6 ms·
It would make a lot of sense for Microsoft to buy reddit: a curated source of data is the perfect moat! They could come as a white knight, restoring the API ac
by csdvrx 3y ago
It would make a lot of sense for Microsoft to buy reddit: a curated source of data is the perfect moat!
They could come as a white knight, restoring the API access but for apps only, conveniently blocking competitors while satisfying the users.
- gjsman-1000 3y agoHeh... and take responsibility for all the porn and various "degeneracy" on there? It makes them a perfect political punching bag.
- csdvrx 3y agoThey could claim remaining true to the original spirit or whatever excuse will fly. How many billions will AI be worth in the future? What's the cost of the potential reputation damage for having a edgy brand? All that matters is the operation can be expected to be profitable. Better: what would be the synergies between the xbox audience and the reddit audience? The "degenerates" are clients like any others, maybe also with more disposable income.
- toomuchtodo 3y ago"We recognize the value online communities provide in training the state of the art in generative AI. With that in mind, we have acquired Reddit and intend to operate it as a wholly owned subsidiary. After an exhaustive search, we've selected $adult_ceo_with_social_experience to lead the team as they work to ensure Reddit can continue to operate as both a safe and vibrant digital oasis, where people can come together to share their interests and passions." One might argue these communities are too valuable to generative AI to allow them to flail under current substandard management.
- csdvrx 3y ago"Let's now show the new Bing, where high quality data from reddit is better ranked and the selected by default for {whatever_category_you_think_matters} thanks to automatic classification of the search questions by GPT" There are many synergies that aren't properly considered by a naive take. I use site:reddit.com with most of my queries. I now prefer bing to google. Bing market share is growing. Coughing up a few B to avoid reddit going on with an IPO would be a very strategic move on many fronts.
- toomuchtodo 3y agoGithub acquisition was a savvy, Reddit has more peril involved but similar value.
- csdvrx 3y agoI'm in full agreement, but I see an even better integration in other product lines (mostly gaming and search) Also, Microsoft doesn't have a generic social network to mine data from. They may prefer to stick to the professional world, but then acquiring a few high value sites just to close their API would be another move. How much $$$ do you think it would take for YC to say "hell yes!" to put HN under Microsoft control? How valuable would it be to add a few conditions like a very generous giveaway of azure credits to HN companies in return of exclusivity (no more S3 or google cloud for the new batch!)
- whimsicalism 3y ago> They may prefer to stick to the professional world, but then acquiring a few high value sites just to close their API would be another move. They already have LinkedIn, which is far more valuable than HN for this purpose.
- csdvrx 3y agoYes, Linkedin is a professional social network, but no, you will not find high quality content there. There's a lot of value for keeping in touch with the zeitgeist (ex: sqlite innovations, llama etc) and finding new trends on HN There's about 0 value from using linkedin.
- GaggiX 3y agoThe model will be aligned anyway, the internet is full of porn and degeneracy, not just Reddit.
- whimsicalism 3y agoThey have no desire for the political risk of running a non-professional social media as a major government contractor.
- kyleyeats 3y agoThis is so smart that I'm now convinced it's what's happening.