Washington, US
Reddit, one of the world's most popular social media platforms, has unveiled a plan to financially reward its top contributors for their valuable posts.
This initiative is set to launch initially in the United States, marking a significant departure from Reddit's traditional approach to content rewards.
A new era of content monetisation
Under this scheme, Reddit will share its revenue with users who are granted the coveted "gold" award by fellow community members.
These gold awards will be available for purchase, ranging in price from $1.99 to $49. The individuals receiving these accolades will, in turn, pocket up to half of the purchase price, making it potentially lucrative for content creators.
Reddit's decision to monetise content creators is also a shift in its business model, especially in light of the backlash the platform faced in June.
During that tumultuous period, a significant portion of Reddit was rendered inaccessible as a form of protest against the company's senior management.
Also read | Explained: Why are thousands of subreddits going dark on Reddit?
Evolution of Reddit's "gold"
Gold has been a fixture on Reddit for quite some time, initially serving as a virtual token of appreciation for exceptional posts or comments.
In the past, Redditors could purchase and gift gold to others, but it held no tangible real-world value; the funds were used to support the platform.
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However, receiving gold came with perks, such as an ad-free week of browsing Reddit. Later, a more exclusive platinum award offered a month of ad-free browsing.
The announcement of this innovative content monetisation strategy has generated mixed reactions among Reddit users. While some Redditors express concerns that it might adversely impact the platform's overall quality, others remain cautiously optimistic.
Also read | Google admits Reddit blackout affected search experience as users were 'unhappy'
A few months back thousands of communities on Reddit had gone dark. Meaning, these subreddits had locked themselves as a sign of protest against the site's 'ludicrous' new decision to try to monetise access to its data.
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