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Reddit raises $410M in new funding

nytimes.com

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Re: Reddit raises $410M in new funding

#401

Post by mike_d »

michannne wrote: post #252
NationalPark wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if their problem is that the majority of their traffic is unregistered users looking at NSFW subreddits. So they may not actually have that many users they could monetize in the first place.

Simple fix: allow users to save video only if logged in (could prime with a CTA). Right now you cant save any video from reddit, not just nsfw, not even from the app. This would incentivize people to create an account since its easier and less shady than content grabbing sites. If they want they can even limit to the app which would at least have an impact on boosting app users

Reply to a video with a comment mentioning u/savevideo and you'll get a response in a few minutes with a link. I think Reddit Enhancement Suite might also have an option for adding a download link.

As for an official paid feature: as soon as they start collecting money for video related features, the video creators will start circling for their cut of the revenue.

Re: Reddit raises $410M in new funding

#402

Post by mike_d »

toomim wrote: post #345
ramraj07 wrote: post #333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chodi is like the Indian version of TheDonald so no wonder. Not that /r/India is neutral either. Stop going to politics subs and you’ll be fine?

The same thing happens on technology subs. I was banned on /r/bitcoin for posting on /r/btc.

It isn't immediately obvious, but r/btc is full of trolls and shills for a bitcoin hard fork and other scam coins. I just checked it out and 2 of the 3 top posts were conspiracy videos about John McAfee.

Re: Reddit raises $410M in new funding

#403

Post by pgayed »

dcolkitt wrote: post #9

On a visitor perspective, this seems undervalued. This is a 50% or more discount to the market-cap/unique visitor ratio of Twitter, Snap, and Facebook.[1] And all the stats I've seen indicate much higher user engagement and time on site for Reddit compared to the other social platforms. The biggest issue is of course that their monetization is horrible. Like 95% lower per user than the other socials.[2] So the real q…

> should be throwing an insane amount of money and equity to get a Sheryl Sandberg like executive

This is correct but also bittersweet.

Re: Reddit raises $410M in new funding

#404

Post by shp0ngle »

1024core wrote: post #312

Reddit is on its way down. It's been overrun by power-tripping mods, and there's no way to appeal a perma-ban ! I've been banned from /r/india for just commenting on another sub (/r/chodi, which was recommended by the app itself!); banned from /r/worldnews for disagreeing with the herd. The moment a decent, democratic discussion forum comes along, I'll jump ship to it.

Just create a new account, problem solved.

Re: Reddit raises $410M in new funding

#405

Post by pessimizer »

ShroudedNight wrote: post #352
le-mark wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You post about free speech but appear to be quite ignorant about the topic. Example why is it considered a crime to yell “fire” in a crowded theater? Educate yourself and stop posting annoying banal rhetoric.

> Example why is it considered a crime to yell “fire” in a crowded theater? Is it? https://www.popehat.com/2012/09/19/three-generations-of-a-ha...

Probable summary: Of course it's not, and that was an argument used to jail antiwar socialists handing out pamphlets.

Re: Reddit raises $410M in new funding

#406

Post by nl »

dcolkitt wrote: post #9

On a visitor perspective, this seems undervalued. This is a 50% or more discount to the market-cap/unique visitor ratio of Twitter, Snap, and Facebook.[1] And all the stats I've seen indicate much higher user engagement and time on site for Reddit compared to the other social platforms. The biggest issue is of course that their monetization is horrible. Like 95% lower per user than the other socials.[2] So the real q…

One of the main reasons their monetization is so bad is that their mobile app is terrible.

Mobile Apps are important for monetization because they are much less vulnerable to ad blockers, people are used to ads taking up more of the screen in scrollable content and in most cases carry more traffic than desktop versions.

I think the disastrous experience buying and targeting ads is bad too, but the lack of a decent mobile app is a huge factor.

Re: Reddit raises $410M in new funding

#407

Post by mistermann »

sjg007 wrote: post #298
mistermann wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> One thing to ask is, what problem does Reddit solve? Possibly more interesting to ask: what problems might Reddit plausibly create? My first instinct for answers: social polarization and mass distortion of reality perception.

Well it certainly amplifies it but apart from comments it’s not an original content producer. Polarization in the US is manufactured by politicians and monetized by big business donors. This is why it’s Fox News entertainment. In the past we had yellow journalism etc…. It has certainly reduced the cost and effort to reach a lot of people and achieve critical mass. But any community has this. My local school board mee…

There's no doubt that the media are thought leaders and I think for the most part set the narratives for the public to divide itself over, but I really think the Reddit hivemind is the base for the emergence of novel phenomena, the stuff your read on there certainly isn't all manufactured by the media.

Re: Reddit raises $410M in new funding

#408

Post by mike_d »

pageandrew wrote: post #232
underwater wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Giving fringe viewpoints a megaphone and that kind of validation is a terrible idea. We have seen it be abused and fail us consistently over the last decade in both mainstream and social media.

I don't trust large corporations to decide what is fringe and what is not, because not only is it a slippery slope, it has been abused consistently especially over the last few years. Look no further than Facebook's handling of COVID "misinformation". From the start of the pandemic, they have enshrined the current statements of the CDC as "information" and everything else as "misinformation". For example, when the su…

Because the "man made" conspiracy was not based on any evidence or research. They were promoted by media personalities with no scientific backgrounds spreading a false narrative deeply rooted in white nationalism and helped to promote anti-Chinese hate crimes.

Obviously real scientists and social media platforms didn't want to be associated with or help to promote that at the time.

Re: Reddit raises $410M in new funding

#409

Post by nl »

michaelt wrote: post #150
barbazoo wrote: post #100

What the hell does a site like Reddit do with almost half a billion dollars?! That's insane.

Well you see, they desperately need the runway to give them time to figure out how to pay back half a billion dollars.

Unless you have specific information otherwise, this doesn't appear to be debt financing, so they never need to pay it back.

Re: Reddit raises $410M in new funding

#410

Post by geoduck14 »

darthrupert wrote: post #389

That's highly disturbing. What new revenue streams could they have that doesn't completely screw their users?

THIS is the question. My guess is that leadership has been working on something that isn't public - but VCs saw it and liked it.

All comments I've seen on here assume they "keep doing things the same way" - but the fact is that they need to PIVOT to something new to make real money, and that pivot could be mostly a secret.

Ads are not their future - stop complaining about the user interface and poor targeting. That isn't their path to success.

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