I have been using Reddit since August 2019, and I still do not understand how awards or how Reddit gold works. I also just realized there was a premium version of Reddit, which shows how much I engage with the features Reddit has to offer its users.
To me, these features seemed like a ploy for Reddit to make money off of its users without it having any tangible value, so I never gave them much thought or attention. However, upon further research, it seems like these features are significantly valued by users on Reddit. Being able to reward other Redditors for their contributions to the site is an important part of the Reddit community.
The sentiment is backed up by u/jgoja who stated, “Awards are acknowledgements, stickers if you will, that are given to eligible posts or comments that the giver feels is worthy. Most awards provide the receiver with the amount of contributor gold the giver spent on the award”.
According to Reddit, “You can use gold to give awards or get digital goods in Developer Platform apps such as games.” Gold ranges between $1.99 for 100 gold to $49.99 for 2,500 gold. Not only can users buy gold, but they can also earn gold from awards given to their posts or comments. Reddit keeps track of the amount of gold spent to buy those awards which they call “earned gold”. This also measures one’s contributions to their site.
Additionally, in 2023, Reddit introduced the Contributor Program, which allows users to earn money from Reddit based on the karma and gold they receive for their contributions. While Reddit doesn’t necessarily create a space for algorithmic mutual aid to happen, top contributors are finally being rewarded for their digital labor, especially those who moderate subreddits.
In his paper about civic labor and online moderation, J. Nathan Matias wrote about “the codependence of many online platforms with the substantial uncompensated labor that continues to support them”. Matias goes on to explain, that while in the real world, this type of community management is often compensated, the majority of digital labor is unpaid.
Although I’ve been using social media for over a decade, I never thought about my contributions to a website as digital labor. However, I am starting to understand that a platform can only survive with the participation of its users. Not just participation but the creation of commodities that continue to give value to the platform.
Bryan Dosono and Bryan Semaan explain this phenomenon concerning Reddit in their research paper, stating, “Reddit relies on volunteer moderators to keep its platform active. Similar to users of other large-scale online communities, redditors that continue to visit the platform are increasingly exposed to sponsored advertisements that keep the company profitable”. There is an inherent codependency between users (their data and content) and the value being generated on social media platforms.
Reddit relies on volunteer moderators to keep its platform active. Similar to users of other large-scale online communities, redditors that continue to visit the platform are increasingly exposed to sponsored advertisements that keep the company profitable
Bryan Dosono and Bryan Semaan
As users become increasingly aware of how much their presence on these platforms contributes to the millions, if not billions, of dollars, being generated towards these platforms, it is only fair for platform owners to create a way to redistribute the wealth to the users. While some believe Web3 can solve this unequal distribution, I feel as though it will bring more harm than fixes. As has been seen in the past, NFTs and Blockchain technology are unsustainable, unregulated, and terrible for the environment.
While Reddit is taking steps to create a platform that rewards users both financially and virtually for their contributions, there is always more that can be done. As a casual user myself, I’ve never expected to be compensated for any digital labor I’ve contributed, but seeing them create more incentives for top users and moderators brings a fleeting sense of hope that they recognize the importance of user-generated content.