4 ms·

6 billion dollars seems cheap is my original thought but really it seems like a good amount. Reddit can't really expand a significant amount more(as evidenced b

by wyxuan 6y ago

6 billion dollars seems cheap is my original thought but really it seems like a good amount. Reddit can't really expand a significant amount more(as evidenced by their moves into video) and the monetization is terrible(who wants to buy Reddit premium, or advertise on Reddit?)

uDontKnowMe 6y ago
Couldn't they expand outside of the anglosphere? Basically 99% of reddit is English, unlike Facebook etc.
vmception 6y ago
They could take a cut on account sales in a marketplace, making it safer for buyers and sellers Instead all these networks choose pretend that accounts aren't sold and pretend that everything is organic I guess #ad would ruin the illusion
bransonf 6y ago
Advertising is largely untapped on Reddit though. Forgetting about the main subreddits and meme communities and whatnot, you have captive audiences for small niches. Say you sell bespoke bike parts or audiophile-quality headphones, there are subreddits for that. Or say /r/pcmasterrace is an opportunity for Asus, Corsair, etc. I assume many companies are already active on Reddit, but there’s an opportunity for Reddit to better the experience for some fee Effective advertising relies on good market segmentation and intent, and Reddit happens to do both in a non-intrusive way.
- jasonwatkinspdx 6y ago
  Well you also landed on the problem with this scheme: a lot of reddit communities are brand poison. Does Corsair want "master race" as part of its branding experience, even if it's meant as humor? Yeah, not so much. This is the same pit Tumblr fell into.
  - wtf_is_up 6y ago
    Pinterest seems to have nailed this. I keep cursing myself for not investing in PINS every time they blow out earnings. The platform seems devoid of toxicity found on other socials and advertisers seem to love it.
- PurpleFoxy 6y ago
  It’s cheaper to hire a social media person to shill on smaller subs than buy adverts. Reddit is full of blatant advertising as normal posts
chambo622 6y ago
My parents in their 60s have discovered that Reddit is a great source of research to get real humans talking about a variety of topics (basically what Quora aimed to be but never was). I strongly feel they're just getting started.
- redisman 6y ago
  Maybe. As a long time Reddit user I’m looking for new alternatives as it’s just getting more and more meme-y, negative snark and groupthink. This wsb thing was a perfect example. If you try to do any critical thinking you’ll get banned. Just post memes and move on.
  - ausbah 6y ago
    a fair amount of critical thinking does go on at WSB. a good number of people there are actually investors who just role play as a "memelord". how else do you think the gamestop shorts were found in the first place?
- vinhboy 6y ago
  Lately I have been adding "reddit" to all the questions I ask google because I know some "real" person on reddit will have a relatable answer. I too feel this is untapped potential.
  - chillacy 6y ago
    There is so much blogspam and SEO gaming going on now that google results are very low quality for any topic where there's money to be made.
    - vinhboy 6y ago
      Very good point. That is exactly why I stop visiting known network sites for answers. Especially when its topics like car repair, or home repair tips etc... It always goes to a fake SEO page with no real useful information. So then it's either reddit or some very niche forums, but forums are hard to use.
prawn 6y ago
Subscription-based subreddits?
- nefitty 6y ago
  Premium communities where mods are compensated and Reddit takes a cut.
sanxiyn 6y ago
Advertising on Reddit is wonderful, but you need to know Reddit pretty well to use it well.
- MrPowers 6y ago
  Need to know what audience to market to or how to relate to Redditors or both?
  - sanxiyn 6y ago
    Both. JetBrains runs ad campaigns on Reddit's programming subreddits and they seem to be well run.
prvc 6y ago
Its potential to be used for surveillance seems to contribute quite a bit of value here. Marked advertising and donations are red herrings. Granting access in order to create "organic" seeming sentiment molding campaigns does also seem to have some major value.
collyw 6y ago
Is Reddit even generating a profit? 6 billion means approximately 1 dollar from every person on the planet. I struggle to see how Reddit is able to provide that much value.
- smcl 6y ago
  Wikipedia seems to think they had revenue of $100m in 2018, so it sounds like either a LOT of this is profit or the investors are extremely optimistic that it can grow significantly. I'm with you though. I am continually dumbfounded by the sky-high valuations for these kinds of companies. Many on HN act like it's all normal and cool, and when you cast any doubt on their valuations or suggest there may be a bubble you are treated like an out-of-the-loop normie who doesn't "get" the internet. Time will tell, I suppose.

