Reddit CEO teases AI search features and paid subreddits

GreenEngineering3475@lemmy.world to Reddit@lemmy.world – 134 points –
Reddit CEO teases AI search features and paid subreddits
engadget.com

Reddit just wrapped up its second earnings call as a public company and CEO Steve Huffman hinted at some significant changes that could be coming to the platform.

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Paid subs will maim (not kill) the platform. Expect to see an exodus if this happens

I’m not convinced it’s 100% the worst idea though. The fediverse is entirely self and donor funded. Paid subs as an extension to free tiers might be a viable solution for a platform like this. Not Reddit because they’re too far gone, but if there was some kind of enhanced feature set along with improved moderation and overall program support by way of paid subs, it’s not all that different from how the fediverse operates. Of course I would argue that paid subs should not be limited in content or offer any means of priority publishing and completely optional for users and anons alike seems like a fair idea.

The whole point of news aggregators like Lemmy and (originally) reddit is to encourage discussion by collecting news articles/content and organizing it. I think segregating your user base makes that harder.

Absolutely, which is why I said Reddit is too far gone. This is also why I was advocating for ways to integrate paid subs without limiting content access or providing priority publishing.

It‘ll be the xitter way of buying exposure and the feeds of users will be filled with crap nobody wants to see. Calling it now.

Yeah but I'd prefer it to just flat-out be a paid-for platform then, tbh. On a smaller scale that'd be fair, bills have to be paid, but just be honest then.

I think the only ones with enough interest to pay for a sub are companies that want more control over what is posted there. I imagine it will be focused on companies wanting a more formal presence on Reddit.

"Yeah! We can get people to pay us to consume our advertising!"

...

Ok so…people would pay him, for the privilege of providing him with content, that he will then sell to the highest bidders, keeping all profits for himself, and continuing to do this in perpetuity, because they also paid for the privilege of having him own the content they created until the end of time. Do I have that about right? (Yes I know it’s not actually exactly him)

And also probably have volunteer mods in the paid subreddits...

Why even stop at that? Make mods pay for the privilege of having to work moderating

Pretty much textbook MLM strategy. You can be the mod of the Suckers' Channel, but you need to pay me a stipend for the privilege.

Its already how a bunch of the site works, given how much influence advertisers and influencers have over what hits the front page.

Oh shit, here we go boys! Hold tight, cause' the influx of new Lemmings is gonna explode :D

Back in 2000, Time-Warner decided to purchase AOL. AOL had spent the last 5 years bleeding (dial-up) customers to their main competitors… anything that wasn’t dial-up.

Time-Warner hailed the “merger” as the Deal of the Century.

Later, Time-Warner admitted, “We didn’t realize that all those customers we thought we had purchased could simply leave.”

lol imagine having an invaluable resource like users that engage and actually give a shit and then sitting around in a high rise board meeting discussion where in you tap your fingers together capitalistically and discuss all the ways you can press, milk, squeeeeeeze every last drop of value of these poor saps. Lemmy for life! Long live the .. lemming? Whatever it is. I love y’all. 😘😘😘😘

It’s the same with Twitter. People love to cry out loud, especially when something shitty like this happens. Look at the API debacle last year. How many people were outraged about it and how many people actually left?

Just like twitter, many users are addicted to the site and just like Twitter the higher ups know that. They will continue with their BS, because too many people just can’t let go. I don’t blame them. The blackout felt like quitting smoking all over again and weirded me the fuck out.

There will be another wave of users switching to the Fediverse. And I welcome everyone looking for a new “home”. But it just won’t be enough for wrecking Reddit or even make its higher ups reconsider.

I don't want to wreck reddit frankly there's an awful lot of hate/wankers on there that I would prefer never made it to the fediverse

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand I do agree with you, some people are better in that containment cage. At the other there's something emotionally satisfying on Reddit dying.

That’s true. I’d imagine it would look something like this:

Finally! All these years, I was thinking that the site was missing something and now reading about it, yes, it was clearly paid subreddits! /s

They started trying to convince mods about 2 years ago about the idea of earning money with their subs. The majority of mods weren't amused in those calls I attended.

well, technically /r/lounge has been a paid subreddit, as it requires a Premium subscription to access

Capitalism strikes again. This is why we can't have nice things, capitalists keep fucking them up.

Shit move from Spez. But let's be honest, the issue is that he might be able to paywall some subreddits that are niche and provide support on certain subjects that usually can't be found anywhere.

That (oh and me getting banned for posting a positive news article about the Green Party to the main general politics sub) is why I found a new home here. Fuck reddit! lol