Steve Huffman

Identity & Trust with Steve Huffman (Reddit) | Social Data Revolution Class 3a | Fall 2015

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• published: 20 Oct 2015
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http://sdr2015.wikispaces.com/ - Session: 13, Oct Topic: Identity & Trust Reddit was created as the "frontpage of the internet", essentially combining the mechanics of Delicious (which interestingly invented the concept of tagging) and the content and community of Slashdot. Originally, issues of identity and data were not a concern in the founders' minds. In the early days, reddit took an attitude of "don't ask for info we don't need". This worked well since email did not actually provide reddit with too much value. Also, this lead to two early decisions would impact the future and define reddit forever. The choice not to require email addresses, and the choice to use usernames instead of real names. Personas and Identity Because an email is not required to register an account and accounts do not have to directly correlate to your real life identity, any single person can make a multitude of identities. For example, as reddit was growing, three of the top five redditors were the same person. But, from looking at each usernames' posts, you would never know as each username had its own unique persona and identity. Because this is possible, many people's real life identity and reddit identity are vastly different and because there is some level of anonymity (but not complete anonymity) conversations are often more genuine. This creates a healthy dynamic of having little consequences in your real life, so people become more authentic, but there are some consequences since you are not completely anonymous (like on 4chan, for example). Flexible Identity As mentioned before, reddit does not force you to use your real name so your identity is a lot more flexible. Your identity is simply defined as the age of your account and your posting history. Furthermore, because creating a new name is easy (and does not require you to give additional information) throwaway accounts are popular because it lets you disconnect some of your more revealing thoughts with the reputation and identity of your more serious reddit accounts. The course starts with an overview of the principles of ubiquitous data. We’ll then discuss how data science is revolutionizing commerce, education, health, wealth, and work. Students will understand the opportunities and risks of the irreversible shift in business and human interaction created by the social data revolution. Some industry leaders will join us, similar to past years (2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008) Students taking INFO-290A are invited to participate in the Social Data Lab’s activities and events. Video filmed by Level 2 Productions