The Story of Reddit: Why "The Front Page of The Internet" Took 20 Years to Hit Its Stride (Maybe)

In this week's episode, I dive into the origin, evolution, and challenges of Reddit— the internet’s greatest example of how a website can attract millions of users every single day... with no idea how to turn that devoted community into a viable business model. Timestamps: 4:45 The origin of Reddit 7:23 Condé Nast acquires Reddit 9:44 The rise of Reddit 12:39 Reddit gains independence 16:00 Significant controversies 16:23 Misidentifying the Bostom bomber 17:48 NSFW content  20:00 AMAggedon 22:11 Snark Reddit & Trishyland 24:30 Gamestop  27:37 The future of Reddit Find our podcast YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC18HclY7Tt5-1e3Z-MEP7Jg  Subscribe to our weekly Substack: https://centennialworld.substack.com/  Join our Geneva home: https://links.geneva.com/invite/7eb23525-9259-4d59-95e3-b9edd35861a5  Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infinitescrollpodcast/ Follow Lauren on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenmeisner_/  Sources: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/27/reddit-founder-alexis-ohanian-study-computer-science-in-college.html  https://mashable.com/archive/history-of-reddit  https://www.technologyreview.com/2012/07/18/184890/why-did-reddit-succeed-where-digg-failed/  https://x.com/alexisohanian/status/1322927843421179904  https://techcrunch.com/2006/10/31/breaking-news-conde-nastwired-acquires-reddit/  https://techcrunch.com/2009/10/27/three-years-after-their-acquisition-reddit-founders-move-on/  https://techcrunch.com/2010/08/25/new-digg-launch/  https://www.cnet.com/culture/digg-bringing-back-the-bury-changing-its-look/ https://www.huffpost.com/entry/reddit-digg-rivalry-heats_n_699225 https://www.wired.com/2011/09/reddit-spun-out/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/04/09/an-interview-with-new-reddit-ceo-yishan-wong/ https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/13/reddit-ceo-yishan-wong-resign-office-space  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7489301/  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/17/there-is-no-moral-high-ground-for-reddit-as-it-seeks-to-capitalise-on-user-data  https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/06/reddit-anonymity-privacy-authenticity/564071/  https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-22214511  https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-falsely-accuses-sunil-tripathi-of-boston-bombing-2013-7  https://centennialworld.com/how-true-crime-tiktok-played-a-questionable-role-in-the-gabby-petito-case/  https://www.vox.com/2014/9/8/6121195/reddits-ban-of-thefappening-explained  https://time.com/3951150/reddit-crisis/  https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/z1c9z/i_am_barack_obama_president_of_the_united_states/  https://slate.com/technology/2015/07/reddit-amageddon-what-its-really-about.html  https://www.wired.com/2015/07/reddit-amageddon/  https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/amageddon-parts-of-reddit-go-dark-over-dismissal-of-key-admin/  https://www.vox.com/2015/7/8/8914661/reddit-victoria-protest  https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2015/10/reddit-founder-steve-huffman.html  https://centennialworld.com/trisha-patyas-snark-subreddit-trishyland-permanently-banned/   https://www.wired.com/story/reddit-the-donald-banned/  https://www.businessinsider.com/wallstreetbets-fastest-growing-subreddit-hits-58-million-users-2021-1  https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-28/what-is-dumb-money-about-gamestop-short-squeeze-explainer/102991894  https://x.com/endtwist/status/1354547622133051393  https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22249458/gamestop-stock-wallstreetbets-reddit-citron  https://www.wired.com/story/gamestop-stock-wall-street-bets-short-squeeze/   https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jun/03/gamestop-shares-soar-as-roaring-kitty-reveals-116m-bet-in-reddit-post   https://www.ft.com/content/9c363902-b627-4b99-a2d4-b7b403c9d8ea  https://centennialworld.substack.com/p/a-bad-week-for-big-tech  https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/30/reddits-rise-to-prominence-recent-revolts-and-future-prospects.html   https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/05/alexis-ohanian-steps-down-reddit-board/  https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/10/21285835/reddit-board-replacement-alexis-ohanian-michael-seibel-y-combinator   https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/22/reddit-files-to-go-public-at-last/  https://www.axios.com/2024/02/21/reddit-stock-rewards-closer  https://www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/reddit-stock-ipo-buyers-users-58744446  https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/22/reddit-files-to-go-public-at-last/  https://www.theverge.com/24097069/reddit-ipo-public-investment-ai-training-data-google