Reddit CEO: Apollo-Related Subreddit Blackouts 'Will Pass,' No Significant Revenue Impact So Far

[Azzin]

I’ve said the same thing on another thread on this forum. Apollo owner is a multi-millionaire, you can choose to not listen to facts in order to preserve your “small guy getting crushed” narrative but that doesn’t mean it’s not facts. I’ve honestly never seen the internet so riled up between a billionaire and a multi-billionaire before. It’s honestly wonderful display of craft played by Apollo’s PR.

Do you have any proof whatsoever that he is a millionaire?

 

[yalag]

Oh, so Apollo had 50,000 paying subs from day one?

Right, gotcha.

As to how much he paid for their API, he paid exactly what they asked of him for the whole 8 years.

Again, you’re welcome.

He wasn’t asked to pay so he didn’t. Now he’s asked to, and cant afford to so he should shut down. What’s the issue again?

Wait wait. Are you saying that, Reddit not asking him to pay is Reddit's fault. But Reddit asking him to pay now is also Reddits fault??

 

[OhMyMy]

Nope.

A CEO is the Chief Executive Officer.

This title separates the person from the other Executive Officers.

An example would be Chief Technology Officer.

No other employees?

Then you’re not the Chief Executive Office of anything.

You‘re welcome.

Thanks for expanding CEO. And I’d like you to re-read your earlier post. You said so yourself that there’s another person the “CEO” employs part time. Unless the other guy is volunteering your explanation doesn’t hold water in this case.

 

[yalag]

Do you have any proof whatsoever that he is a millionaire?

I did the math on another thread but you can just do your own estimation. The app is been selling for 8 years. He’s made $500,000 from subs alone this one year. He also sells IAP that is not subs as well (which is what I purchased apollo pro I think is the name). Then there are tip jars as well. Then just do a linear interpolation of user growth from year 1 to year 8. It sums up to just under 3 million by my calculations. All for no costs (because um he leaches off Reddits servers)

 

[Azzin]

He wasn’t asked to pay so he didn’t. Now he’s asked to, and cant afford to so he should shut down. What’s the issue again?

Wait wait. Are you saying that, Reddit not asking him to pay is Reddit's fault. But Reddit asking him to pay now is also Reddits fault??

Right, so he did as Reddit asked for 8 years.

I’m glad you‘ve understood that.

Reddit saying there would be no API price increases coming this year and then turning round and saying that not only that there would be increases incoming at an extortionate rate, but also that Devs only have 30 days to deal with it or **** off, is 100% Reddit’s fault-it’s their decision and theirs alone.

 

[Azzin]

Thanks for expanding CEO. And I’d like you to re-read your earlier post. You said so yourself that there’s another person the “CEO” employs part time. Unless the other guy is volunteering your explanation doesn’t hold water in this case.

The other guy is a part time/ad hoc, server guy.

Not an Executive Officer of any description.

Again, you’re welcome.

 

[Azzin]

I did the math on another thread but you can just do your own estimation. The app is been selling for 8 years. He’s made $500,000 from subs alone this one year. He also sells IAP that is not subs as well (which is what I purchased apollo pro I think is the name). Then there are tip jars as well. Then just do a linear interpolation of user growth from year 1 to year 8. It sums up to just under 3 million by my calculations. All for no costs (because um he leaches off Reddits servers)

So clearly you have no idea whatsoever how Apollo works and what server costs are present.

Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[yalag]

Right, so he did as Reddit asked for 8 years.

I’m glad you‘ve understood that.

Reddit saying there would be no API price increases coming this year and then turning round and saying that not only that there would be increases incoming at an extortionate rate, but also that Devs only have 30 days to deal with it or **** off, is 100% Reddit’s fault-it’s their decision and theirs alone.

lol you can’t point finger at a company for making a legal change to their operations. If McDonald gave you 3 hours notice that they don’t want ice cream anymore. Are they also at fault?

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Thanks for expanding CEO. And I’d like you to re-read your earlier post. You said so yourself that there’s another person the “CEO” employs part time. Unless the other guy is volunteering your explanation doesn’t hold water in this case.

He's legally a sole-proprietor, even if he has a part-time employee/contractor.

That said, who cares what his title is? Talk about nit-picking.... this kinda crap is why I left Reddit.

 

[OhMyMy]

The other guy is a part time/ad hoc, server guy.

Not an Executive Officer of any description.

Again, you’re welcome.

If he’s in charge of the entire operation of a company then he is by def CEO. Can’t make it any more clearer and no, I didn’t thank you. Bye now!

 

[OhMyMy]

He's legally a sole-proprietor, even if he has a part-time employee/contractor.

That said, who cares what his title is? Talk about nit-picking.... this kinda crap is why I left Reddit.

So you’re ignoring all my responses above and nitpicking this one reply? Gotta love the irony!

