Reddit moderator Courtney Saren, with over a decade of experience on the platform and an attorney by day, shares her reasons for not participating in Reddit’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) despite her long-term commitment. Saren values the community and friendships she’s built on Reddit but has had a strained relationship with the admins. Although there have been improvements, she remains skeptical about the company’s ability to turn a profit after 19 years and is wary of the potential risks involved. The moderator expresses disappointment that the IPO seemed to take priority over providing necessary tools and support for moderators, but intends to stay involved due to her deep connection to the community.See more
Reddit’s CEO, Steve Huffman, talks about the growing importance of actual intelligence in a world dominated by artificial intelligence. The panelists, Doug Clinton and Doug DeMuth, share their thoughts on Reddit’s strong IPO performance and its potential as an AI-adjacent company. They note that while the IPO window for tech companies with an AI story is currently wide open, Reddit’s AI story is not as clear-cut as other companies. The majority of Reddit’s revenue comes from advertising and a data licensing deal with Google, but the sustainability of this business model is questioned due to the limited number of big buyers who can afford expensive data. The panelists also touch upon Reddit’s lack of profitability and the importance of reaching profitability soon. Additionally, they discuss the FTC’s investigation into Reddit’s data licensing practices and the challenges of valuing and monetizing social media data, particularly the discrepancies between data sources and potential regulatory concerns. Overall, the speakers suggest that we are still in the early stages of figuring out how to value and monetize social media data, especially in the context of AI.