dangerous misinformation In 2021 it was valued at US 10 billion with advertising revenue contributing 350 million In 2023 so far it has 5579 million daily active users and 1660 billion monthly active usersRohan Chaubey who runs the community rGrowthHacking with 37000 members says that his subreddit is a good way to use the platform Chaubey has written The Growth Hacking Book which talks about using traditional and nontraditional media to hack your way to growth especially as a startup ldquoThere are no ads and no targetted audiencerdquo he says ldquoThe only way to use Reddit is to tie your business with conversation There are many niche and intellectual communities too There is also a lot of Not Suitable For Work content I have reached out to many people and I get a lot of work on it But you can actually find all kinds of informationmdashFix your PC Sure Want to find a place to eatstay in Hyderabad SurerdquoIt is social media PR Strategist Anoop Mishra who puts all this in perspective ldquoPlatforms such as Reddit and Quora are being preferred now as there is no filtration and thus the reviews are real Brands and creators should be heremdashbecause organic conversation and growth is better than platforms where you need to do stunts to be relatablerdquo says Mishra He advises brands to embrace Reddit Medium and Quora because the authentic product reviews can help their business ldquoNowrdquo he says ldquoFacebook doesnrsquot offer organic reach So a brand would rather put their product up on Reddit get reviews and let people read them and buy Also people can leave reviews in their own languages It doesnrsquot get better than thatrdquo