Reddit is a key location for tracking the opinions and conversations of the Internet. However, its creators have very little "original" content on that site, as it's all links and votes.
But that all changed on Wednesday, when the popular social sharing site revealed it has invested in a video division and plans on consistently releasing original content in the near future. "Reddit's mission is to connect people across the world through authentic conversations, collaboration, and community - video is an amazing storytelling medium and there's no better wellspring of original stories than Reddit," Reddit co-founder Alexis Cohanian told The Verge.
The endeavor will be led by Stephen Greenwood and Jordan Oplinger of The Verge's video team. "I think Reddit has the smartest, most witty community on the internet," Greenwood said. "We'll be aiming to tell some of the best stories that have happened on the platform and because of the platform."
The launch sounds like something akin to Reddit's Upvoted podcast, which tells Redditor's stories in audio format. The podcast was well-received by many listeners and has been in the Top 100 podcasts on iTunes for a while now.
Reddit has experimented with original content in the past with its "Explain Like I'm Five" series. This new division will focus on Reddit's "AMA" series, where users can ask experts, celebrities and renowned names any question they want. They'll also try to tell the Redditor's stories. But in the end, this video division's end-goal is to tell the stories of Reddit's community.
But why is Reddit so interested in creating its own content? Well, it's kinda hard to make money from just curating links and showing text ads. "By creating its own content, Reddit can better control the conversation around the marketing and also tap into more lucrative advertising formats," notes The Verge.
Reddit did not announce a release date for the new content.
