this post was submitted on 07 Jun 2023
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First all the bs with Twitter and Elon, then Reddit having an exodus to Lemmy (not complaining lol), then Twitch. Are we like, in an alternate self healing dimension or something?

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[–] meisme@lemmy.ml 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Higher interest rates means less investment, resulting in these companies racing to make a profit. The reality is that Reddit is bleeding money and has been for years, and Twitter is barely profitable.

[–] Speex@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Where do you see this information on their profits?

[–] misnina@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

At least for reddit, spez used saying it isn't currently profitable as a pity point in the ama today.

https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/comments/145bram/addressing_the_community_about_changes_to_our_api/jnkd09c/?context=3

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There isn't much public information because all those companies are private. But, various journalists have looked into things and declared it isn't profitable, for example:

That has left Reddit, known as a bastion of free speech, walking a delicate tightrope between its outspoken audience of 330mn monthly active users and new advertisers that can propel it into profitability.

https://www.ft.com/content/c4c01d86-85f5-49c8-9966-cbf935d834a2

[–] Speex@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Awesome. Thanks for the follow up. Crazy how hard it is to find. I’m sure their income is enough to pay them decent wages though. Not the moderators though, screw those people

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

The problem is that from day 1, Reddit was a Y-Combinator project, meaning it was VC backed, and the VCs want a big money-making exit. It looks like social media in general, and link aggregator website in particular are not great money-making ventures. A private company might just shrug and accept a small but steady profit. But, VCs want a big splashy money-making event, and they're willing to risk killing the company to achieve it.