Sprawling online forum Reddit and its parent company Conde Nast Entertainment have rolled out the first episode of the brand’s inaugural video effort, a six part documentary series called Cyber Nation.
Centered around cutting edge human/technology interfaces, the first episode is streaming via Wired’s channel on video site The Scene, their mutual parent company’s digital video hub.
Related: Netflix cleverly tries to outwit kids with 5 minute bedtime shows
Don’t go popping the popcorn and calling for Reddit’s eventual Netflix takeover just yet; this is just a nascent first dip into creating original video content for Reddit. Each episode is only around five minutes in length, and is hosted by the creator of YouTube’s Veritasium channel, Derek Muller.
Subjects for coverage on Cyber Nation were chosen with the help of the Reddit community, with ideas from users who subscribe and comment in the subreddt r/Futurology.
“It’s commonplace to track our movements on fitness bands, monitor our sleep patterns with cell phones, and interact with our homes on smart watches, but how far will it go?” Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian said on his post about the series on r/Futurology earlier this year. “Will our grandkids think nothing of onlining their nervous systems? Will disability be a thing of the past? The show will look at the groundbreaking technology of today, and contemplate a realistic future that is truly ‘post-human.'”
Cyber Nation’s initial topics include an interview with a company who is working on creating realistic synthetic touch, and a profile on rock climber Hugh Herr — who climbs with bionic legs — among other investigations into burgeoning interfaces between human and machine.
Following each episode, companies and individuals involved will host an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session on Reddit, which Reddit’s executives hope will drive up the viewer count for the series.
“The hundreds of thousands of communities of Reddit generate more original ideas in one day than the world’s best newsroom could produce in a lifetime,” Ohanian said in an interview with Variety.
The company has been using its unique reach across virtually every topic of conversation imaginable to branch out quite a bit lately, including the launch of its own news site Upvoted early this October. The company will, in all likelihood, continue to branch out and produce new video series if this first effort proves successful.
