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Exactly this. To give you a datapoint from our properties: Our web site attracts 90% of the users, but only 60% of the actual traffic. In all metrics like reten
by allerhellsten 6y ago
Exactly this. To give you a datapoint from our properties: Our web site attracts 90% of the users, but only 60% of the actual traffic. In all metrics like retention, frequency and time on site, mobile leads by factors of 2-5.
Part of that is definitely self-selection, but as some people already said, other notable effects are push notifications, mindshare, loss aversion (you're on somebody's device already, so they can just as well use it) and partly better performance.
So much about the users, but Monetization is much better as well, mostly due to mobile ad-IDs, which especially on iOS lets you extract double the revenue per user due to targeting. Ad blockers are harder to bypass.
In the end, a mobile app will get you anywhere between 2-10x the revenue per user you attracted to your property, so that's why Reddit is pushing so hard.
To stay in Reddit's lingo though:
`LPT: https://old.reddit.com` https://old.reddit.com`
- GekkePrutser 6y agoI understand, but they're also pushing many users away with this behaviour. It's what I like about HN.. It feels like they don't even care how much users 'engage'. I bet they don't even run a report on it. They just let us do our thing here and not worry about it. As a user this is a much nicer experience.
- PakG1 6y agoEasy for HN to do that. HN is not incentivized to make money. The people who run HN do not care if HN does not make any money. In fact, they have zero monetization strategies for HN.
- zozbot234 6y agoHN has ads on its front page. Not many of them, and they are quite hard to spot at a glance (mixed in with the content, not clearly marked as such) but they're there.
- fauigerzigerk 6y agoI've never seen an ad on HN. They must be really hard to spot.
- waterhouse 6y agoThere's currently one on the frontpage for GiveCampus, shown below a regular story: 14. The Haunted House – Privacy on Google Street View (harpers.org) 8 points by b0b10101 1 hour ago | flag | hide | 1 comment 15. GiveCampus (YC S15) hiring Sr Engineers who care about education (lever.co) 1 hour ago | hide Distinctive features: no upvote button, no point value, no flag link, no comments.
- fauigerzigerk 6y ago14. "The Haunted House" is not an ad as far as I can see. It does have an upvote button. 15. is a job posting by a YC company. Perhaps you could classify it as an ad, but I see it as a perk that YC grants its own companies.
- waterhouse 6y agoRight, I included the Haunted House entry (a regular story) for contrast. The job posting is certainly "sponsored content", a privileged post put there at the behest of a third party, which blends in fairly well with neighboring posts yet isn't subject to the normal rules. I don't know if money actually changes hands to put it there (maybe each YC company is granted a posting there, or maybe they have to pay for it), but in other respects it's straightforwardly an ad for a job. All that said, I have no problem with it being there.
- fauigerzigerk 6y ago>Right, I included the Haunted House entry (a regular story) for contrast. Ah, sorry, I misread what you said.
- 6y ago
- krapp 6y agoThe only reason HN isn't incentivized to make money directly is that its owned by a company that makes money on it indirectly.
- thunderrabbit 6y agoYour answer reminds me; we are focusing on Hacker News as if it's its own thing, but part of the answer is right in the URL. HN is a part of ycombinator, which presumably pays the bills.
- quakeguy 6y agoSadly the grave accent is breaking your link ;)