 

[freediverx00]

Again, do you really think 18 months would allow Apollo, with a supposed gross income of $500k/year, to figure out how to pay a $20 million/year bill?

Yes, it would! For example, I would happily pay $50/year for an Apollo subscription so long as the user experience remained the same, sans advertising and algorithmic timelines. While not all of Apollo's customers would be willing or able to pay this, many would. With more time, the developer could have run the numbers, polled customers, and come jump with a plan that could've made the numbers work.

But it's clear that this was all smoke and mirrors and Huffman had no plans other than to kill of third party apps and tell all those users to screw off.

 

[GizmoDVD]

Oh, so Apollo had 50,000 paying subs from day one?

Right, gotcha.

As to how much he paid for their API, he paid exactly what they asked of him for the whole 8 years.

Again, you’re welcome.

So how much has Apollo paid Reddit to date?

 

[Azzin]

So how much has Apollo paid Reddit to date?

Everything that Reddit asked for.

 

[Arsenikdote]

It is interesting how this is the exact definition of the "vocal minority" about this whole Reddit issue. It affects less than 2% of the user base and yet somehow those users think that the company, or the leadership at the company, or both...however the opinion sways, are making bad decisions, greedy, idiots, etc....and those users are trying to be so vocal as to appear to be more than the <2% they are.

Maybe I am wrong but it feel a bit like a child throwing a temper tantrum when something is taken away from them.

I have been in the receiving end of my fair share of technology removals. Things that I really counted on or found enjoyable. It is never fun when they are taken away, and commenting on forums and finding people to commiserate with is understandable. But not looking at the big picture and trying to create a false narrative is, to me, crazy. It won't solve anything, and it also means that instead of understanding that you were just the victim of a bad luck situation, you make it worse on yourself by acting like there is some injustice that has gone unavenged.

If you are part of the <2% that were affected....bad luck. >98% of the users weren't. It still sucks. The whole thing could have been handled better. But even if it was handled better, if the app would have been given 12 months, it still would have been shut down. You still would be affected. It isn't personal. It isn't an injustice. It just bad luck that Reddit's business decision took away something you enjoyed. Happens to everyone, welcome to the randomness of existence.

 

[spinedoc77]

Yes, it would! For example, I would happily pay $50/year for an Apollo subscription so long as the user experience remained the same, sans advertising and algorithmic timelines. While not all of Apollo's customers would be willing or able to pay this, many would. With more time, the developer could have run the numbers, polled customers, and come jump with a plan that could've made the numbers work.

But it's clear that this was all smoke and mirrors and Huffman had no plans other than to kill of third party apps and tell all those users to screw off.

Actually your sub would be $410/year (20m / 50k subs + existing $10), and that's *IF* all 50k subs agreed to the new pricing, which I highly doubt. It took all of 10 seconds to figure that out, I'm assuming the developer has already thought about this. It's not a terrible solution but I suppose it depends on how many of those 50k users would be willing to pay 40+x what they pay now. But again, while this is might be a totally viable strategy, I fail to see how it would take a developer 18 months, let alone 30 days, to figure this out.

I don't think its smoke and mirrors at all, he's pretty up front that they are not generating a profit and the motive is for them to eventually generate a profit by cutting off the free gravy train to 3rd party developers. Seems pretty clear to me.

 

[GizmoDVD]

Everything that Reddit asked for.

Since you refuse to answer the obvious question, which is $0.

Rules have changed, and now it's time to pay up or go away.

Which did Apollo choose for its 50,000 subscribers?

 

[anselpela]

This is an interesting take, but I actually think it’s exactly wrong. With this they are angering users who have already displayed a willingness to pay for Reddit and a nice way to access it. True, they don’t want ads, but they are (or were) willing to pay actual money.

Turning away actual paying customers as a pre-money company looking to IPO might not be the best option. We’ll see, though.

They were paying a tiny amount for an app experience. Those experiences had nothing to do with Reddit or Reddit content itself. Your take is wrong.

 

[anselpela]

Actually your sub would be $410/year (20m / 50k subs + existing $10), and that's *IF* all 50k subs agreed to the new pricing, which I highly doubt. It took all of 10 seconds to figure that out, I'm assuming the developer has already thought about this. It's not a terrible solution but I suppose it depends on how many of those 50k users would be willing to pay 40+x what they pay now. But again, while this is might be a totally viable strategy, I fail to see how it would take a developer 18 months, let alone 30 days, to figure this out.

I don't think its smoke and mirrors at all, he's pretty up front that they are not generating a profit and the motive is for them to eventually generate a profit by cutting off the free gravy train to 3rd party developers. Seems pretty clear to me.

It's clear to everyone that doesn't think the world owes them a free experience of everything.

 

[anselpela]

So what have they achieved by just killing off 3rd party apps?

Profitabilty?

This isn't complicated. Why do people pretend like they don't understand.

