Description
Book SynopsisWhat does online community look like in the age of social networking? How do participatory culture platforms reflect both their designers' intentions and the desires of their users? In this incisive and timely work, Adrienne L. Massanari discusses how culture is created and challenged on Reddit.com, the self-proclaimed front page of the internet. Reddit enables the sharing of original and reposted content from around the web, and provides a platform for like-minded individuals to commune around topics of interest everything from the joys of drinking beer in a shower (/r/showerbeer) to celebrating the pleasures of tidy penmanship (/r/penmanshipporn). Massanari's ethnographic work provides a detailed examination of the contradictions that shape Reddit's culture and how they reflect its role as an epicenter of geek culture. The book explores the ways in which community on Reddit is formed and solidified through play and humor, and the complex ways in which Redditors come together, which
Trade Review«Adrienne L. Massanari has written the definitive primer on Reddit, in all its contradiction and complexity. This accessible book provides an invaluable contribution to the ongoing debate over ‘Web 2.0’, what it is, what it isn’t, and what we might reasonably expect from platforms that rely on user-generated content.» (Douglas Rushkoff, Professor of Media Theory and Digital Economics, Cuny/Queens)
«Adrienne L. Massanari takes us on a deep dive into Reddit’s complex ecosystem of memes, bots, drama, and ‘karma’ illuminating the local norms and technical algorithms by which it both functions and malfunctions. Her book is a valuable contribution to the literature on Internet culture and its discontents.» (Julian Dibbell, Author of
My Tiny Life: Crime and Passion in a Virtual World)
«Adrienne L. Massanari has written the definitive primer on Reddit, in all its contradiction and complexity. This accessible book provides an invaluable contribution to the ongoing debate over ‘Web 2.0’, what it is, what it isn’t, and what we might reasonably expect from platforms that rely on user-generated content.» (Douglas Rushkoff, Professor of Media Theory and Digital Economics, Cuny/Queens)
«Adrienne L. Massanari takes us on a deep dive into Reddit’s complex ecosystem of memes, bots, drama, and ‘karma’ illuminating the local norms and technical algorithms by which it both functions and malfunctions. Her book is a valuable contribution to the literature on Internet culture and its discontents.» (Julian Dibbell, Author of
My Tiny Life: Crime and Passion in a Virtual World)
Table of ContentsContents: Why reddit? – Defining reddit – Cynicism, altruism, and hating everything, including ourselves – Reliving the past [REPOST] – Playing seriously – Open platforms, closed discourse.
