According to the latest Reddit blog post, users will be able to create their own “reddits” in the next couple of weeks. Currently, the ability to create your own reddit group is only open to selected users. There will be a few different types of options for each group. From the Reddit blog:

“You will be able to make three kinds of reddits: public, restricted, and private. A public reddit is just like the current reddits: anyone can view and submit to them. A restricted reddit allows anyone to view the content, but only invited members may submit, comment, or vote. A private reddit is like a restricted reddit, but with the additional restriction that only members can view the content as well. Moderators of a reddit will be able to remove posts and ban users from their reddits.”

If you want to see the new groups in action then login to your reddit account and you will be able to see “other reddits” on the right-hand side of the screen. Click on the “more” button, or alternatively, go to reddit.com/reddits.

From here you will be able to see the reddit groups that you are currently subscribed to. Check the box of any groups that interest you. When you next navigate back to the home page you will be able to see all submissions to any groups you are subscribed to.

You can see the number of subscribers to the various groups underneath the group title (see picture below). I’m not sure how accurate the subscriber numbers are at the moment, but it should give you a useful indication as to the size of each group.

What do the changes mean?

Longer exposure for each submission - Currently, some groups only have a few submissions, so your content is certain to be available to view for longer instead of disappearing off the page in just a few minutes.

Reach a targeted audience - Much like the groups on Mixx, an article can be submitted to more than one group. Voting for a submission is counted separately in each group, so it’s pointless submitting to every group available in order to reach the popular page.

Less Traffic - Reddit users will only be able to see the categories they are subscribed to. If your content is submitted to a group with not many users then you won’t see much of an increase in the number of visitors to your site.

The changes should also mean that it’s easier to view content that you’re interested in (provided people submit content to the correct group) and that there is less incentive to try and “game” reddit in order to reach the popular page

The new groups could be beneficial to anybody with a creative streak. There are already groups for writers and bloggers You can submit your own content to these groups and receive feedback on your work.

So what do you think to the new changes at Reddit? Leave your comments below.