The popular social media-news hybrid platform 'Reddit' has launched a new feature called 'Reddit Discover' on its mobile applications. Discover is a tab on the application where users can scroll through a seemingly neverending breadth of content from across the website. As opposed to other popular applications such as 'TikTok' or 'Instagram,' Discover will not be extensively curated to each user.
The choice to leave Discover based on popularity instead of curation algorithms was fueled by the desire to get more Reddit users to see different information and interact with different communities. While testing this feature, Reddit found that Discover users were much more likely to find new, interesting communities that they then subscribe to as opposed to users who navigated the website in the traditional way.
Social News Discovery Features
Reddit Launched 'Discover' Which Delivers Popular Content to Users
Trend Themes
1. Algorithm-less Content Discovery - Social media platforms can create algorithm-less content discovery features to encourage users to engage with new content and communities.
2. User-based Content Exploration - Platforms can adopt user-based content exploration features to encourage exploration and engagement.
3. Personalized Discovery Features - Platforms should explore ways to personalize content discovery features to increase engagement.
Industry Implications
1. Social Media - Social media platforms can benefit from exploring new content discovery features to increase user engagement.
2. News and Media - News and media platforms can apply algorithm-less content discovery methods to increase exposure of a diverse range of news content.
3. E-commerce - E-commerce platforms can benefit from adopting personalized discovery features to increase product discovery and sales for customers.