by wyxuan 6y ago

uDontKnowMe 6y ago

Couldn't they expand outside of the anglosphere? Basically 99% of reddit is English, unlike Facebook etc.

vmception 6y ago

They could take a cut on account sales in a marketplace, making it safer for buyers and sellers Instead all these networks choose pretend that accounts aren't sold and pretend that everything is organic I guess #ad would ruin the illusion

bransonf 6y ago

Advertising is largely untapped on Reddit though. Forgetting about the main subreddits and meme communities and whatnot, you have captive audiences for small niches. Say you sell bespoke bike parts or audiophile-quality headphones, there are subreddits for that. Or say /r/pcmasterrace is an opportunity for Asus, Corsair, etc. I assume many companies are already active on Reddit, but there’s an opportunity for Reddit to better the experience for some fee Effective advertising relies on good market segmentation and intent, and Reddit happens to do both in a non-intrusive way.

jasonwatkinspdx 6y ago
Well you also landed on the problem with this scheme: a lot of reddit communities are brand poison. Does Corsair want "master race" as part of its branding experience, even if it's meant as humor? Yeah, not so much. This is the same pit Tumblr fell into.
- wtf_is_up 6y ago
  Pinterest seems to have nailed this. I keep cursing myself for not investing in PINS every time they blow out earnings. The platform seems devoid of toxicity found on other socials and advertisers seem to love it.
PurpleFoxy 6y ago
It’s cheaper to hire a social media person to shill on smaller subs than buy adverts. Reddit is full of blatant advertising as normal posts

chambo622 6y ago

My parents in their 60s have discovered that Reddit is a great source of research to get real humans talking about a variety of topics (basically what Quora aimed to be but never was). I strongly feel they're just getting started.

redisman 6y ago
Maybe. As a long time Reddit user I’m looking for new alternatives as it’s just getting more and more meme-y, negative snark and groupthink. This wsb thing was a perfect example. If you try to do any critical thinking you’ll get banned. Just post memes and move on.
- ausbah 6y ago
  a fair amount of critical thinking does go on at WSB. a good number of people there are actually investors who just role play as a "memelord". how else do you think the gamestop shorts were found in the first place?
vinhboy 6y ago
Lately I have been adding "reddit" to all the questions I ask google because I know some "real" person on reddit will have a relatable answer. I too feel this is untapped potential.
- chillacy 6y ago
  There is so much blogspam and SEO gaming going on now that google results are very low quality for any topic where there's money to be made.
  - vinhboy 6y ago
    Very good point. That is exactly why I stop visiting known network sites for answers. Especially when its topics like car repair, or home repair tips etc... It always goes to a fake SEO page with no real useful information. So then it's either reddit or some very niche forums, but forums are hard to use.

prawn 6y ago

Subscription-based subreddits?

nefitty 6y ago
Premium communities where mods are compensated and Reddit takes a cut.

sanxiyn 6y ago

Advertising on Reddit is wonderful, but you need to know Reddit pretty well to use it well.

MrPowers 6y ago
Need to know what audience to market to or how to relate to Redditors or both?
- sanxiyn 6y ago
  Both. JetBrains runs ad campaigns on Reddit's programming subreddits and they seem to be well run.

prvc 6y ago

Its potential to be used for surveillance seems to contribute quite a bit of value here. Marked advertising and donations are red herrings. Granting access in order to create "organic" seeming sentiment molding campaigns does also seem to have some major value.

collyw 6y ago

Is Reddit even generating a profit? 6 billion means approximately 1 dollar from every person on the planet. I struggle to see how Reddit is able to provide that much value.

smcl 6y ago
Wikipedia seems to think they had revenue of $100m in 2018, so it sounds like either a LOT of this is profit or the investors are extremely optimistic that it can grow significantly. I'm with you though. I am continually dumbfounded by the sky-high valuations for these kinds of companies. Many on HN act like it's all normal and cool, and when you cast any doubt on their valuations or suggest there may be a bubble you are treated like an out-of-the-loop normie who doesn't "get" the internet. Time will tell, I suppose.