According to Engadget, Reddit is testing a new feature that will enable its users to provide a monetary tip to others. At the moment, the system is in the testing phase, and only one user can actually receive money. The test will turn into a massive form of tipping that will bring cash to users, Reddit and the processing agency.
Right now only the subscribers to r/shittymorph can give a tip, and only this user can actually cash out the money. He is best known for creating the Hell in a Cell meme.
“We are always running experiments to test potential features that support and empower our users, and the tipping feature in r/shittymorph is one of them,” a spokesperson for Reddit told Engadget, confirming the test feature. “Only a small percent of experiments get implemented.”
During the test time, the subscribers of r/shittymorph can offer a tip by clicking the “tip” button.
They can come up with $3, $5 or $10 increments though they can go up to $100 if they choose to, and they can enter their credit card information.
In fact, shittymorph will not receive all the money. He will receive only $78.50 out of $100 tip. $18.50 would go to Reddit’s coffers, and Stripe will also have its part in the amount of $3.
This is not the first experiment with the tipping system. In fact, YouTube has allowed its users to tip their favorite video creators. Also, Twitch used the tipping feature allowing its users to tip streamers right from a chat.
At present Reddit offers only virtual currencies to its users like Reddit Gold and Silver.
What are the Implications of Reddit Tipping System?
According to SocialMediaToday, this could have a big impact on the company’s eco-system. Today Reddit users compete for Karma which is actually virtual money. But even then some users are criticized for tactics to boost their Karma score like re-posting the same posts or re-posting other people’s content. This may seem something not very important when you talk about virtual money, but when it comes to real money, that would become a concern. Reddit users would become more serious when their content is re-posted.
Although the company has the blame off saying it does not decide who to tip or not, but in the long run the popular social media site would have to deal with the issue. A solution may be to pay moderators, and in fact, the site will have the means to do that.
