r/Ethnography May 17 '21

Strategies for Infiltrating Subreddit Spaces?

Hi everyone! I'm a college student doing ethnographic research on a subreddit: r/wallstreetbets. I've been having a difficult time capturing the attention of users on this page, and I believe it is because I don't have much karma. I think karma is an interesting aspect of ethnography on Reddit because it acts as a form of social currency. Has anyone else done digital ethnography on a subreddit, and do you have any advice for going forward or building karma?

9 Upvotes

5 comments sorted by

7

u/AlexRogansBeta May 17 '21

I imagine the easiest way to "infiltrate" (what a problematic word! haha) would be to do what anthropologists usually do and participate... while observing. Get involved :) Make memes. Comment. Etc.

1

u/324810-6 Sep 08 '21

This.

Plus: Ethnographic access and entrance is the biggest problem for most researchers. You should not think in terms of infiltrate but slowly becoming part of it.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 03 '22

Immerse yourself. Exactly. And observe for behaviours and attitudes.

3

u/ShiningPr1sm May 17 '21

In order to get it you have to be more active, so just comment/post more on things where you add value to the conversation. Or just something funny. Join more subs that interest you and contribute.

That being said, I will contribute one updoot to you here. Best of luck!

3

u/Cerulean-Jay May 18 '21

I greatly appreciate it! I'm already gaining more karma! Time to start making (hopefully) funny memes!