What’s Going On With Reddit?
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- čas přidán 28. 07. 2024
- Reddit has grown to become one of the most popular websites in the world, but the company’s recent API price increases have put many third-party Reddit apps out of business, leading to protests from the company’s contingent of volunteer moderators. As Reddit looks to go public, ongoing tension between its leadership team and the Reddit community at large could impact its valuation.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
02:42 - The early days
06:02 - Reddit goes mainstream
09:38 - API pricing changes
Produced by: Katie Brigham
Edited by: Evan Lee Miller
Supervising Producer: Jeniece Pettitt
Animation by: Christina Locopo
Editorial Support: Jonathan Vanian, Hayden Field
Additional Footage: Getty Images, Reddit, Y Combinator, Fast Money
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What’s Going On With Reddit?
Whenever a company goes public on the stock market, they instantly become profit driven and cater to the shareholders. They stop catering to their target audience and begin to exploit them financially.
Honestly you’re not wrong as a person who has dealt with a number M&A deals it is because the investing company now has debt they need to pay. It sucks but you have to make more money to pay higher bills.
@@daneflanigan The counter argument is that corporations tend to be relatively stable and produce an overabundance of jobs for most people which is why the government supports them so much. That's on top of stocks being an "easy-to-achieve" investment for the common man, especially with things like the 401k
@@poetryflynn3712 "produce an overabundance of low-paying jobs"
fixed that for you :)
12 year Redditor here. I stopped using Reddit after the company slandered the Apollo developer.
I hate Reddit and Quora and try to avoid them as much as I can. When looking for an answer their ad model would waste a lot of my time and confuses me. Their ads look exactly like an answer, which is a very annoying way to make me read the ads. So I usually stay away.
Quora is the worst it actively promotes nazi sh*t and some out of this world
Yes a Support forum is better if you just search answers...
True. I have found Quora to be the worst.
@@rahulkrishna9375right? Not only the is the layout of the website terrible, it seldom ever has any meaningful answers.
Quora is a mess, i avoid
I had a Reddit account that was 12 years old and I spent probably an hour a day on the site. I've spent money on Reddit Gold, post awards, and even the avatars. But since the API changes I've essentially stopped using Reddit completely. I'll check in on one or two of my favorite subreddits once a week or so, spending about ten minutes max.
I was a big Sync user and was bummed that the API changes priced all these devs out, but that's not what soured me on Reddit. It was Huffman's attitude about the whole thing - blatant lying and total disregard for the userbase, including mods and longtime users. Reddit just doesn't seem like a place that I want to support anymore with my time and money.
You're better off. Do something useful with your time instead
I feel the same way too, even though I have a 5 year old account and was a big Boost user. I basically saw Reddit as modern-day Usenet newsgroups back around the time I signed up in 2018.
I waited for a specific day just to have the day and month appear as my Reddit cake day, and the username I wanted had been taken for a throwaway account that was subsequently abandoned after posting some NSFW posts, so I added some easily memorable numbers and signed up.
I still have fond memories of some subreddits, particularly the fanfiction subreddit where I was able to gush out under some posts about a fanfiction I was working on that I basically kept thinking too much about due to its catalyst.
There's a new version of Boost coming soon which would retain the exact same UI but connect to the Lemmy network instead of Reddit, and once that arrives I'll begin looking for instances and plan out when I want to sign up.
Sync was awesome, best money I've ever spent on an app. Reddit is dead to me without it. The dev is going to launch on Lemmy instead so can't wait to try it.
The internet is an advertising tool. Social media makes you THINK it's about you. Everyone who makes an app wants to make money. All you are is a battery that powers Spez's matrix. Reddit collects information about you. It's also a tool to develop AI. You're teaching the AI to be more realistic.
Blame ChatGPT, they basically steal information from sites. So Reddit didn’t want to be taken advantage of since they would scrape Reddit’s data and that’s why they’re charging high amounts to use their api
There’s a saying, “we learn from our mistakes, but they don’t have to be YOUR mistakes”.
