Our target population comprises UNC students, prospective students, parents, alumni, and faculty who use the UNC subreddit to obtain the latest and personalized updates about the University from other affiliated UNC individuals. The goal of our software is to provide a preview and, as our client, a current masters student at UNC and former UNC undergraduate student puts it, a “pulse” of the subreddit. By allowing these subreddit users to preview what is currently trending and garnering the most attention, likes, or drama, they can gain a better understanding of how they want to interact with the subreddit and decide whether to browse it at that moment. Moreover, this tool will help moderators get a quick and simple recap, enabling them to create better controls for the subreddit.
The importance of this tool lies in the fact that the first level of communication for many UNC students, particularly those who wish to remain anonymous, is the UNC subreddit. Even university applicants use the subreddit to obtain the latest updates about the admissions process. Alumni who graduated decades ago utilize the subreddit to stay current with the University, especially during changing times like a pandemic. Overall, creating a tool that enables all these users to have a better feel for what their subreddit experience could be like, so they can make an informed decision on whether to check the latest posts or not, would empower the approximately 16.2k members of the subreddit.