Reddit is going on an aggressive campaign to reinvent itself. It has been barely a month since their news website Upvoted went live but the website just rolled out their latest expansion. Reddit now wants to join the world of online documentaries.
The documentary is called Cyborg Nation. It is a six-part series that will show how researchers and humans use technology to improve lives, Fortune noted. It is a big step for the online bulletin board and will propel Reddit to never before seen heights.
Reddit needed to collaborate with Conde Nast Entertainment and Wired to get the documentary going, The Verge reported. When co-founder Alexis Ohanian announced the plans for Cyborg Nation in the r/futurology subreddit, he appealed for support and crowdsourced ideas.
He said, "It's commonplace to track our movements on fitness bands, monitor our sleep patterns with cell phones, and interact with our homes on smart watches, but how far will it go?" Ohanian asked Redditors . "Will our grandkids think nothing of onlining their nervous systems? Will disability be a thing of the past? The show will look at the ground breaking technology of today, and contemplate a realistic future that is truly 'post-human.'"
Now, preparations are complete and the first videos have since gone live on Wired. Reddit needs to curry favor among Redditors after it was embroiled in controversial topics which saw a revolt within its members.
Perhaps the biggest issue which further damaged the image of the website was the ouster of communications director Victoria Taylor. This led to a domino effect and then-CEO Ellen Pao quickly resigned as a result. The new documentaries are also meant to put a friendly face to a website notorious for its harassment even of veteran members.
Do you think Reddit's documentaries are the answer to their tainted reputation? Share this article if you think so!