And I believe that’s a huge reason people use reddit.
To get real information, from real and regular people.
Except AstroTurf marketers infiltrated years ago.
Exactly. Google searches were filled with SEO garbage sites that never answered my questions, just trying to push affiliate links and paid reviews. Reddit has been the only place to find real people with their uncensored and unbiased information.
We assume they're real people. Reddit feels authentic where some other sites don't. But we don't know that they're real or should never assume.
@@ChristopherKendalls It's really clear that some of them are bots trying to push an agenda.
@@TheCatherineCC never even heard of it.
Y'all really forgot Aaron Swartz? He basically wrote the thing. Love, a programmer.
just shows how poorly researched and written this video was
They probably did not want to get into why he committed suicide. MSNBC discussing free access to research info? Nah.
To be fair, the reddit leadership has been memory holeing Aaron
@@TheCatherineCC There's an old saying: "Behind every great fortune is a great crime" Bill Gates didn'r write MS-DOS. He bought it for a pennies considering what it was worth. Tesla existed before Musk bought it and paid the founder millions to keep his role as orginal founder quiet. Zuck stole Facebook from the Winklevoss twins. Spez is no different.
I think it boils down to how you use Reddit, just like every other social media platform. Over the past 3 years, I've found Reddit to be one of the most useful websites/apps out there. I add "Reddit" to almost every Google search I make nowadays and get very useful information from it.
Same. I think it may be a sign of Google's potential decline though? If you don't add "Reddit" to a lot of queries you just get a bunch of garbage high SEO spam sites or sponsored ad garbage that doesn't have the info you need or bury it on the 10th page under a ton of junk and ads.
@@dantemss10I think it speaks more to how low quality most info on the internet is. I work in IT, and I add Reddit to my Google searches not because Google is bad, but because outside of absolute topics, real human questions with answers are so much better for determining the relevance and quality of information. Like, I could read an article about issues related to some server migration, but I might be halfway through the article before realizing it has nothing to do with my problem. With Reddit the question alone usually gives a pretty good idea
Blaming the user is a bad format for anything. It empowers abusers. A good plataform is designed to not be evil or allow evil.
Yep, Reddit unfortunately is an example of how a few bad apples can ruin it for the bunch. I've got some very helpful life tips from Reddit within the last six or seven months and I'm thankful
@@dantemss10 Yeah, reddit may be "less commercial" but that's not Spez's choice. Ad agencies have found reddit's user base to be worth less than FB or Tik Tok's. The other thing is, other then the AMC and Gamestop memes, reddit hasn't solved any crimes. No one was pointing at Bryan Kohlburger, just a lot of "garbage" theories.
I like reddit, and I value the communities there, but the recent situation made me realize that I do not like the people who run the company, and would not mind if they fail. If the people who run reddit actually cared about the communities they unwittingly created, then those communities would defend them to the end.
Majority of people, who are using reddit, do not really care. I know it is hard to hear truth but what are we gonna do about it? nothing, reddit owns the company and they make decisions,not us.
sub reddits are moderated by non-verified and so called "experts" that has power trips. most of them are high school kids. 😂
@@WarRior-rn4kb I do agree with this, I do not think that all communities are moderated well, and I do think that there should be methods for communities to adjust the moderation staff if they dislike how they operate, but this can be tricky to do, since it would be important to prevent "brigading," with roving bands of trolls hijacking communities with relatively small populations. There would need to be all sorts of breaks and safeties in any "mod impeachment" options.
My point was just that I've lost a lot of respect for those at the top, given how they responded to reasonable community protests. They basically took the attitude of "we own this company and can do whatever you want," which from a legal standpoint is true, but from a community-building standpoint is disastrous (as Elon is learning on his little project).
@@WarRior-rn4kb _"sub reddits are moderated by non-verified and so called "experts" that has power trips. most of them are high school kids."_
This is a false, misleading generalization, as moderation quality varies significantly, depending on the subreddit.
