6 ms·

Not sure I agree with the Marketplace angle. Ads are fine but forcing everyone into the app is odd. Will ios14 change any of that?

rognjen 5y ago
Why must every app monetize through ads? Why can't they provide features worth paying for?
- nowherebeen 5y ago
  I think you kind of answer your own question. Social media is just a gossip page on steroids. None of their features are worth paying for; at least, not enough people are willing to pay for it. They realized given showing ads and charging customers, showing ads probably generates 10x revenue for them. Plus, what's to stop another person to offer a free reddit clone?
  - rognjen 5y ago
    They've never tried generating revenue from other meaningful features. A marketplace would have a very real value for users. And it would create a much better moat.
    - adolph 5y ago
      Ring, ring. Revenue team, call for you from Cambridge Analytica on line one!
  - gonzo41 5y ago
    People pay for junk food all the time. Maybe internet companies are being too greedy and they are pricing themselves incorrectly. Would you pay $2 USD for all of reddit for a year? How many users does reddit have? It'd probably be a lot of money, but not super profitable. Hence they use adds because they won't shift on price.
- huseyinkeles 5y ago
  Because no one pays?
  - rognjen 5y ago
    Users pay for marketplace features for anything from handmade bird houses to used underwear.
- joegahona 5y ago
  Because coming up with features worth paying for is very, very hard. Which ad-free apps do you currently pay for?
  - rognjen 5y ago
    I pay for several things that make me money. If Reddit added features that let their users make money they'd be able to charge for them.
- PhoenixReborn 5y ago
  The alternative monetization model is usually subscriptions / freemium features. These don't usually work out for social media sites as people are not willing to pay for user generated content, and the main draw is the content itself so freemium features are usually not high-value enough. Thus, the only remaining viable model is ads.
  - rognjen 5y ago
    That's one of the things I suggest. Copy Patreon. They've shown that users are willing to pay for "user generated content"
    - marcinzm 5y ago
      Isn't that basically Medium?
      - rognjen 5y ago
        And Substack. And Reddit has 10x their traffic.
        marcinzm 5y ago
        Reddit has 10x the traffic because it's free.
      - rognjen 5y ago
        (Can't reply to the other comment) > Reddit has 10x the traffic because it's free. Reddit acquired more traffic because it's free, true. But now, they aren't looking to acquire more traffic. They're looking for more revenue. One way to get that revenue is to allow already existing content creators to charge for a part of the content. I think that would not only encourage better content but would bring in other users and generate good revenue.
        marcinzm 5y ago
        Reddit's model is based on unpaid moderators managing most of the site. There's already controversy around a few moderators controlling all the large communities, karma farming and behind the scenes deals. Introducing money into the mix will just result in even more abuse as moderators try to take their own cut. It's a very messy eco-system that money will just make even messier.
IgorPartola 5y ago
I really hate that Reddit insists on you using an app. I tried to share a Reddit post with some friends recently who aren’t on that platform. To my dismay they reported that they couldn’t see the post at all because of the GET THE REDDIT APP in your face bull feathers they were presented with. Reddit, you are a website. I want to use my normal browser tabs to use you, not your app. Please make it web-first.
marcinzm 5y ago
Reddit has pathetic ad revenue per user versus every other social media platform. Part of this is likely due to anonymous users that they lack data on for proper targeting. This is their attempt to "fix" that.
- gruez 5y ago
  What advantages does a user account have over anonymous session ids? User accounts survive users clearing cookies, but I doubt users clear their cookies often enough for that to be a problem.
  - marcinzm 5y ago
    Mobile browsers wipe cookies, users switch devices, multiple computers, etc. Facebook has over a decade of data on its users, no session id will match that. edit: Also knowing users emails will allows advertisers to match the reddit accounts to their own data stores on users.
- baylor121 5y ago
  It makes sense - there will be greater revenue for a few years maybe, in which time the team/product VP responsible would have been promoted. By the time the site culture/userbase dies (maybe in 5 years) these people would be long gone. Maybe even the higher management don't care about a timeline longer than 5 years tbh.
  - marcinzm 5y ago
    The true management (ie: stock holders) wants to exist at some point. There's talk of an IPO this year in which case they just want to pump up the numbers and hold things stable for another year before they can sell their stock.
- alfiedotwtf 5y ago
  Anyone feel like this is their Digg pivot?
- l72 5y ago

rognjen 5y ago

Why must every app monetize through ads? Why can't they provide features worth paying for?

