Your ‘karma’ can make you money on Reddit

Just like your school physical education teacher said, what matters is your participation. And that holds true on Reddit, whose new monetisation system emphasises participating. From now on, users will be able to earn money thanks to their contributions and “karma” points.

While users “like” photos on Instagram, over on the social network Reddit, users can give an upvote to indicate that they like or agree with a comment or post. These upvotes allow the creator of the comment to collect points, known as “karma” points. In the past, these “fake Internet points”, as they’re often referred to, didn’t earn users anything concrete, but now it’s the other way round.

Rolling out now in the US, the new programme will enable users to earn money through their engagement with the platform. In other words, the more “karma” points a redditor earns, the more money they will earn.

But be aware that another criterion is required in order to monetise these contributions. In addition to donating “karma” points through their upvotes, users can purchase virtual currency called Reddit Gold. It costs US$1.99 for 1 gold vote, rising to US$49 for 25 Reddit Gold votes. Redditors can use this virtual currency to reward creators with a “golden upvote” for their contributions, be it a comment or a publication.

And to be able to monetise their contributions, Redditors will have to meet certain eligibility criteria. In addition to being over 18 years of age, the Reddit contributor program is only available to residents of the United States. You’ll also need to have provided your verification information. Please note that only all-public contributions are eligible, and the account must have been created more than 30 days ago.

So how much can a Redditor hope to earn with this new programme? To be able to collect money, users will have to reach certain levels to unlock payments. To earn 90 cents for a golden upvote, you’ll need to have accumulated between 100 and 4999 karma points. If you exceed 5,000 karma points, you’ll earn US$1 per golden upvote. Users will only be able to receive their money once they’ve earned 10 golden upvotes. – AFP Relaxnews