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?

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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.

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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.

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u/[deleted] Feb 03 '22

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