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Reddit sparks outrage after it demands app developer pay $20M/yr

cnn.com

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Re: Reddit sparks outrage after it demands app developer pay $20M/yr

#61

Post by hutzlibu »

unethical_ban wrote: post #34
jwineinger wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't get this suggestion. Users of this app (myself included) want a different UI for Reddit. Changing the underlying store to something else would make it useless to me because I'm specifically using it to access Reddit. "Something else" wouldn't have the same communities and content that I want to view.

The suggestion seems to be to turn the client into a generic interface for any reddit-like site, and port people to that. Imagine if a few million people swung over to a new site like the exodus from freenode. Reddit's content isn't special. It's all network effects.

"Reddit's content isn't special. It's all network effects. "

Yes, but they are strong and in place.

Reddit has a LOT of content and users.

Re: Reddit sparks outrage after it demands app developer pay $20M/yr

#62

Post by turnsout »

daveidol wrote: post #48
turnsout wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What? There are many people who pay to use Christian's app specifically to interact with Reddit. If Apollo suddenly switched to another social network, it would make a lot of people understandably angry

Sure, but what’s the alternative? Shutting it down? Like that won’t make people angry too…

This is the nature/danger of being 100% dependent on a free API. You're at the mercy of the API vendor, and there may be no alternative.

In Christian's case, if Reddit doesn't change their mind, his best bet is probably to eliminate the free tier, and increase the paid tier pricing. It's worth a shot, but Apollo would probably take such a hit it may no longer be viable as a business.

Re: Reddit sparks outrage after it demands app developer pay $20M/yr

#64

Post by andrewstuart2 »

cheeze wrote: post #43
andrewstuart2 wrote: post #21

I'm pretty tired of the outrage headlines. I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed, and willing to move on. I'm not interested in the web or official app, and while I really appreciate Reddit, I spend a lot of time on the site that could probably be spent elsewhere, and maybe this change provides the impetus for me to find healthier ways of using my time.

That's fine for you, but for many this represents "the end of Reddit as they know it today" Kind of a big deal for me.

I mean, I agree with the sentiment 100%. It's the end of reddit as I know it and I'm bummed about that. It would be swell if they reverse course in the next month, but this event just has me re-evaluating my use of the platform and at least for now, I'm just preparing myself for whatever is next. Which, if the studies are to be trusted, would be healthier if it was not the next social platform.

Re: Reddit sparks outrage after it demands app developer pay $20M/yr

#65

Post by rdlw »

stevenwliao wrote: post #24
laweijfmvo wrote: post #19

> Apollo made 7 billion requests last month, which would put it at about 1.7 million dollars per month, or 20 million US dollars per year. Even if I only kept subscription users, the average Apollo user uses 344 requests per day, which would cost $2.50 per month 900,000 total users, if they were all converted to paid users, would cost $1.89 per user, so Apollo could charge $1.99 per month. Or they could charge $2.50…

But they can't charge $2/mo. Not all of their users will pay. In fact, most won't, and many who would already paid for "lifetime membership" (Apollo Pro/Ultra) which they sold anywhere from $5-$50. They'd probably have to charge $10-20/mo just to break even.

Only if paying users also had to pay for free users. They could charge $2-3/mo and make the app only available by subscription.

It sucks and I still think the developer(s?) would take a pay cut, but it seems like the only viable choice at this point.

Re: Reddit sparks outrage after it demands app developer pay $20M/yr

#66

Post by JoeOfTexas »

As an indie, I feel for the people who made it big with these apps.

But, its a ticking time bomb. Your whole business is a derivative of content provided by another company's community. Yet, these alternative apps squeeze in their own advertisements between posts.

I don't think $20 million/year is reasonable at all, but they have been monetizing off free APIs.

Re: Reddit sparks outrage after it demands app developer pay $20M/yr

#67

Post by pid_0 »

KingMachiavelli wrote: post #10
MindBeams wrote: post #6

It's inevitable that I'll still have to filter search results by Reddit to find genuine information, but if the only option for Reddit is the official app/website, I'll just stop browsing and commenting altogether. I don't understand how their official app could remain so bad.

What's really strange is Reddit could have a good app because they just bought the most popular iOS client, Alien Blue, back in 2014. I still can't understand why they would buy a perfectly good app just to replace it.

[dead]

Re: Reddit sparks outrage after it demands app developer pay $20M/yr

#68

Post by kimbernator »

laweijfmvo wrote: post #19

> Apollo made 7 billion requests last month, which would put it at about 1.7 million dollars per month, or 20 million US dollars per year. Even if I only kept subscription users, the average Apollo user uses 344 requests per day, which would cost $2.50 per month 900,000 total users, if they were all converted to paid users, would cost $1.89 per user, so Apollo could charge $1.99 per month. Or they could charge $2.50…

I think a big point in this change that people are ignoring is the restriction of explicit content, even to paying customers. As I understand it, anything labeled with the "NSFW" tag will only be available through the official app, even for paying customers.

Re: Reddit sparks outrage after it demands app developer pay $20M/yr

#70

Post by turnsout »

pornel wrote: post #53
turnsout wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What? There are many people who pay to use Christian's app specifically to interact with Reddit. If Apollo suddenly switched to another social network, it would make a lot of people understandably angry

Tweetbot has been killed by a similar API shakedown, switched to Mastodon, and the app has been very well received.

Well, Tapbots launched Ivory, a totally different app based loosely on Tweetbot, but it required a substantial investment to design and engineer. It's not like Tweetbot just started loading Mastodon one day. In fact, paying Tweetbot customers were left with a nonfunctional app, and many got prorated refunds from Apple.

Ivory has been well-received, but who knows what the numbers are compared to Tweetbot. So this was not a "just swap the API" slam dunk.

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