12 ms·

Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder and Web advocate

36 points by sethbannon 14y ago

sethbannon 14y ago
Techies, take note. Alexis Ohanian shows that you can absolutely make a difference by engaging in the political process.
- j_s 14y ago
  Pardon my ignorance, but isn't he less techie and more unbelievably-amazing-biz-dev guy?
  - infinitone 14y ago
    Yeah, pretty sure it was Steve Huffman that was the techie in the Reddit cofounding duo. Alexis is more marketing/bus dev/hustle.
    - kn0thing 14y ago
      True story. I also draw logos and make ambitious-but-rather-unrealistic product mockups.
  - jedberg 14y ago
    Alexis was the less technical one, but make no mistake: he's no slouch when it comes to technology.
    - wellhesright 14y ago
      Computer Science major, or self-taught?
      - kn0thing 14y ago
        Business & history major. I took plenty of CS classes in highschool/communitycollege/and at UVA, but that was just enough for me to realize I wasn't in the same league as folks like Steve.
    - j_s 14y ago
      No slight to Alexis; my point was more that the GP should begin 'Growth hackers/biz-dev/CEO's, take note.'
  - kn0thing 14y ago
    Flattery will get you everywhere! I draw logos, too. And slightly self-loathing marketing guy ;) http://www.hyperink.com/Make-Something-People-Love-Lessons-From-A-Startup-Guy-b1478 http://www.hyperink.com/Make-Something-People-Love-Lessons-F...
- rhizome 14y ago
  I don't think it's as much "techies," per se, as being a person who 35MM people like and listen to. Rush Limbaugh "engages the political process" by the same token. Regardless of his actual words, he is courted as a taste-maker.
therealarmen 14y ago
Full text for those who get hit with a paywall: --- By Hayley Tsukayama, Published: September 5 Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian has accomplished what virtually no one else in Washington is doing these days: bringing the political parties together on a controversial issue. Democrats and Republicans have stepped up their support this year of Ohanian’s cause of keeping the Web free of government intervention. During their conventions, both sides touted a platform plank affirming Internet freedom. And last week, President Obama stopped by Reddit for a surprise question-and-answer session, saying he would “fight hard to make sure the Internet remains the open forum for everybody.” “Republicans want to keep the open Internet safe from big government. Democrats want to keep it safe from big corporations. I say we agree to agree and move ahead,” Ohanian said in an interview. “It was so successful because we literally had the Tea Party next to the MoveOn.org guys at these meetings. They don’t often hang out together.” Ohanian’s inroads in Washington is a homecoming of sorts for the Columbia, Md., native. But the 29-year-old never intended to go into politics. In 2005, he co-founded Reddit.com, where users rank the most interesting content on the Web. A mere 18 months later, Ohanian sold the site to Conde Nast at a price tag that some speculate was between $10 million and $20 million. The site draws about 35 million users. His introduction to high-stakes Beltway politics came this year when he and other executives from Silicon Valley stopped a pair of bills that would have held Web sites accountable if they host pirated content. The effort overcame fierce lobbying from powerful constituents, including the Chamber of Commerce and the Motion Picture Association of America. These groups complained that Web companies were enabling pirated content, stealing billions of dollars from artists, authors and movie producers. A spokesman for the MPAA said that while the Web should not be encumbered by regulation, smart legislation is needed to crack down on piracy. Ohanian’s views are more uncompromising. He said that the government should have no role in policing the Web. He added that if Hollywood made it easier for consumers to get the movies, music and electronic books they want, there would be no need to pirate content. If the Web is left alone, it will solve the problem of piracy on its own, he says. “If you’re really interested in artists’ rights, look at the Internet and look at all this great art” that it created, he said. Rhetoric that pits artists’ rights against the open Internet “infuriates me,” Ohanian said, because of the amount of content being funded by such online incubators as Kickstarter and Indiegogo. His work this year on what was called the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, earned him allies on Capitol Hill. “It’s been a pleasure to work with Alexis to stop SOPA and keep the Web open,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). “He brings to the table a deep knowledge of start-up culture and what makes the Internet tick and has a knack for bridging the gap between those worlds and government. And he got me onto Reddit.” “Alexis is a technology innovator whose platform is changing the way people share, collaborate and affect policy change,” said another of Ohanian’s close collaborators, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). “Alexis and the Reddit community had a profound influence on the outcome” of the legislative debate this year. Since leaving the day-to-day operation at Reddit in 2009, Ohanian’s projects have included the geek-stuff-for-charity site Breadpig and the online travel service Hipmunk. He also launched a bus tour to highlight the importance of Internet freedom to the American economy. The groundswell of support for Ohanian surprised some traditional lobbyists in Washington. But it was obvious to Ohanian, who says nearly everyone wants the Internet to be a free and open place. “The Internet represents so much of the awesomeness this country was founded on,” he said. “This is not a fight between Silicon Valley and Hollywood.”
ditoa 14y ago
This guy has a very bright future ahead of him.
- kn0thing 14y ago
  Thanks! I'll keep on keeping on.
SnydenBitchy 14y ago
Here’s how he deflects blame from redditors onto the victims of their creepy Facebook stalking, Photobucket fuskering, and real-life harassment: “Your kids need to know that any time they take an image and put it in a digital format… they should assume that it is now public content… That’s the useful thing I think CNN could have reported on, instead of making up a bunch of jibber-jabber about reddit.” —Alexis Ohanian http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXZYvrue1BE&feature=youtu.be&t=2m31s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXZYvrue1BE&feature=youtu...
- jedberg 14y ago
  When someone ships drugs via UPS, do you blame the drug dealer or UPS? How could reddit possibly have monitored all that content? Parents need to take more responsibility for the actions of their kids.
- mnicole 14y ago
  Any communication tool on the internet is guilty of this, you can't seriously blame the medium for the antics of its users. Cyber bullying has always been an issue and the only way to keep yourself entirely safe from it is to not post content you don't want the rest of the world to see.
- wellhesright 14y ago
  But what does bad redditors have to do with Ohanian? Are you saying that no one should create something like Reddit because some people who use it will be morally deficient? Without even looking at the video, as far as that quote goes, taken out of context, he's right. Don't digitise and load stuff onto internet-connected devices without recognising the potential risks. No one is forcing anyone to put things on the web. It's not a regulated or controlled environment by any means. This advice does not only apply to kids. If more businesses and other copyright holders took this counsel more seriously there might be a lot less friction with respect to copyrights and the internet.
snowwrestler 14y ago
He's an amazing advocate for the open Internet but I think this statement sounded naive: > If the Web is left alone, it will solve the problem of piracy on its own, he says. Competitive market systems solve the problems that they have incentive to solve. I question what incentive web companies have to solve piracy, if not regulations. Seems to me that any business model that depends on licensed content would work even better with pirated content. I even wonder how much of the web sees piracy as a problem at all. It seems to me that quite a lot of text online (at Techdirt for instance) is dedicated to the argument that piracy is a good thing to be embraced, not "solved."
- duaneb 14y ago
  The open source community arose when there was no clear business incentive- not all technology is driven by money. However, it's unclear that open source would be doing as well as it is doing today without help from corporations.
- kn0thing 14y ago
  In the interview, I cited Gabe and Valve's success in Russia by realizing "piracy was a service problem." http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114391-Valves-Gabe-Newell-Says-Piracy-Is-a-Service-Problem http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114391-Valves-Gabe... That's probably where that language originated, but I agree that as more data comes out, we'll see piracy as less and less of a problem. The more innovators showing how to embrace change (and win!), the better. That's a big part of why I invested in startups like VHX.tv -- so I can have more examples showing why we don't need laws, esp bad ones.

