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Reddit raises $200M at a $1.8B valuation

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Re: Reddit raises $200M at a $1.8B valuation

#341

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it is starting to happen already. A few too many jokey comments appearing, puns and the like.

I love the joke comments and puns. It makes me sad when they are down voted.

Me too, but there is a place and time for everything.

I believe allowing them would open a floodgate and start a race for reputation.

Re: Reddit raises $200M at a $1.8B valuation

#342
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it ain't broke don't fix it. I miss the early days of Digg before people starting getting concerned about their points and front page drama started.

If it ain't broke don't fix it. What 'broke' looks like for a business like Reddit is a question about generating revenue rather than design (though the two things are intrinsically linked). If the company can't make money with the current design then it has to change.

yes but a redsign does not gaurantee that and then you are actually in a tricky situation as you will need to do a lot of testing out designs but your users arent used to that and becuase its affinity based and not friend based the community can make a lot of noise. facebooks biggest advantage from a design perspective is that their users are used to change and that many wont even notice, that keeps things together there, with reddit it might not be so easy, buy we will see.

Re: Reddit raises $200M at a $1.8B valuation

#343
post #99
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HN takes itself too seriously. This site isn't brimming with intellectuals having significant, deep discussions. It's a bunch of hackers, nerds, and interested people who aren't either of those things kibbitzing about things (sometimes only marginally) related to technology. I find the resistance to even a little humor to be hilarious (and embarrassing, for them).

I don't particularly think of HN as lacking humor. There is an extreme attitude against puns, jokes and such which I think is well deserved, since the conversation devolves into who can be most creative with them. And I kinda disagree with your assertion that this site lacks intellectuals. There seem to be intellectuals from very diverse backgrounds (doctors, lawyers, even farmers). Sure, the discussion may not be as…

There's tons of humourous comments these days. When I first started here (well after the name change), if there was even a hint of comic intent in your comment, it'd be pounded deep into the gray, never mind anything like the comments you see now that are terminated with /s. I even used to have a screed against the extreme humourlessness of the site in my profile. In those days, the only way you could get away with making a lighthearted comment was to be a 'name' (like pg or other prominent users).

Re: Reddit raises $200M at a $1.8B valuation

#344
post #3

>the company is literally re-writing all of its code Wow. >An early version of the new design, which we saw during our interview, looks similar to Facebook’s News Feed or Twitter’s Timeline: A never-ending feed of content broken up into “cards” with more visuals to lure people into the conversations hidden underneath. >“We want Reddit to be more visually appealing,” he explained, “so when new users come to Reddit the…

I am reminded of the time FARK did a minor remode on their site. Users were maaaaaad. Then, the site's effective senior VP wandered in and told everyone they'd get over it. They did not. A small but significant of why Reddit is as big as it is is the exodus of users after Digg and FARK started monkeying with formats and generally went deaf when users freaked out.

I dont see why they're marketing this so positively given the Digg fiasco. I feel like it's "remember when digg was redesigned and everyone hated it and came to Reddit? Well we're gonna redesign the site too!"

Re: Reddit raises $200M at a $1.8B valuation

#345
post #303

I don't understand this. Anyone remember a time when companies used their developers to update their site without having to raise hundreds of millions of dollars? > An early version of the new design, which we saw during our interview, looks similar to Facebook’s News Feed or Twitter’s Timeline: So they will look like Facebook. Because nothing says cool and trendy like the social site your parents and aunts and uncle…

> They are trying to sell it.

I think a more natural move would be to IPO. Since Steve Huffman stated that monetization is not a top priority, it won't be happening anytime soon.

Fun fact : they sold reddit in it's infancy and then later regained control. That sale didn't end well. Even if they do find a more savvy buyer like FB/Google , reduced founder control in a community driven website can't be a good thing. Having spent billions to acquire reddit, the new owner will likely begin to turn it into an advertising machine which has the potential to alienate the core userbase. On reddit, the core userbase is everything.

