SUMMARY
- Reddit, an internet conglomerate of over 57 million daily users, caused a major upset by charging for API access, leading to the closure of beloved third-party apps like Apollo.
- Despite widespread protest, Reddit pressed on with the API pricing changes, leading to concerns that if trust isn't reestablished, users may migrate to other platforms.
- Reddit's journey from a startup backed by Y Combinator in 2005 to filing for an IPO in 2021 showcases its meteoric rise and relentless ambition for growth.
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Picture this: Reddit, a bustling digital neighborhood that has housed every kind of Internet inhabitant since 2005, from the adorable feline aficionados, casual stock-tip sharers, to the gatekeepers of obscure hobbies and dank memes. A cyber bazaar with approximately 57 million active users daily, it's a dynamic space, a news hub, an idea factory, and sometimes a stock market mover.
In the closing moments of 2021, Reddit embarked on a journey toward becoming a publicly-traded company. Their key strategy for hitting that elusive profit? Charging for access to their application programming interface, or API. This move, however, caused significant upheaval among some cherished third-party Reddit apps like Apollo, leading them to close shop. This unexpected shutdown spurred outrage among the army of volunteer moderators who play an instrumental role in operating over 100,000 discussion communities, famously known as subreddits.
Despite an outpour of protests and moderators turning their communities into digital ghost towns, Reddit pushed through with the API pricing changes on the first day of July. Following some prodding from Reddit administrators, the majority of communities swung open their digital doors again. But the turmoil lingers and some fear that a lack of trust rebuilding could see Reddit's most fervent users seeking digital asylum elsewhere.
"Reddit is as good as the communities it hosts. They need us more than we need them," muses David DeWald, a moderator for r/Arcade1up and a community manager at telecommunications firm Ciena.
Rewind to the early days of Reddit, born out of a meeting between co-founders Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman with Y Combinator founder, Paul Graham. The suggestion to construct "the front page of the Internet" saw the two graduates seizing the opportunity. With an initial investment of $12,000 in 2005, Reddit joined the inaugural batch of Y Combinator companies. Fast-forward 16 months, and Reddit was being bought for a cool $10 million by Condé Nast. Despite the founders stepping back from daily operations by 2010, Reddit's traffic soared and spun out as an independent company the following year.
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