What’s New With Reddit? | We Are the Nerds by Christine Lagorio-Chafkin

WE ARE THE NERDS:
THE BIRTH AND TUMULTUOUS LIFE OF REDIT, THE INTERNET’S CULTURE LABORATORY
by Christine Lagorio-Chafkin

Hachette
October 2, 2018

From Goodreads:

Reddit hails itself as “the front page of the Internet.” It’s the fourth most-visited website in the United States–yet, millions of Americans have no idea what it is.

We Are the Nerds is a riveting look deep inside this captivating, maddening enterprise–whose army of highly engaged (obsessed?) users have been credited with everything from solving cold case crimes to seeding alt-right fury and helping to land Donald Trump in the White House. We Are the Nerds is a gripping start-up business narrative: the story of how Reddit’s founders, Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian, rose up from their suburban childhoods to become millionaires and create an icon of the digital age–before seeing the site engulfed in controversies and nearly losing control of it for good.

Based on Christine Lagorio’s exclusive access to founders Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman, We Are the Nerds is also a compelling exploration of the way we all communicate today–and how we got here. Reddit and its users have become a mirror of the Internet: it has dingy corners, shiny memes, malicious trolls, and a sometimes heart-melting ability to connect people across cultures, oceans, and ideological divides.

As a long-time fan and user of Reddit, when I saw this book on NetGalley I couldn’t hit the request button fast enough. And I was pumped when I get the email saying I had been approved. And while non-fiction isn’t edge-of-your-seat kind of stuff that you find in the fiction world, it was a whole other level of interesting.

Fascinating is probably a better word. When it comes to companies and businesses we’re familiar with, we have notions in our head (maybe even on a subconscious level) and what the day-to-day is like or how it got started. Until you learn the truth, and that all your notions were 100% wrong.

One of the most interesting things I noticed, was how similar everything seemed to the television show Silicon Valley. The show is about tech valley and the constant ‘start-ups’ that come from it. I guess that’s a feather in cap for that show and its authenticity.

Living in California and being involved in these start-ups means you can be the CEO of a brand new company this week, and out on your ass without a penny to your name next week. And in that situation, it’s not even a big deal because companies are beginning and ending all the time. Hundreds per day, from the sound of it. If your goes under, you’ll be in on another one soon enough.

What I liked best was all the little trivial tidbits I’ve taken away from this book, and hope to keep with me for a long time. Things like:

• The creators wanted to call the site Snew as in, “What’s new?” and the mostly didn’t like Reddit at all.
• Most of the people who really made Reddit what it has become were absolutely miserable while doing it, but knew it was important.
• One of the guys who started it ended up marrying tennis legend Serena Williams!

The only things I didn’t enjoy about this book were pace and names. The pace was slow, but then again this is non-fiction we’re talking about. I haven’t read a lot of non-fiction, so the pace might be right where it should be and I just don’t realize it.

And the names that were dropped in this book was just too much. Some people were introduced as though they may be an important player in the events to come, so I’m struggling to remember his name among a sea of others, and then he’s gone less than a chapter later.

It’s a great book for anyone who enjoys Reddit. And if you’ve been using the site for some time, you’ll remember some of the changes and events they go into detail about. I hadn’t thought much about them at the time. Things change all the time. I never thought to wonder ‘why?’ The next bit of change to come along will probably get a different reaction from me.