7 ms·

>Reddit is closing on its IPO and is seemingly desperate to generate "growth" by bumping every possible metrics possible virtually. If by "growth" and "metrics

>Reddit is closing on its IPO and is seemingly desperate to generate "growth" by bumping every possible metrics possible virtually. If by "growth" and "metrics" you mean they have to figure out how to make money to sell themselves to investors in an almost-hostile financial environment, then yes, I agree. Beginning of the end and all that. You can't sell "community". IPO means ads, ads, ads and dodgy strategies like you describe above.

batmenace 3y ago
IPO doesn't have to mean ads, though. There are other ways to monetize a user base and to generate money based off of a 'community'. They're just ways that require more time, more concerted effort and planning to execute.
- Workaccount2 3y ago
  As a shareholder I don't want "instead of ads we have", I want "On top of ads we have"
  - _v7gu 3y ago
    On top of ads, you can have a dead website :^)
- djbusby 3y ago
  So, impossible.
- Xelbair 3y ago
  so they give lower ROI. therefore they don't exist after IPO.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
- CivBase 3y ago
  Many platforms have recently shown how you can monitize an audience without ads. It's weird to me that Reddit hasn't pursued something like that. Discord and Twitch have a funding model that would probably work great for Reddit. Allow users to pay a small fee to upgrade their subscription to a subreddit - maybe $1.50/mo per sub or $15/mo for all subs. The upgrade includes access to special emojis for the sub, a special flair or re-colored username, and no ads on the upgraded sub. A portion of the money would go towards funding moderation for the sub, and Reddit could pocket the rest.
  - Semaphor 3y ago
    > A portion of the money would go towards funding moderation for the sub That creates bad incentives, though. A streamer I mod for once suggested something similar, I told them I’d quit modding in that case. If it’s a job, it stops being a hobby.
    - mwexler 3y ago
      Cognitive dissonance in action. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance
      - Semaphor 3y ago
        I disagree
      - gota 3y ago
        I think you are confusing OPs point. If he is a volunteer moderator he gets to set his own expectations and efforts. By introducing a financial component it could disrupt his incentives, make him feel like he has to put X hours, and change the spirit/community of the people that now volunteer (but would then "work") with him There is a name for this effect (it's no cognitive dissonance) I think - I recall reading about it in Freakonomics, wherein they discuss it in the scope of parents being "fined" for picking up their children late. The fine actually validated the tardiness as part of a business transaction - instead of being a social imposition - and actually led to more delays, not fewer
- lkrubner 3y ago
  "More time" would equal "lower ROI" unless there is some magic inflection point that would cause a dramatic upward leap in gross margins. Gross margins, in this case, is mostly cost-per-user-acquisition. But "this new social network is amazing, I love it, and you should join" mostly happens when social networks are new, young, and small. It would be difficult to bring back the days of triple digit growth for a network the size of Reddit.
Anon4Now 3y ago
Meanwhile, their valuation has gotten worse. In 2021 Fidelity invested $28.2M in Reddit and now values that investment at $16.6M - a 41% drop [1]. [1] https://techcrunch.com/2023/06/01/fidelity-reddit-valuation/ https://techcrunch.com/2023/06/01/fidelity-reddit-valuation/
- nemo44x 3y ago
  To be fair most every growth tech company took a pretty big haircut. Some value has returned to the stronger players recently. However, weaker ones are still well off ATHs. Will be interesting to see how Reddit looks.
- throwaway1777 3y ago
  Most tech companies are down 40% from their peak still unless they are part of this ai hype train.
  - the_doctah 3y ago
    Big difference between tech giants making software used by businesses and a glorified message board
    - afavour 3y ago
      Not really, all comes down to "are they making money?"
- paulddraper 3y ago
  That's not far off tech in general though

batmenace 3y ago

IPO doesn't have to mean ads, though. There are other ways to monetize a user base and to generate money based off of a 'community'. They're just ways that require more time, more concerted effort and planning to execute.

Workaccount2 3y ago
As a shareholder I don't want "instead of ads we have", I want "On top of ads we have"
- _v7gu 3y ago
  On top of ads, you can have a dead website :^)
djbusby 3y ago
So, impossible.
Xelbair 3y ago
so they give lower ROI. therefore they don't exist after IPO.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
CivBase 3y ago
Many platforms have recently shown how you can monitize an audience without ads. It's weird to me that Reddit hasn't pursued something like that. Discord and Twitch have a funding model that would probably work great for Reddit. Allow users to pay a small fee to upgrade their subscription to a subreddit - maybe $1.50/mo per sub or $15/mo for all subs. The upgrade includes access to special emojis for the sub, a special flair or re-colored username, and no ads on the upgraded sub. A portion of the money would go towards funding moderation for the sub, and Reddit could pocket the rest.
- Semaphor 3y ago
  > A portion of the money would go towards funding moderation for the sub That creates bad incentives, though. A streamer I mod for once suggested something similar, I told them I’d quit modding in that case. If it’s a job, it stops being a hobby.
  - mwexler 3y ago
    Cognitive dissonance in action. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance
    - Semaphor 3y ago
      I disagree
    - gota 3y ago
      I think you are confusing OPs point. If he is a volunteer moderator he gets to set his own expectations and efforts. By introducing a financial component it could disrupt his incentives, make him feel like he has to put X hours, and change the spirit/community of the people that now volunteer (but would then "work") with him There is a name for this effect (it's no cognitive dissonance) I think - I recall reading about it in Freakonomics, wherein they discuss it in the scope of parents being "fined" for picking up their children late. The fine actually validated the tardiness as part of a business transaction - instead of being a social imposition - and actually led to more delays, not fewer
lkrubner 3y ago
"More time" would equal "lower ROI" unless there is some magic inflection point that would cause a dramatic upward leap in gross margins. Gross margins, in this case, is mostly cost-per-user-acquisition. But "this new social network is amazing, I love it, and you should join" mostly happens when social networks are new, young, and small. It would be difficult to bring back the days of triple digit growth for a network the size of Reddit.

Anon4Now 3y ago

Meanwhile, their valuation has gotten worse. In 2021 Fidelity invested $28.2M in Reddit and now values that investment at $16.6M - a 41% drop [1]. [1] https://techcrunch.com/2023/06/01/fidelity-reddit-valuation/ https://techcrunch.com/2023/06/01/fidelity-reddit-valuation/

nemo44x 3y ago
To be fair most every growth tech company took a pretty big haircut. Some value has returned to the stronger players recently. However, weaker ones are still well off ATHs. Will be interesting to see how Reddit looks.
throwaway1777 3y ago
Most tech companies are down 40% from their peak still unless they are part of this ai hype train.
- the_doctah 3y ago
  Big difference between tech giants making software used by businesses and a glorified message board
  - afavour 3y ago
    Not really, all comes down to "are they making money?"
paulddraper 3y ago
That's not far off tech in general though