Re: Reddit raises $200M at a $1.8B valuation

#346
post #133
post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=117171

And this too: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=658683 But then see these, which seem to acknowledge downvote to disagree is a problem: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1057338 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2403716

In that sense why not go to a "stars" system? It requires more cognitive overhead, but I think HN members can handle it.

Re: Reddit raises $200M at a $1.8B valuation

#347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was going to quip that reddit has gone full-Digg.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Coke 'nuff said. Every brand that has a large enough following will run into pitchforks for large redesigns - a lot of people are fans for something . If you want to do this successfully, take a slice from Facebooks playbook. Their site looks nothing like 10 years ago, yet they somehow did all those radical UI changes gradually over years, always one step at a time, (mostly) listen…

> Their site looks nothing like 10 years ago, yet they somehow did all those radical UI changes gradually over years, always one step at a time, (mostly) listening to their user base in between.

I remember being really annoyed at one of the changes in about 2008. Looking at the timeline of Facebook[0], it was probably the rearrangement of the site into tabs (and then into something like the current layout 2 years later). I think that it's telling that I remember being annoyed at the time (and a bunch of other times, after other changes) than I remember what those changes were. Sometimes it's hard to remember exactly what it was like in the early days. So, I went looking and also found a Cnet slideshow illustrating the different looks of the site over the years [1]

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Facebook

[1] https://www.cnet.com/pictures/facebook-then-and-now-pictures...

Re: Reddit raises $200M at a $1.8B valuation

#348
post #303

I don't understand this. Anyone remember a time when companies used their developers to update their site without having to raise hundreds of millions of dollars? > An early version of the new design, which we saw during our interview, looks similar to Facebook’s News Feed or Twitter’s Timeline: So they will look like Facebook. Because nothing says cool and trendy like the social site your parents and aunts and uncle…

> They are trying to sell it. I think a more natural move would be to IPO. Since Steve Huffman stated that monetization is not a top priority, it won't be happening anytime soon. Fun fact : they sold reddit in it's infancy and then later regained control. That sale didn't end well. Even if they do find a more savvy buyer like FB/Google , reduced founder control in a community driven website can't be a good thing. Hav…

That's what they said about Facebook and Google ads. Reddit is a treasure trove of a user's information and tastes. People spend ridiculous amounts of time on it.

An IPO would end up like snapchat. Without solid $$$ growth, wall street will eat reddit for lunch. Much better to do sell it to Google / Facebook or the media companies.

There is absolutely no way whatsapp would been able to fetch it's valuation if it went IPO.

Re: Reddit raises $200M at a $1.8B valuation

#349
post #3

>the company is literally re-writing all of its code Wow. >An early version of the new design, which we saw during our interview, looks similar to Facebook’s News Feed or Twitter’s Timeline: A never-ending feed of content broken up into “cards” with more visuals to lure people into the conversations hidden underneath. >“We want Reddit to be more visually appealing,” he explained, “so when new users come to Reddit the…

I am reminded of the time FARK did a minor remode on their site. Users were maaaaaad. Then, the site's effective senior VP wandered in and told everyone they'd get over it. They did not. A small but significant of why Reddit is as big as it is is the exodus of users after Digg and FARK started monkeying with formats and generally went deaf when users freaked out.

Ha, I remember that too. I actually emailed Drew and tried to explain how the site didn't feel "sticky" for me anymore.

I never did end up going back.

Re: Reddit raises $200M at a $1.8B valuation

#350

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't think of a single popular site redesign that actually made the site better. They're almost inevitably worse, usually much worse. A common failing is trying to make the design more shiny and pretty while decreasing functionality, dumbing the site down, adding bloat, and slowing the site down to a crawl. I really hope Reddit does not go down this road, because they really have a good thing going now. It would b…

I can think of one. Google's material design. I love it and feel it tied their apps together while making them easier to use.

It tied their apps together, but I don't think it made them easier to use. I feel like I get around in the apps that I use most frequently just by rote. In an unfamiliar app, it's often unclear if something's a touchable option or just a text label. In previous versions, buttons stood out more from the background. I liked that, and I think it was clearer and easier to use.
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