5 ms·

IPO doesn't have to mean ads, though. There are other ways to monetize a user base and to generate money based off of a 'community'. They're just ways that requ

IPO doesn't have to mean ads, though. There are other ways to monetize a user base and to generate money based off of a 'community'. They're just ways that require more time, more concerted effort and planning to execute.

djbusby 3y ago
So, impossible.
Xelbair 3y ago
so they give lower ROI. therefore they don't exist after IPO.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
CivBase 3y ago
Many platforms have recently shown how you can monitize an audience without ads. It's weird to me that Reddit hasn't pursued something like that. Discord and Twitch have a funding model that would probably work great for Reddit. Allow users to pay a small fee to upgrade their subscription to a subreddit - maybe $1.50/mo per sub or $15/mo for all subs. The upgrade includes access to special emojis for the sub, a special flair or re-colored username, and no ads on the upgraded sub. A portion of the money would go towards funding moderation for the sub, and Reddit could pocket the rest.
- Semaphor 3y ago
  > A portion of the money would go towards funding moderation for the sub That creates bad incentives, though. A streamer I mod for once suggested something similar, I told them I’d quit modding in that case. If it’s a job, it stops being a hobby.
  - mwexler 3y ago
    Cognitive dissonance in action. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance
    - Semaphor 3y ago
      I disagree
    - gota 3y ago
      I think you are confusing OPs point. If he is a volunteer moderator he gets to set his own expectations and efforts. By introducing a financial component it could disrupt his incentives, make him feel like he has to put X hours, and change the spirit/community of the people that now volunteer (but would then "work") with him There is a name for this effect (it's no cognitive dissonance) I think - I recall reading about it in Freakonomics, wherein they discuss it in the scope of parents being "fined" for picking up their children late. The fine actually validated the tardiness as part of a business transaction - instead of being a social imposition - and actually led to more delays, not fewer
      - tourmalinetaco 3y ago
        > There is a name for this effect Are you referring to incentives? Specifically turning a social incentive to a market incentive? > The fine actually validated the tardiness as part of a business transaction It should also be noted the parent’s monthly bill was around $380, and the fine was only around $3. So even being late every workday in a month was only an additional $60. And I’m sure some of those parents would happily spend that to be rid of their children for a little bit longer. I do wish it was recorded whether the length of tardiness increased as well, and what the mean and mode were. Whether parents started to abuse the time or not, in effect milking the daycare for care, is an important data point as well.
        GrinningFool 3y ago
        Milking the daycare would look the same as people feeling less obligated to pick up on time, now that they are compensating the provider for the extra time spent.
- PhoenixReborn 3y ago
  The irony is that Reddit already has this feature, but that goes to show how poorly they market it. They also sell NFT avatars (though cleverly, not describing them as NFTs in the UI)
- JohnMakin 3y ago
  Twitch is ad driven though.
- CamelCaseName 3y ago
  They had this!! It was called PowerUps. Then they killed it.
- moneywoes 3y ago
  Discord doesn’t charge for per sub access does it?
  - fuzzzerd 3y ago
    No. They charge a yearly fee for their "nitro" product which offers some perks in any server you're in. Each server can setup their own perks (emoji, reactions l, user name color, etc) for nitro users that join.
    - tourmalinetaco 3y ago
      You also get sitewide access to emojis/stickers from other servers, for the $2.99/mo Basic plan. For $9.99/mo you get profile customization, HD video streaming, and 500MB uploads. Decent perks for an eye-watering price, and you don’t even get encrypted messages to boot.
- Zak 3y ago
  Reddit has offered a premium subscription for years, though it's not specific to subreddits. It gives the user a customizable avatar, removes ads, and enhances a couple UI features. https://www.reddit.com/premium https://www.reddit.com/premium
- nemothekid 3y ago
  >Twitch have a funding model that would probably work great for Reddit. Twitch's model works great for creators but not for Twitch and as a result Twitch has been working hard to force their creators to run more ads.
  - skinnymuch 3y ago
    Taking 50% of subs is not great for creators.
- Nexxxeh 3y ago
  Not sure if you're joking, because that is hilarious, but they do offer that sort of thing. Reddit Premium (née Reddit Gold iirc). https://www.reddit.com/premium https://www.reddit.com/premium They don't revenue share with moderators though, because as far as Reddit is concerned, fuck moderators.
- makestuff 3y ago
  Do discord and twitch actually make money though? Consumers are tired of subscriptions so I bet that would be a hard sell. They tried premium features with the gold and stuff but I don't think it every really caught on.
- skinnymuch 3y ago
  Nearly everyone who cares at all as a user or creator hates how Twitch makes money. They take 50% of gift subs and yesterday banned some ads, etc. I’m unsure why Twitch would keep squeezing every dollar in insane ways unless their funding model isn’t working either.
lkrubner 3y ago
"More time" would equal "lower ROI" unless there is some magic inflection point that would cause a dramatic upward leap in gross margins. Gross margins, in this case, is mostly cost-per-user-acquisition. But "this new social network is amazing, I love it, and you should join" mostly happens when social networks are new, young, and small. It would be difficult to bring back the days of triple digit growth for a network the size of Reddit.
Workaccount2 3y ago
As a shareholder I don't want "instead of ads we have", I want "On top of ads we have"
- _v7gu 3y ago
  On top of ads, you can have a dead website :^)

djbusby 3y ago

So, impossible.