@@jacquelinel1618 Well, it is a balancing act though. When everyone is allowed to say anything with no checks and balances, then all you will be able to hear is madmen screaming, and no proper discourse can take place. Any reasonable community requires some level of moderation to limit the spam and nonsense that could make the useful conversations impossible to find. This becomes double true in a world with AI chat bots that can produce large volumes of seemingly normal conversation at will.
Reddit has not declined anywhere near as fast as its social media peers. Its remarkably similar to when I joined over a decade ago. This will all change when they increasingly try to chase ad revenue. The site was simply not built for advertising, much the same way Craigslist is.
You're smoking crack
If you seriously don't see how everything that Aaron Swartz envisioned with Reddit was systematically abused and destroyed in the last 10 years you're probably part of the problem
API stands for Application Programming Interface. It is a set of definitions and protocols for building and integrating application software. APIs allow two or more computer programs to communicate with each other.
Why leave out the parts where Huffman lied multiple times? But the Apollo developer had transcripts and recordings of the conversations?
This was a pretty soft piece, and bringing back in a former employee who's no longer associated with it serves little purpose.
Because this story was not about war between Reddit and Apollo and including those details would not interest most of the audience watching this video.
- Long time Apollo user who is well aware of what you are talking about
Reddit is running itself into the ground. Down with reddit
tears rolling down my face....HONK HONK!!!!!
If only they had the forethought to roll the changes out over an eighteen to twenty-four month period. I wonder why there was such urgency?
I think it's because of their upcoming IPO. need to fast track a path to profitability
@@MarkWTK Poor planning of their IPO.
I used to read several sub-reddits, but have stopped and won't go back. Posters feel they can be negative because there is no accountability. Also, volunteer moderators are often off base.
great overview of the situation. it's been rough watching the community I've been a member of for a decade and a half circle the drain.
the allure of reddit at first was it essentially aggregated all the different forums I lurked in one place.
the allure the past few years has been the critical mass of users and the discussion among them, everyone from everywhere interacting. as someone who likes to see the world through others eyes, it's been wonderful.
My experience with the site is completely different than most peoples. on desktop I use old.reddit with RES, on mobile I use RiF (kept alive with revanced). I also adblock **everything** so I'm definitely not a user reddit cares about in the least.
the strategy for profitability can make you successful or just go broke,
what do you mean by seeing the world through others eyes?
Very interesting video, it just amazes me how there were people who doubted the fact that people would want to access media from strangers on the internet. Unless you know the individuals personally who may have provided the public with the content, isn't ALL content on the internet from strangers? Interesting.
I used to love reddit. But over zealous mods have ruined it for me. When they start banning you from a sub reddit because you belong to another sub reddit i quit using it
Same, I used reddit for 7 years but was banned by abusive mods so I deleted my account.
@@P2B_JC i was banned for calling for the death penalty for the worst serial killer in Canadian history paul bernardo. They said it was death threats lmao
@@TribuneoftheplebsI was also banned from a subreddit for calling for the death penalty for specific people and the comment was removed by reddit admins (not just mods). That's a red line apparently.
I got banned for asking an offensive question. I hate the censorship. Mods need to have strict rules for forever vans.
@@Tribuneoftheplebs DAM
normal reaction to redditors 1:07
Reddit is becoming a cesspit without the API slowly. There's a lot of insult baiting going on all across different subs in the comments because without the API sites like unddit can't function. You can edit your posts without notifying anyone if you do so in the first 5 minutes, and without 3pp a lot of people are going wild with it.
Yeah, if a tech company gets old enough to have a retirement plan, it ceases to be relevant. Why do you think FB and Twitter are trying to be the same app now? If the only way to grow is to take someone else's market share, that company is dying.
While various platforms are facing trouble, CNBC videos are just getting better & better. All the useful news & other everyday stuff that makes sense, presented nicely right here by CNBC on youtube. Some very useful videos lately.
Lmao! Does your tongue hurt from all the corporate boots you've been licking?
when did websites become platforms?
