Reddit has launched a new posting feature called ‘Predictions’, which will enable users to put their opinions on the line, and earn tokens based on their topic knowledge.

As you can see in this example, Predictions will let users essentially bet tokens on their expected poll result, with moderators putting together the polls and options. Moderators can also build Predictions tournaments, with a range of polls for users to take part in, and bet more tokens on.

As explained by Reddit:

“Available to mods in communities that have at least 10,000 members, this new feature gives redditors an even more unique way of participating in their communities, by removing the barrier of posting and making it easier than ever.”

The tokens, it’s worth noting, are not buyable, nor redeemable for cash. Each user gets 1,000 tokens when joining a Predictions Tournament, which are free, but once you run out, you can no longer take part.

After the Predictions tournament is complete, users are allocated tokens based on the predictions they got right, and how much they bet, which then enables them to climb the relative community Predictions leaderboard, thereby boosting their reputation and presence in that particular subreddit.

Given that it’s not for real money or prizes, it may seem like a less consequential, and therefore maybe less engaging option, but Reddit users have a long, ingrained history of competing on metrics which mean nothing outside of the app itself. As do, really, all social media users, because the vast majority of people don’t care about how many likes or followers each person has, yet we all still crave those engagement points anyway, and they do provide a level of peer credibility and presence.

As such, you can imagine that Redditors will be keen to show off their knowledge via Predictions tournaments, and it could, as Reddit notes, go some way towards encouraging users to become more active in the app, as opposed to passively browsing through the latest memes in their feeds.

Which is a key focus – according to third-party analysis conducted in 2019, more than 98% of Reddit’s monthly active users don’t ever post or comment, with most choosing to simply browse and up/downvote content in the app.

That’s not necessarily a problem, as Reddit engagement is still steadily rising. But ideally, by getting more people involved, Reddit will be able to keep more people coming back more often, while also building on its use case, and enhancing its communities.

Then again, providing a gateway process for gambling is not the ideal pathway for such, so there are some questions about the validity of this approach. But the hope would be that through harmless, simple poll participation like this, that will encourage users into the Reddit process, and facilitate participation and activity.

And it’ll no doubt work. Again, Reddit users have been competing on Karma points for years, and if there’s one thing Redditors love more than anything else, it’s being right, and ensuring others are aware of such.

This facilitates both elements, which will see Redditors flock to it in droves.   

You can learn more about Reddit Predictions here.

Socialmediatoday.com

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