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I have absolutely no clue if this actually played any role, but pg is also one of the people credited with creating what's considered the first web app, and it

I have absolutely no clue if this actually played any role, but pg is also one of the people credited with creating what's considered the first web app, and it seems plausible a vision of a future giant world of web apps could've influenced the startups he picked and the advice he gave. For example, the reddit co-founders say the site was his idea: >The next morning, on the train back to Virginia, hung over, somewhere in the middle of Connecticut, I get a call from Paul. He says, "I'm sorry, we made a mistake. We don't like your idea, but we like you guys." We got off the train, and I was able to sweet-talk the Amtrak lady into not charging us to turn around. In our conversation, Paul said, "You guys need to build the front page of the Internet." That was all Paul, and that became Reddit. (https://www.inc.com/magazine/201206/christine-lagorio/alexis-ohanian-reddit-how-i-did-it.html https://www.inc.com/magazine/201206/christine-lagorio/alexis...)

giovannibonetti 6y ago
With this context in mind, can anyone elaborate on the similarities between Reddit and HN? Which one copied the other?
- Shoop 6y ago
  HN copied reddit. > "[Graham] wanted to make Hacker News a place to recreate the way Reddit felt in the good old days, when most of its community was made up of hackers." [0] [0] https://techcrunch.com/2013/05/18/the-evolution-of-hacker-news/ https://techcrunch.com/2013/05/18/the-evolution-of-hacker-ne...
Nacdor 6y ago
Wasn't Reddit just a slight iteration on Digg? If Digg hadn't self-destructed then we might all still be using it instead of Reddit. It seems like a lot of YC's success comes down to luck. They happened to be in the right position at the right time.
- mcguire 6y ago
  Not just YC's success. Most successes. This is one of the reasons it is dangerous to listen to advice from successful people.
  - ZephyrBlu 6y ago
    This reminds me of the Anna Karenina principle: "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
- graeme 6y ago
  Reddit actually wasn’t much of a financial success. The anecdote merely shows PG/Jessica were right the two founders could make big things. Removing Reddit doesn’t materially change yc financials.
unityByFreedom 6y ago
> the reddit co-founders say the site was his idea Reddit's cofounders, sans Aaron, planned to make a food order service with SMS before smart phones. PG rejected their idea, sent them packing. Meanwhile PG was also talking to Aaron and somehow got the idea for the "front page" thing. He called Steve and Alexis and said they should work on this new idea with another guy. They said sure. That's what I remember from reading "We Are The NERDS" anyway. In some ways it is sad because reddit was not Alexis/Steve's first idea, and that idea did go on to be big. Then again they probably just wanted to be tech founders.

giovannibonetti 6y ago

With this context in mind, can anyone elaborate on the similarities between Reddit and HN? Which one copied the other?

Shoop 6y ago
HN copied reddit. > "[Graham] wanted to make Hacker News a place to recreate the way Reddit felt in the good old days, when most of its community was made up of hackers." [0] [0] https://techcrunch.com/2013/05/18/the-evolution-of-hacker-news/ https://techcrunch.com/2013/05/18/the-evolution-of-hacker-ne...

Nacdor 6y ago

Wasn't Reddit just a slight iteration on Digg? If Digg hadn't self-destructed then we might all still be using it instead of Reddit. It seems like a lot of YC's success comes down to luck. They happened to be in the right position at the right time.

mcguire 6y ago
Not just YC's success. Most successes. This is one of the reasons it is dangerous to listen to advice from successful people.
- ZephyrBlu 6y ago
  This reminds me of the Anna Karenina principle: "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
graeme 6y ago
Reddit actually wasn’t much of a financial success. The anecdote merely shows PG/Jessica were right the two founders could make big things. Removing Reddit doesn’t materially change yc financials.

unityByFreedom 6y ago

> the reddit co-founders say the site was his idea Reddit's cofounders, sans Aaron, planned to make a food order service with SMS before smart phones. PG rejected their idea, sent them packing. Meanwhile PG was also talking to Aaron and somehow got the idea for the "front page" thing. He called Steve and Alexis and said they should work on this new idea with another guy. They said sure. That's what I remember from reading "We Are The NERDS" anyway. In some ways it is sad because reddit was not Alexis/Steve's first idea, and that idea did go on to be big. Then again they probably just wanted to be tech founders.