🤣
@@mkhanman12345websites were always platforms.
Except... This is a news story from something that was well over a month ago. I can't understand why they are only talking about this now when this was a major event. It could have crushed the opening share price for reddit and was huge for free speech.
The GameStop mania will forever be linked to reddit 😮
Yeah, way to go unemployed Redditors, you staved off a big collapse so you can lose all your money in an even bigger collapse.
Hello, Lemmy. Thanks for inviting me. Not quite the community here as Reddit's but that could change. Feels a little like growing home already. Might just stay a while.
The absolute irony of Huffman for insulting the unpaid, volunteer moderators which his company heavily relies on while calling the protest that they crushed through intimidation undemocratic. 😂
Maybe what we need is a non-profit social media forum.
Reddit permabanned me because I said I hate Florida (I used to live there and it ruined my life) and said I look forward to seeing it get hit by constant hurricanes. I was banned for being threatening? I responded with "Do you seriously think I can control climate change!?" I swear i never threatened anyone or anything.That was literally it.
Reddit did me a favor. I've spent way too much time on the site and i can still access it to read up on news and how to fix things. I just can't post. I'm literally missing nothing and Florida will still eventually fall apart when it runs out of money repairing last years storm damage.
You're still contributing to their usage metrics and giving them your data.
It’s the mod problem.
@@rewer yea is them
yea, they mods are stupid, they think they can do whatever they want, and abuse their status
The problem is they pose as an open/free community but couldn't say no to government influence and funding.
Translation: "Wear your tinfoil hat, out and proud!"
@@knoahbody69 huh?
@@lijiang5600 the mods against free speech. I know is private but not willing intolerate different views
I have seen some of the weirdest views on life anyone can have on reddit. But still, I find the platform quite entertaining and even useful at times.
I had no idea what was going on because I deleted the app the last time. They had some dumb crap like this happen
Yea, after years of using Reddit regularly, I deleted my account. =/
Same
Same here :/
Love how much time I have now haha
Same, because I was facing mod abuse so it was simpler to just stop using reddit
Both Reddit and Twitter are severely losing their touch with reality when it comes to their audience. One platform is degrading 3rd party support, while the other is being destroyed by an egomaniac.
spez just wants his cash out
Twitter is the best it's ever been
I don't get the outrage over the api price changes. its like people getting mad at you for not letting others take the money that you deserve.
Twitter already irrelevant long before Elon Musk lol losing against tiktok and Instagram, only American democrats seems angry against him, the rest of the world doesn't even care
True
moved to "lemmy" and could not have been happier
Yes! The original version of Boost, the Reddit client I primarily interacted with the service through, had shut down a while back. I keep it as a placeholder for a new version of the app that's currently in the works and has the exact same UI (itself better than the official Reddit client for Android) but connects to the Lemmy network instead of Reddit. I'm waiting for that to release before I find a server I want to sign up to the network on.
Ruin markets? Cnbc showing it's bias towards corporate America that has been gaming the market way before Wall Street Bets 😂😂😂
Reddit cant survive because what we love about it will eventually go away due to this being a capitalistic society
^^ peak Reddit comment
spot on lol
Thank you for the deep dive. Agree with the closing comment about protests bc of love.
Just joined reddit but unfortunately this happens. Not liking the reddit default app due to a lot of annoying ads which is bigger than my screen. And keeps on popping up!
The music in the background is giving me major anxiety. I can’t watch the video.
Blocked Reddit 5 years ago. It's addictive and a waste of time...like most addictions. Don't miss it.
My government blocked it lmao
So like all social media? there are better reasons than that to avoid the site
@@multatuli1karena takut bokep
The API pricing was way too steep. I quit reddit a few months ago. Still looking for a replacement. I love community notes on Twitter but it doesn't quite do the same thing. Also zuck sucks. Shut down the stock market.
I deleted the Reddit apps from my phone and tablet for the blackout, and while at first I wanted to click and scroll out of habit, I noticed very quickly that I wasn’t missing anything. Haven’t logged in since.
