671 upvotes, 11 direct replies (showing 11)
One more thing: our business is successful because of a handful of content contributors.
I'd imagine the majority of your visitors are lurkers or just commenters, and a small percentage of your active contributors (who are likely also the most vocal) contribute the majority of your popular content.
That being said, we must not fall into the trap of saying that these vocal proponents are a small minority: they may be if you look at it at a pure numbers standpoint, but if they are your core contributor base, you cannot just dismiss their needs and concerns.
Comment by push3r at 06/07/2015 at 21:34 UTC
159 upvotes, 6 direct replies
I think you've made the understandable error of assuming that the people currently operating Reddit are rational people interested in Reddit as a Community rather than Reddit as a Platform.
Unfortunately they don't seem to share your insight that the Platform is only as valuable as the Community.
The founders of Reddit were successful because they had a Community focus, but were limited by their inability to transition to a financially self-sustaining model. It now seems that the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction and the efforts at monetizing the Platform could kill off the very thing that gives it value.
I was there when Digg (sorta) died, and this has a similar feel. It will be interesting if there's another place that can generate the critical mass necessary for such a migration, or if that's even possible given the logistical problem Reddit's traffic volume represents.
Part of me wonders if we'd even still be here having this conversation if Voat had been able to stand up to the load.
Comment by Razorasadsid at 06/07/2015 at 20:36 UTC
151 upvotes, 1 direct replies
People havn't commented on this, but I'm glad you posted this. Interesting perspective and the right attitude towards a community. Tough to do, but doable. A+ post.
Comment by [deleted] at 06/07/2015 at 21:12 UTC
18 upvotes, 1 direct replies
[deleted]
Comment by NoSuddenMoves at 07/07/2015 at 01:45 UTC
5 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I'm on slickdeals every day (classic view) and haven't signed in to comment in over a year. If the deals ever left, got shitty or comments deleted to protect advertisers I'd be gone in a second. Definitely a well run user driven site reddit could learn from.
Comment by trapped_in_a_box at 07/07/2015 at 05:13 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Thank you for posting this, and on a side note, I have to say that Slickdeals is a huge informational source for my business. You guys not only single-handedly inspired me to start my business, you keep me going. Much love to everyone on the Slickdeals team!
Comment by GodOfAtheism at 07/07/2015 at 02:27 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
One more thing: our business is successful because of a handful of content contributors.
[Without that 1%](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1%25_rule_(Internet_culture%5C[1])) the other 99% don't have anything to go off of.
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1%25_rule_(Internet_culture%5C
It's weird thinking of myself as the 1%. I suddenly want to vote for someone who believes in trickle-down economics. I'm not sure why.
Comment by zoglog at 07/07/2015 at 01:26 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
mmmm love me some slickdeals ;)
Looking forward to applying for a job there in the future
Comment by [deleted] at 07/07/2015 at 07:52 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
It was such a slap in the face when she brought up that minority point
Comment by meruapps at 07/07/2015 at 01:15 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Awesome advice all around. I love your site btw!
Comment by [deleted] at 07/07/2015 at 07:08 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
"just commenters", actually I'm on reddit -mostly- because of the community of commenters, the "content" I don't care that much about, it's just a starting point for discussions.
If I cared only about "content", I probably would have already left.
Comment by absinthedoctor at 07/07/2015 at 06:09 UTC
-3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I contribute quite a lot of porn that people like