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A sizzling potato: Reddit will likely be introducing one thing that few customers are prone to need later this 12 months: paywalls. CEO Steve Huffman has confirmed that the platform will likely be introducing the power for some Redditors to create content material that solely paid members can see, although it will not apply to any subreddits presently obtainable.
Huffman revealed plans for the paid content material mannequin in an Ask Me Something (AMA) following the corporate’s quarterly earnings report. He mentioned it was presently a “work in progress” however could be one of many “new, key options” that Reddit plans to introduce someday this 12 months.
Huffman mentioned in 2024 that the corporate was trying into unique content material or non-public, hidden areas that had been locked behind a paywall.
The paid-for content material would solely apply to sure new subreddit varieties and never any present ones, so it appears that evidently your favourite subreddits aren’t out of the blue going to require a checking account to entry them.
It is actually a controversial space that might current a number of issues, particularly with regards to moderators and whether or not they are going to be paid – and the way a lot – for what’s presently a voluntary place.
Ars Technica notes that Reddit has had paid-for options earlier than, resembling r/Lounge, an unique subreddit for Reddit Premium subscribers. The corporate additionally pays some customers for posting through the Reddit Contributor Program.
Huffman additionally talked about different potential monetization options for Reddit. One in every of these is to permit customers to conduct monetary transactions from inside the platform itself, relatively than utilizing a third-party funds system like PayPal or Venmo. It might enable customers to, amongst different issues, buy gadgets with out leaving Reddit, although Huffman admitted it could possibly be some time earlier than the thought turns into a working characteristic.
The plan sounds prefer it’s been impressed by Chinese language social media platform Weibo, which makes use of its personal built-in cost system, Weibo Pay, to facilitate funds inside the app. These can be utilized for tipping content material creators, buying items, donating to causes, and paying for premium companies.
Reddit has been embracing a number of money-making efforts because it went public early final 12 months. These embody extra advertisements, particularly within the first-party app, and it has examined putting advertisements in feedback. It has additionally been sharing consumer knowledge with different firms, together with a $60 million-per-year deal with Google for the tech big to coach its AI fashions. It additionally partnered with OpenAI to place customers’ posts in ChatGPT.
Reddit must steadiness its monetization efforts towards consumer blowback. In 2023, over 8,500 subreddits went darkish in protest towards the platform’s resolution to replace its API, which requires some third-party app builders to pay tens of millions of {dollars} to proceed accessing the location.