36 points by sethbannon 14y ago

Techies, take note. Alexis Ohanian shows that you can absolutely make a difference by engaging in the political process.

j_s 14y ago
Pardon my ignorance, but isn't he less techie and more unbelievably-amazing-biz-dev guy?
- infinitone 14y ago
  Yeah, pretty sure it was Steve Huffman that was the techie in the Reddit cofounding duo. Alexis is more marketing/bus dev/hustle.
  - kn0thing 14y ago
    True story. I also draw logos and make ambitious-but-rather-unrealistic product mockups.
- jedberg 14y ago
  Alexis was the less technical one, but make no mistake: he's no slouch when it comes to technology.
  - wellhesright 14y ago
    Computer Science major, or self-taught?
    - kn0thing 14y ago
      Business & history major. I took plenty of CS classes in highschool/communitycollege/and at UVA, but that was just enough for me to realize I wasn't in the same league as folks like Steve.
  - j_s 14y ago
    No slight to Alexis; my point was more that the GP should begin 'Growth hackers/biz-dev/CEO's, take note.'
- kn0thing 14y ago
  Flattery will get you everywhere! I draw logos, too. And slightly self-loathing marketing guy ;) http://www.hyperink.com/Make-Something-People-Love-Lessons-From-A-Startup-Guy-b1478 http://www.hyperink.com/Make-Something-People-Love-Lessons-F...
rhizome 14y ago
I don't think it's as much "techies," per se, as being a person who 35MM people like and listen to. Rush Limbaugh "engages the political process" by the same token. Regardless of his actual words, he is courted as a taste-maker.

