On the Wikipedia list of the most popular websites, here, there’s a common trend. A lot of these websites are search or social media. Advice on how to interact, leverage, and use social media is easily accessible nearly anywhere. However, there are at least a few often-neglected channels that we’ll talk about here.
The list below is regarding social networks with the membership and the power to jump in on causes, make or break products and services, or, when properly motivated, launch crusades. Here’s a brief rundown of what the websites are, what they are known for, and some notable actions they have been involved in.
Originally built as a photo-hosting sister site to the web message board, Reddit, Imgur is now the 49th most popular website, bringing in more unique visitors than Craigslist. The format is simple: images, captions, and comments that users can up-vote or down-vote. Visitors can view images chronologically as they are submitted or view a collection of the most popular images on Imgur and Reddit at a given time.
The reason why this should matter to brands and businesses is simple, as the following example illustrates. The 2nd most popular image of all time is this post, “25 Killer Websites that Make You Cleverer.” This post has been viewed more than 3/4 of a million times, been “favorited” by 48,000+ people, and been commented on almost 1000 times. The post itself pitches websites like Duolingo, Lumosity, Khan Academy, and Nerd Fitness. This kind of viral reputation is inexpensive, effective, and productive for those brands that make an impression on this community.
Clocking in a few spaces below its offspring, Reddit is a powerful online message board system based on a similar format of posts, comments, votes, and a measure of popularity. Users can post text, links, or media and other users will up-vote or down-vote the content. Using an algorithm that combines this point rating with recency, Reddit creates a real-time picture of what is most important to its users. Unlike Imgur, Reddit is structured with a number of “sub-reddits,” which are accessed by adding /r/”name of subreddit” into the url. Sub-reddits are categories that allow posters to put their content in places it is most relevant.
Some notable sub-reddits:
/r/mildlyinterested – picutres of things that are, in fact, only mildly interesting
/r/natureporn – definitely SFW, this are is used for beautiful, epic, or otherwise noteworthy images of natural settings
/r/iama – AMA’s, or Ask Me Anything’s, are hosted here. People with interesting jobs, stories, or other notable attributes post here to allow the general public to ask them questions.
One of the main reasons Reddit matters? Their ability to collectively organize. In 2013, a 2-year-old cancer patient put a message on her window that said “Send Pizza: Room 4112.” Let’s just say they delivered (story here). Similarly, after a plea from his nephew, Reddit users sent thousands of pieces of mail to a terminally ill man with Down syndrome (story here).
Don’t be fooled by the .org, this probably isn’t the site you want to spend all your time on, but I bring it up for a very important reason. 4chan is an online message board, similar to the ones listed above. However, instead of points, it just facilitates a running conversation and all the users are anonymous. Once again, anonymous – to each other and any outsiders. This makes is a very interesting place for mischief and important place to keep in mind.
Notably, the pranksters at 4chan like to hijack marketing plans.
When Pitbull and Walmart teamed up in a promotion, they started an internet poll and promised a live Pitbull show in the Walmart with the most votes. After a post in one of their message boards, 4chan users swamped the poll and sent him to Kodiak, Alaska, a town of 6,500 people.
In 2012, Mountain Dew put it to the people to name it’s new flavor. Unfortunately, after seeing the potential of user-submitted and support names, 4chan took over and shot several unsavory titles to the top of the list, including “Diabeetus” and “Hitler Did Nothing Wrong.”
Also in 2012, Taylor Swift and her team held an online vote for a free concert and a $10,000 donation to the most popular school. 4chan’s response? They flooded the site with votes to have her musical act perform at a school for the deaf.
The moral of the story – If you’re paying attention to the dialogue on social media, don’t forget that there is more out there than just Facebook, Twitter, and Google.
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