“How does a subreddits appearance on the front page affect its popularity?”

Inconclusive. Our data shows that Active User counts, or short term fame, are only modestly affected by the appearance of a subreddit on Reddit’s front page. It almost appears as if a subreddit arrives on the front page once its short term fame begins to fade.

“Is the influx of viewers long lasting or short lived?”

Short lived. A subreddits appearance on Reddit’s front page does not seem to significantly affect Subscriber counts, or long term fame, at all. For the most part Subscriber counts just seem to increase at a slow but steady rate.

“Can you measure the effects of fifteen minutes of fame?”

Yes. By tracking Active User counts we can see the rise and fall of a subreddit’s popularity. However, this popularity seems to be modestly affected by Reddit’s Front page. These findings may result from the fact that to make it on to the front page a subreddit has to have a large following and therefore is already famous. Non famous subreddits have few followers and little hope of making it on to the front page.