The creators of Apollo should make an alternative.
Sync dev has made the app for Lemmy from scratch
The creator* as far as I know, it was one guy.
then a sizable chunk of people will have to use it, or fill in the void with bots to make the app seem populated.
Why do ad companies spend so much money to annoy people? I’ve never in my life seen an ad online using social media and thought oooo let me buy this!
As a user, I just stopped using Reddit when the API price goes was announced. I'm in the process of deleting all my old comments and posts, going back years.
The official Reddit mobile app is just terrible. Even when looking at specific subreddits, more than half of what I see is something I didn't ask to see. It becomes this laborious hunt for "posts" that are actually on the topic that I requested.
Reddit eventually reversed the price increase, but the damage had already been done. Several popular apps and bots had already been shut down, and the community's trust in Reddit had been shaken.
Reddit did not reverse the price increase. I don't know where you got that information from.
Just ignore what the founder of reddit stood for and ignore why he created the company. Let's also forget why people joined reddit because they believed in the same vision and just think about the profit.
Account has been deleted and subreddits I care are still down.
I waste less time without Reddit and that counts.
People need to find something more constructive to do being honest
no mention of the other cofounder Aaron Swarts???
Idk but I don’t like that mods get to ban u for the most ridiculous little things. So unless they get rid of that I won’t go back.
Use this as a button, GIFs = Jiffs not Gives
As i reddit user and moderator i eould have no issue if Reddit failed as a company.
However i find the "protest" to be very counterproductive as there have been many instances were a subreddit hat the solution to my problem but i couldn't read it.
This will just result in a quiker termination of Reddit and what will replace Reddit is vound to be even more cencourous and be worst off for it.
13:51 The guy already seeing the price movement of Reddit's stock after listing?
Let me put it this way, I lasted an hour on reddit years back. I was kicked off for some silly reason like what I am posting right here on youtube.
havent been on r/ since this was anounced
The Arkham sub is pire madness.
Is it just me or does this video not provide any info that is particularly new or groundbreaking?
I'm always on there even though I don't have an account
3:13 is that the young Sam Altman?
It is one of those social medias which actually make sense. Facebook is a joke, I have never found 160 letters interesting so..
At this point we should just go back to chat rooms
Mod abuse on Reddit makes the site near unusable. The mods should face more oversight
They're power hungry.
What makes you think you can moderate better than existing moderators? All you'll get is PTSD and you'll be doing it for FREE.
Moderators on other social media platforms are actually paid to moderate.
just make your own /r and out popular them
Interesting video, but Twitter (er...X) has seen revenue drop steeply and advertisers flee. I don't think Reddit is a gnat compared to Twitter anymore.
Is it just me or is this backround music just really annoying?
The answer to question in title starts from 9:38. You're welcome.
Too many toxic people on reddit, downvotes for normal questions.
u cant expect all to be upvoted, u know? user need to also stop making it a big deal
/r/pics and /r/gifs subreddits are way more interesting now and quiet honestly I spend way more time on them. Personally I think that those are a huge benefit to reddit now.
I write on Quora because when I started to on Reddit, some kingly moderator who did not like my thoughtful question literally innocuous and not defamatory, simply banned me and I saw no real means to appeal, so I left it like a bad habit 1,2,3 and not coincidentally, I saw lots of similar comments from folks treated the same way. Thought Control has its limits P.S. most of my CZcams channels are MSNBC related if that tells you anything.
RIF is fun is still working for me.
The stance that reddit needs moderators more than they need reddit is absolute BS. They get off on the power trip from what very little power they actually have in their real life. It's embarrassing. Ban those cringe ass moderators. Start your own website if you don't like how things are being run.
Wow,
You're only over a month late. Imagine the benefits covering this story on time would have had? News, in general is still ignoeing the biggest abuse scandal in gaming. And mainstream news wonders why it's dying.
Which one is more popular, YT or Reddit?
