Gallery: Fascinating Graphs Show How Reddit Got Huge by Going Mainstream

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    01

    redditwide

    A detail of Randy Olson’s stacked area chart of reddit. Fuuuuuuu. *Image: Randy Olson*
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    02

    SubredditGrowthOverTime-2006

    Here's 2006. In the site's early days, Reddit.com was the main attraction, but in February they added the first topical subreddits. *Image: Randy Olson*
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    03

    reddit2007

    2007\. Nerd-friendly subreddits thrive. A celebrity-centric Lipstick.com section is replaced by r/entertainment. *Image: Randy Olson*
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    04

    reddit2008

    2008\. The year of Reddit's "Cambrian Explosion," as Olson puts it. Why? This was the first point Reddit allowed users to create their own subreddits. *Image: Randy Olson*
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    05

    reddit2009

    2009\. The subredditification continues. Olson's not sure what caused the /r/reddit.com spike in the middle of the year. *Image: Randy Olson*
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    06

    reddit2010

    2010\. Olson calls this "the year gamers and porn invaded," partially thanks to an influx of users from the then-recently-defunct Digg.com *Image: Randy Olson*
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    07

    reddit2011

    2011\. The year of the memes. Also the year mods pulled the plug on the catchall subreddit r/reddit.com. *Image: Randy Olson*
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    08

    reddit2012

    2012\. The Reddit of today, dominated by images and other more mainstream, accessible content. *Image: Randy Olson*
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