Reddit: Profitability VS. Community

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The Pulse by DB8
June 15, 2023

It’s another “David VS. Goliath” moment for big tech. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman squares up against his army of moderators in what’s sure to be a future case study in community vs. profits.

The Pulse Results (54 Votes) 📈

Side A 53.7% - Reddit has the right to make business decisions that prioritize profitability

Side B 46.3% - Reddit should support its community and moderators by prioritizing API accessibility

Poll closed: June 19, 2023

Published on: June 12, 2023
Published by: CBC News

Reddit, AKA "front page of the internet," is ironically making front-page news lately, with a massive wave of protests from its own moderators.

What could they possibly be protesting? Well, Reddit has traditionally offered an Application Programming Interface (API) that developers can use to create user-friendly third-party apps that work seamlessly with the Reddit, and ultimately enhance the whole Reddit user experience. Think “post scheduling” apps for Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or Twitter. Those apps need APIs to function, and a lot of users, including volunteer moderators, rely on these third-party applications to use with Reddit on a daily basis.

As of July 1st, Reddit plans to start charging for access to its API, ending its era of “free access for good”. We’re not talking about pennies here either.

Apollo, one of the Reddit communities most loved third-party apps came out publicly letting users know it would be shutting down as a result of the new pricing Reddit announced, claiming that it would cost them almost $20M a year just to keep running their app. Apollo isn’t the only one, many developers behind these apps claim they can’t afford the sudden fees and will be forced to shut down as well.

As we all know, Reddit users are loud…Very loud. If they don’t agree with something, you can be sure they are going to make themselves heard. In a powerful display of solidarity, users staged a 48-hour "blackout" by making their subreddits private or restricted.

Well, it has been 48 hours, and so far they’re still holding strong…

Behold, the ultimate game of chicken indeed. With the Reddit IPO just months away, Reddit’s CEO Steve Huffman isn’t showing any signs of backing down.

Today’s Pulse covers the ultimate clash between business decisions and community needs, and we’ll let you decide whose team you are on.

The Debate Showdown

Side A: Reddit has the right to make business decisions that prioritize profitability

  • The long awaited Reddit IPO is set for the second half of 2023, it makes total sense that the business is focusing on profits at a time where tech valuations are being slashed.

  • Third-party apps have been accessing Reddit's API for free for a long time, while making money through their own services. It's only fair for Reddit to ask for compensation. Did they expect a free ride forever?

  • With generative AI businesses needing to train their models, platforms that have easily accessible data are becoming more valuable. Reddit is one of the best places to access human conversations so it should have a policy to monetize that access.

  • Making decisions that prioritize profitability allows Reddit to invest in improving its platform, enhancing user experience, and introducing new features (much like the ones these third party apps offer right now).

  • It’s not like Reddit is trying to charge its users. Reddit provides a valuable service to users, offering a platform for communication, information sharing, and community building for free. Users protesting Reddit for charging other businesses is downright entitlement.

Side B: Reddit should support its community and moderators by prioritizing API accessibility

  • With around 400 million monthly active users, Reddit owes its success to its dedicated volunteer moderators who contribute to the platform's growth and maintenance daily. Without them, Reddit wouldn't be the thriving community it is today.

  • Third-party management tools have played a major role for these moderators by filling Reddits gaps with tools and features they need to manage their threads effectively.

  • If Reddit planned to charge for its API or restrict access to these third-party apps, it should have communicated its intentions years earlier. By dropping this news on developers out of nowhere, Reddit puts these apps in a difficult position where they have no choice but to pay up or shut down.

  • If Steve Huffman plans to crush the very developers who helped them grow, Reddit needs to make a mends to the community by committing to use API revenue to update the platform to be more user friendly and replace the apps that their users so heavily rely on.

Previous Debate

Canada's wildfires: Climate change or policy issue?

Grab your marshmallows, 'cause things are about to get toasty with a hot debate about the Canadian wildfires in today’s Pulse. With some blaming the government, and others pointing to climate change and the natural lifecycle of large forests… this debate is lit.

debates.db8.com/p/climate-change-cause-canadas-wildfires

Previous Pulse Results (55 Votes) 📈

Side A 60% - The Canadian government should do more to prevent uncontrolled wildfires

Side B 40% - Between climate change and fires being a natural part of the ecosystem, they can’t be prevented by the government

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