Reddit and What I Found There

This was my first time using Reddit and I was very intrigued by it. At first, I just searched "dance," but a lot of random things came up so I realized I had to be more specific. I then researched "dance companies" and "dance careers" and found the forums I was looking for. 

Blue, Eva. "Reddit Sticker." 12/22/10 via Flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic.

1. What kinds of things do people in the Reddit forums seem to be arguing about, debating, disagreeing about or otherwise engaging in meaningful exchanges of ideas about? Give us a descriptive and clear sense of the kinds of stories you're seeing in the Reddit forums.

·      There are many people on Reddit posting that they are professional dancers or choreographers and saying to “AMA.” Then, people will ask them questions and they will have meaningful discussions about that specific profession. There are also debates on different things that are happening in the dance world, such as the TV show Dance Moms and issues about weight.

2. In your opinion, what are the two most interesting debates/disagreements you found in the Reddit forums? Hyperlink us to the two different Reddit threads and explain why you found those debates interesting. Be specific and honest and be yourself. I don't want you to blah-blah-blah this. I want you to really engage.

·      While exploring forums about my major on Reddit, I came across two articles that really stood out to me. First was one about a ballet dancer who was also a Marine Iraq War veteran. After studying dance in college, he became a professional dancer for a couple of years and then decided to join the Marine Corps. When he returned home, he used dance as a way to manage the transition back to his daily life. He also started a program where they traveled to Iraq and taught dance workshops to the civilians of Iraq. I thought it was amazing how he combined his two passions into this courageous deed that provided those in Iraq a chance to study dance, because it is not as popular there. The other forum I found fascinating was one about dance careers. A lot of people do not understand that there are many different professions in the world involving dance. People are always confused that my major is dance and ask me how I am going to make a career out of it. This angers me because I feel as if some people don’t take my major seriously. That is why I appreciate this forum because it informs people of the many job possibilities dancers have.

3. Overall, what impression do you get of your discipline based on what you saw happening in the Reddit forums? Were the people in those forums talking in ways you expected or did not expect, about things you anticipated they'd be talking about or things you had no idea they'd be discussing? Explain in concise specific detail.

·      I was surprised about how many people were interested in learning how to dance and about dance in general. There were not only discussions between dancers themselves, but also between people who knew nothing about the field and were just curious. I was also surprised at some of the things people were having discussions about. For example, things that did not involve dance as a career, such as school dances, TV shows related to dance, how to dance with your partner for a wedding, and the Super Bowl halftime show performance.