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Serious question, possibly naive: how many of Reddit’s UX decisions come back to pressure from investors to make good on the $1.3B they’ve raised? Is every web

Serious question, possibly naive: how many of Reddit’s UX decisions come back to pressure from investors to make good on the $1.3B they’ve raised? Is every web product with users and influence obligated to raise as much as possible and grow to a size where they start chasing ad revenue no matter what it does to their product and its users? I’m sure that running a product at Reddit’s scale requires serious money, money must come from somewhere, investment capital gets you there… But was this really the only path?

kevincox 3y ago
Yes. Reddit's only goal is to make money. If you think they care about the users you are a fool. The only really question is will they aim to make long-term sustainable money by creating a great product or will they try to cash out now by wringing every cent they can from users? It looks like they are going full-tilt towards option 2.
23B1 3y ago
It’s not the only path it’s just the easiest in the short term. One concept that tech companies seem to have completely forgotten is brand equity. They will squander long-term reputation for short term gains due to, as you said, downward pressure from investors - which in itself isn’t a bad thing, but they’re sacrificing long term gains for short term ones. The solution here would be to have mature/smarter/more savvy CXOs/founders who know how to manage expectations for growth. There’s plenty of organizations who are capable of setting multi-year growth plans in place and getting their investors in line. This is probably nigh on impossible if you’re venture-backed because most of these guys are looking for sugar, not complex carbs.
- thfuran 3y ago
  >which in itself isn’t a bad thing, How is that not a bad thing in and of itself? Squandering reputation is accomplished by doing bad things.
  - 23B1 3y ago
    I meant downward pressure from investors as not a bad thing.
nabakin 3y ago
Unfortunately the companies who take VC money have a huge advantage over the ones that don't. After they capture their users and market, they have to make good on their promises to turn a profit and make the money back for those investors. It's a trend you see across most internet companies. We've seen it with Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, and Discord has been going down that path now for the past year or two. That's why we're seeing so many ads for Nitro and features gated behind Nitro.
BeFlatXIII 3y ago
I hope the Reddit IPO fails or otherwise never makes good on the $1.3B fundraising. It would be fun to make fun of everyone ruined in the financial fallout.

kevincox 3y ago

Yes. Reddit's only goal is to make money. If you think they care about the users you are a fool. The only really question is will they aim to make long-term sustainable money by creating a great product or will they try to cash out now by wringing every cent they can from users? It looks like they are going full-tilt towards option 2.

23B1 3y ago

It’s not the only path it’s just the easiest in the short term. One concept that tech companies seem to have completely forgotten is brand equity. They will squander long-term reputation for short term gains due to, as you said, downward pressure from investors - which in itself isn’t a bad thing, but they’re sacrificing long term gains for short term ones. The solution here would be to have mature/smarter/more savvy CXOs/founders who know how to manage expectations for growth. There’s plenty of organizations who are capable of setting multi-year growth plans in place and getting their investors in line. This is probably nigh on impossible if you’re venture-backed because most of these guys are looking for sugar, not complex carbs.

thfuran 3y ago
>which in itself isn’t a bad thing, How is that not a bad thing in and of itself? Squandering reputation is accomplished by doing bad things.
- 23B1 3y ago
  I meant downward pressure from investors as not a bad thing.

nabakin 3y ago

Unfortunately the companies who take VC money have a huge advantage over the ones that don't. After they capture their users and market, they have to make good on their promises to turn a profit and make the money back for those investors. It's a trend you see across most internet companies. We've seen it with Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, and Discord has been going down that path now for the past year or two. That's why we're seeing so many ads for Nitro and features gated behind Nitro.

BeFlatXIII 3y ago

I hope the Reddit IPO fails or otherwise never makes good on the $1.3B fundraising. It would be fun to make fun of everyone ruined in the financial fallout.