REDDIT JUMPS ON THE PODCAST TRAIN, LAUNCHES "UPVOTED"
FOUNDER ALEXIS OHANIAN HOPES TO TELL THE STORIES BEHIND REDDIT'S MOST POPULAR CONTENT.
Thanks in part to the blockbuster success of Serial, podcasts are enjoying arenaissance. Now online community Reddit—home to many a Serial discussion board—is launching a podcast of its own, designed to tell the most compelling back stories from its message boards.
"Usually when something’s been upvoted to one of the thousands of Reddit front pages it’s just the beginning," Ohanian says at the start of "Episode 0," which debuted today. "We’d like to use this podcast to dig a little deeper and hopefully realize that we’re all more connected than we thought."
That mission is admirable, but within hours of Upvoted's launch announcement theNew Republic had already penned a vicious takedown, calling the show "an insult to the very form of the podcast."
[T]he first episode of Upvoted is unsuccessful on almost every level; from its cheap opening gimmicks, to its promotional overtones, and even its content. For anyone still stinging from the disappointment of Serial’s season one finale, this is a healthy reminder: it could always get worse.
Ouch.
It’s fair to say that Upvoted does not share Serial’s investigative stance; if anything, "Episode 0" seems determined to fill listeners with warm fuzzies regarding the redemptive power of Reddit itself. (One highlight: The story of a Reddit user who got a job at the site after serving a prison sentence.) But if you’re looking for a feel-good fix, you can find the episode here.
[via Fast Company]