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Reddit launches image uploads, ditching alliance with Imgur

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Re: Reddit launches image uploads, ditching alliance with Imgur

#4

Post by static_noise »

Dramatize wrote: post #2

It seemed like Imgur has been getting ready for this for awhile. The experience using it hasn't been that great since direct linking stopped working on mobile.

Last time I've opened an imgur link on mobile I got served with an ad popup and a "virus warning" dialog. That is something I haven't seen in a long time. Imgur seems to go the way of SourceForge.

Re: Reddit launches image uploads, ditching alliance with Imgur

#5

Post by wlesieutre »

kinkdr wrote: post #3

Bad news for Imgur...

Yep. Imgur realized that being solely a user-friendly image host wasn't much of a money maker, so they started gradually turning into the Photobucket style messes that it was originally aiming to destroy. Now they run their own community/discussion site and try to show it down the throat of anyone who lands there trying to look at a picture. It's not been good for the user experience of anyone who was just there for one image. And it's also in pretty direct competition with reddit's popular non-text subreddits.

I really can't fault reddit for taking this step. They're the ones who have the ad views on pages linking to (or embedding) these images, they may as well streamline things and manage the uploads/hosting in house.

One hopes Imgur could see this coming.

Re: Reddit launches image uploads, ditching alliance with Imgur

#9

Post by tlrobinson »

static_noise wrote: post #4
Dramatize wrote: post #2

It seemed like Imgur has been getting ready for this for awhile. The experience using it hasn't been that great since direct linking stopped working on mobile.

Last time I've opened an imgur link on mobile I got served with an ad popup and a "virus warning" dialog. That is something I haven't seen in a long time. Imgur seems to go the way of SourceForge.

This seems like a common pattern

1. Realize you need to make a lot more money (to meet investor expectations, pay for the fat the company has accumulated, etc)

2. Panic

3. Apply dark patterns (http://darkpatterns.org/)

4. Something better comes along and eats your lunch

5. Repeat.

It's sad because imgur was originally created as the "something better".

Re: Reddit launches image uploads, ditching alliance with Imgur

#10

Post by yarou »

wlesieutre wrote: post #5
kinkdr wrote: post #3

Bad news for Imgur...

Yep. Imgur realized that being solely a user-friendly image host wasn't much of a money maker, so they started gradually turning into the Photobucket style messes that it was originally aiming to destroy. Now they run their own community/discussion site and try to show it down the throat of anyone who lands there trying to look at a picture. It's not been good for the user experience of anyone who was just there for…

I agree that the user experience overall is just plain shitty on imgur right now.

The home page itself is riddled with "viral images". Why would I use imgur like a *chan site? That need is already filled and done much better by other sites.

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