All these social media apps think they can fleece the society not realizing they are nothing without the society
Guys need better narrators with no accents that pronounce things like alma mater correctly. This is CNBC.
Handsome how are you feeling today, Texas United States and you
IPO means get that ESG up so blackrock will dump more in
This NBC so I’ll be nice:
Screw Spez
As a Reddit user for over a decade and a daily user, since July 1st, I haven't been on the site along with many other long-time users, and I will continue to boycott because of these decisions made.
I got banned on Reddit for saying Kanye is trash !! 🤦♂️🤦♂️
Sounds about right. You're not allowed an opinion that differs from that of the mod.
Reddit needs to come to the bargaining table with the mods. If they don’t they have effectively broken their own Achilles and burned their own bridges
The mods have ruined Reddit. It was never a scalable model to have free labor from mods forever, and as a result, the mods have become overzealous and power hungry, reinforcing echo chambers and letting their personal beliefs dictate who can and cannot be heard. The mods are the problem
Isn't this just a bulletin board? Who's actually paying for anything on this?
today is the day i learned what API stood for
update: i have already forgotten what API stands for
I've never used Reddit. Nor Twitter. Nor Facebook. CZcams and a couple of old-fashion forums is enough for me.
I don’t understand this idea that Reddit has some moral obligation to constantly burn money so that everyone can have free access to their API. Running a website costs money.
the problem wasn't monetizing API access, it was giving third parties only 30 days to figure it out. 30 days is not enough time to research, plan and then execute major surgery on your app's code.
@@jobunaga4178 I guess that’s fair, but I don’t really see why monetizing the API requires changing much. As long as the subscription is paid, the app should work like normal, right?
I hate the karma system they use. I think Reddit is toxic and breeds echoe chambers.
i quit using reddit and twitte- i mean X now i guess for the past month and honestly my mental state has improved 10 fold.
The MoD has deleted your comment
[comment removed]
Reddit shouldnt be making a profit at all! Its the community that makes it who it is.
say it with me:
GET WOKE
GO _ _ _ _ _
This is so funny. As a redditor, really? You're gonna leave reddit because they want to be profitable? Bull.
What exactly is hate speech?
only if they could make a decent app
I could never get a vote up on my comments on Reddit.
Reddit is a wonderful service. It just happens to be a little difficult for me to maneuver but I am very impressed with a good deal of the work that it has done for society. It has been better for society than Facebook will ever be
Seriously? Good deal of work it's done for society? Are you Spez's mother?
@@knoahbody69 It makes everyone conform to the hivemind, or be permanently silenced. That's got to be good for society, right?
I completely quit reddit.
Facebook wannabe. It's highly censored and bland.
i don’t really care for reddit, tried to use it for a while, but it’s addictive and a time pit
I would short the crap out of Reddit.
You know I have just about had it with the monetization of everything. Greed knows no limits.
@@MrJoeSomebody It doesn't. It just needs to cover it's costs and pay a decent wage to it's employees.
We are blinded by the capitalist view that business need to make millions to the owners and random wealthy investors. But businesses should just be fulfilling to it's workers and owners, and ensure them a decent living.
I don´t like hyper capitalism but companies aren´t a non profit, consumers are spoiled with vc money for years then complain when companies need to show profit.
Netflix is the only making a profit the rest is subsidize by the parent company
Every gig economy companies are losing money
Twitter only made money two years
Amazon ecommerce is subsidize by AWS
Markets (advertisers) do not reward a culture of anger, cynicism and negativity. People who fit this demo do not pay for anything willingly. Imo making Reddit profitable is an uphill battle no startup envies.
Reddit has 500 million active users so if you think that's the reddit stereotype, it's just the stereotype of humans.
@@damonhtoo Of course it does. I am one of them. This doesn't make what I said less true
Good.
Rip reddit
Haha the founders only made 5 million dollars because they sold too soon.. HOW DUMB!!! But then again the main features that made it popular came After
Love your new Empire series 🎉
Reddit can die. So can Facebook, X and Instagram.