Let's say you have an ad supported video business. Every viewer watches ads, which is the sole revenue stream. Then you have a subset of users who still watch the videos, but see no ads, and contribute nothing to revenue. As a business, what are you required to do about this? Eliminate the non-paying users. Period. There is no other take. There is no other interpretation. It doesn't matter who is getting hurt in the process. That's what has to be done.

 

[AppleWatchGuy]

It is interesting how this is the exact definition of the "vocal minority" about this whole Reddit issue. It affects less than 2% of the user base and yet somehow those users think that the company, or the leadership at the company, or both...however the opinion sways, are making bad decisions, greedy, idiots, etc....and those users are trying to be so vocal as to appear to be more than the <2% they are.

Maybe I am wrong but it feel a bit like a child throwing a temper tantrum when something is taken away from them.

I have been in the receiving end of my fair share of technology removals. Things that I really counted on or found enjoyable. It is never fun when they are taken away, and commenting on forums and finding people to commiserate with is understandable. But not looking at the big picture and trying to create a false narrative is, to me, crazy. It won't solve anything, and it also means that instead of understanding that you were just the victim of a bad luck situation, you make it worse on yourself by acting like there is some injustice that has gone unavenged.

If you are part of the <2% that were affected....bad luck. >98% of the users weren't. It still sucks. The whole thing could have been handled better. But even if it was handled better, if the app would have been given 12 months, it still would have been shut down. You still would be affected. It isn't personal. It isn't an injustice. It just bad luck that Reddit's business decision took away something you enjoyed. Happens to everyone, welcome to the randomness of existence.

I think if Apollo where to not play the victim card so flamboyantly, the 2% would be upset for the removal of their favourite interface, but they wouldn't be as riled up as they are now because they have perceived Apollo as "one of us".

 

[HVDynamo]

Have experienced that a couple of years ago. Sent a message using the 'Message Mods' button you see in the subreddits pointing out a number of people getting around the bot that the subreddit used to prevent advertising. Gave the mod the names of the people advertising and a link to their posts and what happened, I get banned from the subreddit!!!. I then sent another message saying I have been banned in error and that I was just bringing to the mod's attention the people breaking the rules. What did the mod do? block me so I could not communicate with the mod and banned me from other subreddits that they moderated as well. That's what I go for trying to help so yeah, I am sure there are thousands upon thousands of reddit users that have experience the same. But does reddit admins do anything about these rogue mods? nope. Reddit would rather have users leave than having to deal with bad/rogue mods.

It would seem the reddit CEO has the same attitude/temperament, let users leave rather than deal with the underlying issues.

I‘d be willing to bet in that case that the mod’s in question were the source of the bots advertising and the rule was so that no one else could advertise and make money. They shut you down because you were exposing their operation.

 

[spinedoc77]

It's clear to everyone that doesn't think the world owes them a free experience of everything.

I'll take that a step further and say that if anything these 3rd party apps were taking away advertising from Reddit and personally I don't think these apps were much (if any) better than the stock Reddit app, they just let users avoid advertising. Listen, I'm far from an angel and do my fair share of avoiding advertising so I can't blame users, I just don't understand where (other than accessibility from what I understand) these apps are so much better. I use the Reddit app fairly regularly, no I don't love it, but it's functional enough.

 

[Tdude96]

This is possibly /r/unpouplaropinion, but I think a lot of people would be a lot happier if they stepped away from Reddit (and Facebook and TikTok for that matter). I was.

Take some time to detox and then find alternatives. There are generally more reliable and better places than Reddit to share knowledge and discuss things that are important to you. Niche-specific discords are great for real-time topical communication or groups of friends/family. Forums like on MacRumors are perfect for sharing (fairly) reliable information about specific topics of interest, engaging in discussion, and keeping up to date on topical news.

And there are any number of reddit-like alternatives out there for those who enjoy having all their soul-sucking poisonous online experiences in a single place. Personally, I'm good without that, but I know there are people who thrive on it.

 

[anselpela]

I'll take that a step further and say that if anything these 3rd party apps were taking away advertising from Reddit and personally I don't think these apps were much (if any) better than the stock Reddit app, they just let users avoid advertising. Listen, I'm far from an angel and do my fair share of avoiding advertising so I can't blame users, I just don't understand where (other than accessibility from what I understand) these apps are so much better. I use the Reddit app fairly regularly, no I don't love it, but it's functional enough.

Well, I can't fully agree with that, because Apollo was (almost) a shining example of what an iOS App should be. 1. Always following Apple's human interface guidelines so it feels like a native platform app, 2. Always implementing new APIs from the thousands Apple adds each year. The "almost" part is because of the tiny little oversight of....not owning any of the content for which the app was a wrapper. Not even having a contract or agreement of any kind with Reddit. Just using a free API that could disappear at any time. To build a business like that and then actually sell it to customers is not smart, to say the least.