nowherebeen 5y ago
I think you kind of answer your own question. Social media is just a gossip page on steroids. None of their features are worth paying for; at least, not enough people are willing to pay for it. They realized given showing ads and charging customers, showing ads probably generates 10x revenue for them. Plus, what's to stop another person to offer a free reddit clone?
- rognjen 5y ago
  They've never tried generating revenue from other meaningful features. A marketplace would have a very real value for users. And it would create a much better moat.
  - adolph 5y ago
    Ring, ring. Revenue team, call for you from Cambridge Analytica on line one!
- gonzo41 5y ago
  People pay for junk food all the time. Maybe internet companies are being too greedy and they are pricing themselves incorrectly. Would you pay $2 USD for all of reddit for a year? How many users does reddit have? It'd probably be a lot of money, but not super profitable. Hence they use adds because they won't shift on price.
huseyinkeles 5y ago
Because no one pays?
- rognjen 5y ago
  Users pay for marketplace features for anything from handmade bird houses to used underwear.
joegahona 5y ago
Because coming up with features worth paying for is very, very hard. Which ad-free apps do you currently pay for?
- rognjen 5y ago
  I pay for several things that make me money. If Reddit added features that let their users make money they'd be able to charge for them.
PhoenixReborn 5y ago
The alternative monetization model is usually subscriptions / freemium features. These don't usually work out for social media sites as people are not willing to pay for user generated content, and the main draw is the content itself so freemium features are usually not high-value enough. Thus, the only remaining viable model is ads.
- rognjen 5y ago
  That's one of the things I suggest. Copy Patreon. They've shown that users are willing to pay for "user generated content"
  - marcinzm 5y ago
    Isn't that basically Medium?
    - rognjen 5y ago
      And Substack. And Reddit has 10x their traffic.
      - marcinzm 5y ago
        Reddit has 10x the traffic because it's free.
    - rognjen 5y ago
      (Can't reply to the other comment) > Reddit has 10x the traffic because it's free. Reddit acquired more traffic because it's free, true. But now, they aren't looking to acquire more traffic. They're looking for more revenue. One way to get that revenue is to allow already existing content creators to charge for a part of the content. I think that would not only encourage better content but would bring in other users and generate good revenue.
      - marcinzm 5y ago
        Reddit's model is based on unpaid moderators managing most of the site. There's already controversy around a few moderators controlling all the large communities, karma farming and behind the scenes deals. Introducing money into the mix will just result in even more abuse as moderators try to take their own cut. It's a very messy eco-system that money will just make even messier.

IgorPartola 5y ago

I really hate that Reddit insists on you using an app. I tried to share a Reddit post with some friends recently who aren’t on that platform. To my dismay they reported that they couldn’t see the post at all because of the GET THE REDDIT APP in your face bull feathers they were presented with. Reddit, you are a website. I want to use my normal browser tabs to use you, not your app. Please make it web-first.

marcinzm 5y ago

Reddit has pathetic ad revenue per user versus every other social media platform. Part of this is likely due to anonymous users that they lack data on for proper targeting. This is their attempt to "fix" that.

gruez 5y ago
What advantages does a user account have over anonymous session ids? User accounts survive users clearing cookies, but I doubt users clear their cookies often enough for that to be a problem.
- marcinzm 5y ago
  Mobile browsers wipe cookies, users switch devices, multiple computers, etc. Facebook has over a decade of data on its users, no session id will match that. edit: Also knowing users emails will allows advertisers to match the reddit accounts to their own data stores on users.
baylor121 5y ago
It makes sense - there will be greater revenue for a few years maybe, in which time the team/product VP responsible would have been promoted. By the time the site culture/userbase dies (maybe in 5 years) these people would be long gone. Maybe even the higher management don't care about a timeline longer than 5 years tbh.
- marcinzm 5y ago
  The true management (ie: stock holders) wants to exist at some point. There's talk of an IPO this year in which case they just want to pump up the numbers and hold things stable for another year before they can sell their stock.
alfiedotwtf 5y ago
Anyone feel like this is their Digg pivot?
l72 5y ago