therealarmen 14y ago

Full text for those who get hit with a paywall: --- By Hayley Tsukayama, Published: September 5 Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian has accomplished what virtually no one else in Washington is doing these days: bringing the political parties together on a controversial issue. Democrats and Republicans have stepped up their support this year of Ohanian’s cause of keeping the Web free of government intervention. During their conventions, both sides touted a platform plank affirming Internet freedom. And last week, President Obama stopped by Reddit for a surprise question-and-answer session, saying he would “fight hard to make sure the Internet remains the open forum for everybody.” “Republicans want to keep the open Internet safe from big government. Democrats want to keep it safe from big corporations. I say we agree to agree and move ahead,” Ohanian said in an interview. “It was so successful because we literally had the Tea Party next to the MoveOn.org guys at these meetings. They don’t often hang out together.” Ohanian’s inroads in Washington is a homecoming of sorts for the Columbia, Md., native. But the 29-year-old never intended to go into politics. In 2005, he co-founded Reddit.com, where users rank the most interesting content on the Web. A mere 18 months later, Ohanian sold the site to Conde Nast at a price tag that some speculate was between $10 million and $20 million. The site draws about 35 million users. His introduction to high-stakes Beltway politics came this year when he and other executives from Silicon Valley stopped a pair of bills that would have held Web sites accountable if they host pirated content. The effort overcame fierce lobbying from powerful constituents, including the Chamber of Commerce and the Motion Picture Association of America. These groups complained that Web companies were enabling pirated content, stealing billions of dollars from artists, authors and movie producers. A spokesman for the MPAA said that while the Web should not be encumbered by regulation, smart legislation is needed to crack down on piracy. Ohanian’s views are more uncompromising. He said that the government should have no role in policing the Web. He added that if Hollywood made it easier for consumers to get the movies, music and electronic books they want, there would be no need to pirate content. If the Web is left alone, it will solve the problem of piracy on its own, he says. “If you’re really interested in artists’ rights, look at the Internet and look at all this great art” that it created, he said. Rhetoric that pits artists’ rights against the open Internet “infuriates me,” Ohanian said, because of the amount of content being funded by such online incubators as Kickstarter and Indiegogo. His work this year on what was called the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, earned him allies on Capitol Hill. “It’s been a pleasure to work with Alexis to stop SOPA and keep the Web open,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). “He brings to the table a deep knowledge of start-up culture and what makes the Internet tick and has a knack for bridging the gap between those worlds and government. And he got me onto Reddit.” “Alexis is a technology innovator whose platform is changing the way people share, collaborate and affect policy change,” said another of Ohanian’s close collaborators, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). “Alexis and the Reddit community had a profound influence on the outcome” of the legislative debate this year. Since leaving the day-to-day operation at Reddit in 2009, Ohanian’s projects have included the geek-stuff-for-charity site Breadpig and the online travel service Hipmunk. He also launched a bus tour to highlight the importance of Internet freedom to the American economy. The groundswell of support for Ohanian surprised some traditional lobbyists in Washington. But it was obvious to Ohanian, who says nearly everyone wants the Internet to be a free and open place. “The Internet represents so much of the awesomeness this country was founded on,” he said. “This is not a fight between Silicon Valley and Hollywood.”

ditoa 14y ago

This guy has a very bright future ahead of him.

kn0thing 14y ago
Thanks! I'll keep on keeping on.

SnydenBitchy 14y ago

Here’s how he deflects blame from redditors onto the victims of their creepy Facebook stalking, Photobucket fuskering, and real-life harassment: “Your kids need to know that any time they take an image and put it in a digital format… they should assume that it is now public content… That’s the useful thing I think CNN could have reported on, instead of making up a bunch of jibber-jabber about reddit.” —Alexis Ohanian http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXZYvrue1BE&feature=youtu.be&t=2m31s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXZYvrue1BE&feature=youtu...

jedberg 14y ago
When someone ships drugs via UPS, do you blame the drug dealer or UPS? How could reddit possibly have monitored all that content? Parents need to take more responsibility for the actions of their kids.
mnicole 14y ago
Any communication tool on the internet is guilty of this, you can't seriously blame the medium for the antics of its users. Cyber bullying has always been an issue and the only way to keep yourself entirely safe from it is to not post content you don't want the rest of the world to see.
wellhesright 14y ago
But what does bad redditors have to do with Ohanian? Are you saying that no one should create something like Reddit because some people who use it will be morally deficient? Without even looking at the video, as far as that quote goes, taken out of context, he's right. Don't digitise and load stuff onto internet-connected devices without recognising the potential risks. No one is forcing anyone to put things on the web. It's not a regulated or controlled environment by any means. This advice does not only apply to kids. If more businesses and other copyright holders took this counsel more seriously there might be a lot less friction with respect to copyrights and the internet.

snowwrestler 14y ago

He's an amazing advocate for the open Internet but I think this statement sounded naive: > If the Web is left alone, it will solve the problem of piracy on its own, he says. Competitive market systems solve the problems that they have incentive to solve. I question what incentive web companies have to solve piracy, if not regulations. Seems to me that any business model that depends on licensed content would work even better with pirated content. I even wonder how much of the web sees piracy as a problem at all. It seems to me that quite a lot of text online (at Techdirt for instance) is dedicated to the argument that piracy is a good thing to be embraced, not "solved."

duaneb 14y ago
The open source community arose when there was no clear business incentive- not all technology is driven by money. However, it's unclear that open source would be doing as well as it is doing today without help from corporations.
kn0thing 14y ago
In the interview, I cited Gabe and Valve's success in Russia by realizing "piracy was a service problem." http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114391-Valves-Gabe-Newell-Says-Piracy-Is-a-Service-Problem http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114391-Valves-Gabe... That's probably where that language originated, but I agree that as more data comes out, we'll see piracy as less and less of a problem. The more innovators showing how to embrace change (and win!), the better. That's a big part of why I invested in startups like VHX.tv -- so I can have more examples showing why we don't need laws, esp bad ones.