Xelbair 3y ago

so they give lower ROI. therefore they don't exist after IPO.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

CivBase 3y ago

Many platforms have recently shown how you can monitize an audience without ads. It's weird to me that Reddit hasn't pursued something like that. Discord and Twitch have a funding model that would probably work great for Reddit. Allow users to pay a small fee to upgrade their subscription to a subreddit - maybe $1.50/mo per sub or $15/mo for all subs. The upgrade includes access to special emojis for the sub, a special flair or re-colored username, and no ads on the upgraded sub. A portion of the money would go towards funding moderation for the sub, and Reddit could pocket the rest.

Semaphor 3y ago
> A portion of the money would go towards funding moderation for the sub That creates bad incentives, though. A streamer I mod for once suggested something similar, I told them I’d quit modding in that case. If it’s a job, it stops being a hobby.
- mwexler 3y ago
  Cognitive dissonance in action. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance
  - Semaphor 3y ago
    I disagree
  - gota 3y ago
    I think you are confusing OPs point. If he is a volunteer moderator he gets to set his own expectations and efforts. By introducing a financial component it could disrupt his incentives, make him feel like he has to put X hours, and change the spirit/community of the people that now volunteer (but would then "work") with him There is a name for this effect (it's no cognitive dissonance) I think - I recall reading about it in Freakonomics, wherein they discuss it in the scope of parents being "fined" for picking up their children late. The fine actually validated the tardiness as part of a business transaction - instead of being a social imposition - and actually led to more delays, not fewer
    - tourmalinetaco 3y ago
      > There is a name for this effect Are you referring to incentives? Specifically turning a social incentive to a market incentive? > The fine actually validated the tardiness as part of a business transaction It should also be noted the parent’s monthly bill was around $380, and the fine was only around $3. So even being late every workday in a month was only an additional $60. And I’m sure some of those parents would happily spend that to be rid of their children for a little bit longer. I do wish it was recorded whether the length of tardiness increased as well, and what the mean and mode were. Whether parents started to abuse the time or not, in effect milking the daycare for care, is an important data point as well.
      - GrinningFool 3y ago
        Milking the daycare would look the same as people feeling less obligated to pick up on time, now that they are compensating the provider for the extra time spent.
PhoenixReborn 3y ago
The irony is that Reddit already has this feature, but that goes to show how poorly they market it. They also sell NFT avatars (though cleverly, not describing them as NFTs in the UI)
JohnMakin 3y ago
Twitch is ad driven though.
CamelCaseName 3y ago
They had this!! It was called PowerUps. Then they killed it.
moneywoes 3y ago
Discord doesn’t charge for per sub access does it?
- fuzzzerd 3y ago
  No. They charge a yearly fee for their "nitro" product which offers some perks in any server you're in. Each server can setup their own perks (emoji, reactions l, user name color, etc) for nitro users that join.
  - tourmalinetaco 3y ago
    You also get sitewide access to emojis/stickers from other servers, for the $2.99/mo Basic plan. For $9.99/mo you get profile customization, HD video streaming, and 500MB uploads. Decent perks for an eye-watering price, and you don’t even get encrypted messages to boot.
Zak 3y ago
Reddit has offered a premium subscription for years, though it's not specific to subreddits. It gives the user a customizable avatar, removes ads, and enhances a couple UI features. https://www.reddit.com/premium https://www.reddit.com/premium
nemothekid 3y ago
>Twitch have a funding model that would probably work great for Reddit. Twitch's model works great for creators but not for Twitch and as a result Twitch has been working hard to force their creators to run more ads.
- skinnymuch 3y ago
  Taking 50% of subs is not great for creators.
Nexxxeh 3y ago
Not sure if you're joking, because that is hilarious, but they do offer that sort of thing. Reddit Premium (née Reddit Gold iirc). https://www.reddit.com/premium https://www.reddit.com/premium They don't revenue share with moderators though, because as far as Reddit is concerned, fuck moderators.
makestuff 3y ago
Do discord and twitch actually make money though? Consumers are tired of subscriptions so I bet that would be a hard sell. They tried premium features with the gold and stuff but I don't think it every really caught on.
skinnymuch 3y ago
Nearly everyone who cares at all as a user or creator hates how Twitch makes money. They take 50% of gift subs and yesterday banned some ads, etc. I’m unsure why Twitch would keep squeezing every dollar in insane ways unless their funding model isn’t working either.

lkrubner 3y ago

"More time" would equal "lower ROI" unless there is some magic inflection point that would cause a dramatic upward leap in gross margins. Gross margins, in this case, is mostly cost-per-user-acquisition. But "this new social network is amazing, I love it, and you should join" mostly happens when social networks are new, young, and small. It would be difficult to bring back the days of triple digit growth for a network the size of Reddit.

Workaccount2 3y ago

As a shareholder I don't want "instead of ads we have", I want "On top of ads we have"

_v7gu 3y ago
On top of ads, you can have a dead website :^)