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Comment by gooseus | Hacker News Reader

What is your definition of social network?

Mine would be a system connecting multiple entities for the purpose of socializing... or something like that.

So I'd say yes, imo.

To me, Reddit is clearly an example of social media, and less clearly a social network. Compared to Facebook or LinkedIn, for example, it has much less focus on the network aspect, connecting individual users, and a much larger focus on what is being posted. On larger subreddits, most interactions are with random strangers, rather than people you have some close relation to.

That being said, I do think the ability to create small communities and organize that way could just be considered a different way of modeling connections. Rather than peer-to-peer links, you have topic groups as the primary structure.

There's definitely a spectrum, though, and I would be willing to accept it if somebody made the argument that Reddit wasn't a social network.

>Compared to Facebook or LinkedIn, for example, it has much less focus on the network aspect, connecting individual users, and a much larger focus on what is being posted.

They are completely redesigning and rewriting the website from scratch with the objective of turning into an actual social network. Look what the new user profiles look like: https://www.reddit.com/user/spladug

It's more social then Facebook to me. I get to meet new people based on intrest (sub-reddits) Facebook and LinkedIn is how you connect with people you actually know or 1 degree of separation.

Reddit exposed you to new ideas and people. Some good and mostly bad but it is much more "Social" in action.

It's not a question of whether it's social but whether it's a 'social network'. Facebook straight up tries to model a social network - you tell FB about your relationship to other people. Reddit doesn't.

so then Facebook and Linkedin are both networks. Reddit is social. lets not by default prepend "Social" when its just a network.

I'm not sure I follow why we shouldn't call something that is social and models a network a 'social network'.

Yes it is. There are social networks based on persons you know, and social networks based on interests.

There are, but reddit isn't really either.

facebook is one of the worst platforms I can think of. Trying to find anything in facebook is pretty much impossible, even your own posts. Reddit is more like digg used to be, but you can more easily filter out all the crap. I'm not sure how reddit can improve itself, unless some genius has an idea of how to expand what it offers to more people. Its more likely they will end up driving their core away with any radical changes.

Are old school style forums social networks then? Reddit to me just fits into that mold, of just a forum site. The type that have existed as far back as I have been using the internet.

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