Alhough it may be known as a warehouse of the internet's daily flotsam and jetsam, click-bait like lists of who is hot, and gifs of basset hounds running in slo-mo, Nature sees Reddit as offering an opportunity to get science into the mainstream.
Nature says it has launched a new collaboration with Reddit Science that will enable its editors and reporters to engage with readers who come across its stories on the news site.
The collaboration creates a formal structure for a dialogue that is already happening at Reddit Science, which has more than 4 million subscribers,
Nature editors are interacting with Reddit readers and commenters, "helping to explain stories they have written, answering questions, and directing people to more information," Nature says, adding that its journalists will keep their eyes on conversations that spin out from their news stories.
Nature News' Chief Online Editor Ananyo Bhattacharya points out that the Reddit Science subreddit already has a large number of PhDs and postdocs joining in conversations.
He says the collaboration is "another way to reach our core audience and the flair system gives our reporters and editors some prominence while clearly signaling that we have chips in the game."