I don't see why there has to be a conflict between the two. From where I'm standing, smartbear's point is "don't try to tell people what they want" and your poi

I don't see why there has to be a conflict between the two. From where I'm standing, smartbear's point is "don't try to tell people what they want" and your point is "don't be afraid to change the world". There's plenty of space where both of these are true, and I'd argue the difference is more of founder philosophy than of actual content. Reddit did not attempt to change what readers wanted. Arguably, this is why they succeeded.