Steve Huffman CEO Reddit comments on “Redesigning Reddit” during the third day of the Web Summit at Altice Arena on November 8, 2017 in Lisbon, Portugal.
Horacio Villalobos | Corbis | Getty Images
Reddit is having a moment.
The online community network has been starring this week after a group of investors in one of its forums, WallStreetBets, inspired a large group of retail investors to buy shares of GameStop, AMC and other companies with a strong deficit. Shares soared, prompting Robinhood trading brokerage to temporarily restrict the purchase of options on certain shares, although it has reopened with limited capacity.
The Reddit community describes itself as “Just like 4chan found a Bloomberg terminal illness.” This is a precarious description these days. Donald Trump supporters used forums called “dark web” like 4chan to trace the details of the Capitol Hill insurgency that led to Trump’s ouster and the death of five people. Given these events, the idea of young, potentially disgruntled people using a community to push a mafia-driven issue may rub people wrong. As CNN noted, “posters enjoy their rawness; homophobic epithets are thrown out as terms of affection.”
To make sure Reddit communities don’t fall out of control, Reddit CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman and his team oversee “Daily Active S — bosses,” Huffman told a forum at the start- Clubhouse audio up Thursday.
Huffman described “DAS” as actors who prevent other Redditors from enjoying their experience. As CEO of a social media company, Huffman has had to deal with balancing censorship with free speech, similar to Jack Dorsey on Twitter and Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook. When it comes to these users, Reddit gives them a lot of warnings, but if they don’t downplay their language or engage in threats or bullying, Reddit eventually eliminates them.
Then there are whole groups of people who can be problematic. Huffman said closing a forum (also called a subreddit) comes “with a heavy heart.” He described giving the subreddit “r / The_Donald,” where participants expressed support for Trump’s rhetoric and policies, many possibilities to clean up their interactions with others, including Reddit employees. Reddit ended the group on June 29, 2020, about five years after its formation.
Reddit’s reputation: open communication
Reddit earns its money mainly from advertising. CNBC reported in 2018 that Reddit generated revenue of about $ 100 million. Reddit also sells Reddit coins, its digital currency to reward private publications with trophies, marking its excellence. Reddit also sells an ad-free Reddit Premium product for $ 5.99 a month.
Reddit has raised nearly $ 550 million in funding, and most recently raised $ 300 million in a February 2019 Series D round led by China’s Tencent at a valuation of $ 3 billion.
Huffman, Alexis Ohanian (now married to tennis star Serena Williams) and Aaron Swartz, who died at age 26 in 2013, started Reddit in 2005 with the support of Y! Combiner founder Paul Graham. The original intention of the company was to function as the first page of the Internet.
Since then, Reddit has become synonymous with its free exchange of ideas and niche communities around video games, sports, politics, and finance. Reddit allows its users to be anonymous, which can lead to more honest communication, but also more fleshy. The site also became famous for its “AMA” or “Ask Me Anythings,” where experts and celebrities answered questions to users. President Barack Obama made one in 2012.
Ohanian told CNBC this week that he sees training people on Reddit’s “WallStreetBets” as a victory for people over financial institutions, which have long dictated investment policy.
“It’s an opportunity for Joe and Jane America, the stock retail buyers, to step back and back these hedge funds,” Ohanian told CNBC’s Squawk Box. “This has become something much bigger. It’s very personal for a lot of people. This is a pivotal moment. These communities are a byproduct of the connected Internet. Whether it’s a platform or another. , this is the new normal “.
In 2006, Count Nast acquired Reddit for $ 10 million. Huffman and Ohanian become millionaires. Huffman remained until 2009, when he left as acting CEO.
Both co-founders eventually returned to Reddit after Count Nast left the company, and parent company Advance Communications remained the majority shareholder. Huffman returned as CEO in 2015. Maintaining Reddit’s reputation as an open communication forum has become particularly important from a brand perspective, as other social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, have censored users. (including Trump) to instigate violence or proliferate hate speech. .
Although Reddit has not announced plans to go public. either through an agreement with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) or an initial public offering (IPO), its popularity starting this week could lead to an increase in users and possibly advertising dollars.
Still, public investors should feel comfortable with a company that hosts communities with enough “everyday active S bosses” for the CEO to have a name.
SEE: “This is a drastic change”: Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian on WallStreetBets
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