We Are the Nerds

WE ARE THE NERDS is a riveting look deep inside the legendary rise of message-board start-up Reddit - its controversies, its struggle for profitability, and the way its unique platform has changed the culture of the Internet. Reddit hails itself as 'the front page of the Internet'. It is the fourth most-visited website in the UK and USA, whose army of highly engaged (obsessed?) users have been credited with everything from solving cold case crimes to seeding alt-right fury and helping to land Donald Trump in the White House. WE ARE THE NERDS is the gripping tale of how Reddit's founders, Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian, met as two idealistic young men at the University of Virginia in 2001, with the common goal of creating something that would make a mark on the world. Within a few years they had become millionaires and created an icon of the digital age, before seeing the site engulfed in controversies and nearly losing control of it for good. This is the story of Alexis and Steve losing grasp of the beast they created, as it lurched out of their control and morphed into an untamable creature, and their return to try to tame that beast. Based on Christine Lagorio's unprecedented and exclusive access to founders Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman, WE ARE THE NERDS is also a compelling exploration of the way we all communicate today - and how we got here. Reddit and its users have become a mirror of the Internet: it has dingy corners, shiny memes, malicious trolls, and a sometimes heart-melting ability to connect people across cultures, oceans, and ideological divides. The legend of Reddit embodies all the triumphs and challenges of the start-up age.