The company’s changes to its data access policies has effectively priced out third-party developers who make mobile applications for browsing Reddit; two of the most popular options, Reddit Is Fun and Apollo, are both shutting down.
“You can’t inflate the balloon forever. It will pop at some point.”Reddit’s plans—driven by an urge to make the company more profitable as it inches toward going public—sparked a protest across nearly 9,000 subreddits, where moderators of those communities switched their groups to private mode, preventing anyone from accessing them. Many of those subs remain inaccessible four days later, and their moderators say they plan to keep up the blackout indefinitely.
However unfazed Reddit execs appear to be, this subreddit seppuku sure does seem like a surefire way to sink the company. But does it really signal the death of Reddit? “I can't see it as anything but that,” says Rory Mir, an associate director of community organizing at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “Like with Twitter, it's not a big collapse when a social media website starts to die, but it is a slow attrition unless they change their course. The longer they stay in their position, the more loss of users and content they’re going to face.”
The unrest at Reddit is the latest in a string of social media upheavals that have seemingly pitted profit-hungry companies against their users. Platforms like Reddit, Twitter, or even Amazon that started operating at a loss in order to grow their user base eventually face pressures to further monetize their traffic.
Amy Bruckman is a regents' professor and senior associate chair at Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Interactive Computing. She has also contributed to WIRED and is a moderator of several subreddits, including the very popular, which is restricted until Monday. Bruckman says this era of social media has been rife with sudden changes. “There was an extended period of years, maybe even a decade, where it felt like the way things are is the way they always will be,” she says.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Reddit protesters plan to 'blackout' indefinitelyOriginally planned as a two-day event, a lack of movement by Reddit execs has prompted communities to extend their protest.
Read more »
The Reddit blackout is already forcing unexpected changes | EngadgetIt’s now clear that the Reddit blackout will have a significant impact on the platform, but perhaps not in the way its organizers intended..
Read more »
Reddit CEO says mods too powerful, plans to weaken after blackoutReddit CEO says the mods leading a punishing blackout are too powerful and he will change the site's rules to weaken them
Read more »
Reddit CEO: Company ‘not negotiating’ on data access changes as blackout continuesThousands of Reddit communities have gone dark this week after outrage erupted over plans to charge some third-party apps for data access; the company says it’s not backing down.
Read more »
The Reddit blackout, explained: Why thousands of subreddits are protesting third-party app chargesThousands of Reddit communities went dark this week in protest of upcoming API changes, which include a controversial policy that will charge some third-party apps for continued use. Organizers of the blackout, which began on Monday, say Reddit’s changes threaten to end key ways of historically customizing the platform — which relies heavily on the work of volunteer moderators. Subreddit “mods” often use tools outside of the official app to keep their forums free of spam and hateful content, for example, as well as improve accesibility. Meanwhile, Reddit points to the significant costs of supporting high usage, third-party developers and says it isn't changing course.
Read more »
Reddit CEO: Company ‘not negotiating’ on data access changes as blackout continuesReddit communities have gone dark by the thousands this week after outrage erupted over plans to charge some third-party apps for data access; the company says it’s not backing down.
Read more »