Some Reddit users will no longer have to rely on third-party services to upload videos to the platform.
The social link aggregator and self-proclaimed “front page of the internet” announced that users on a select number of subreddits can now upload videos to the site directly.
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The feature has been in beta for a while, but will now be rolled out to a larger audience on mobile and desktop.
“This launch is a giant step forward in our efforts to bring rich content to Reddit, following last year’s release of native image hosting and our introduction of native video ads earlier this year,” the company notes in a blog post.
Its motivation for native video seemingly stems from video-heavy subs like r/HighQualityGifs and r/mealtimevideos, where video has become a cornerstone of conversation.
“…Prior to this launch, content creators had to go through a time-consuming, circuitous process to post videos, using third-party hosting platforms, copying URLs, and sharing them as link posts. This inhibited many users, especially those who capture videos on their phones and want to share them quickly with their favorite subreddits,” it elaborates.
‘This launch is a giant step forward in our efforts to bring rich content to Reddit’
Interestingly, Reddit adds that during the beta phase, users were using its video feature in a markedly different way compared to content creators on YouTube and Facebook.
“As we began beta testing, we found that the most engaging types of video weren’t coming from popular users trying to establish their individual brands, as you might see on other platforms,” it explains.
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“Instead, our video adopters so far have been creating and sharing videos to engage within their specific Reddit communities, as an organic extension of conversations already happening on each subreddit.”
This novelty could be a boon for Reddit in terms of attracting and keeping users, but more importantly, opening possible avenues for future advertising revenue.
Reddit’s video platform will support clips of up to 1GB in size, or 15 minutes. It will also boast a GIF creation tool, and allow GIFs of up to a minute in length.
While the company hasn’t mentioned the latter, it is the financial bedrock on which all social platforms are built.
