Reddit kind of got lucky with the development of modern smartphones.
Old format forums that were designed for desktops were way too cluttered for mobile, especially with how small screens were back then. Reddit comes along with its streamlined take on forums as well as the ability to have a forum for any and every subject all on one site and it just took off.
Reddit got to where it is by relying on the labor of others. The original site code was open source, the mobile apps were made by other people, users moderated the subs for free, and users generated almost all of the content.
Reddit began as a clunky forum and was popular long before smartphones, though. And like the other person said, they didn’t have an app for a long time. So this take of yours is a little flawed.
It wasn’t popular long before smartphones. It was known about, sure. But the development of modern smartphones is what made Reddit one of the biggest sites in the world.
That is the worst metric for whether something is “taking off” or not. Reddit wasn’t built in a day, and the fediverse won’t be either.
Reddit kind of got lucky with the development of modern smartphones.
Old format forums that were designed for desktops were way too cluttered for mobile, especially with how small screens were back then. Reddit comes along with its streamlined take on forums as well as the ability to have a forum for any and every subject all on one site and it just took off.
Reddit got to where it is by relying on the labor of others. The original site code was open source, the mobile apps were made by other people, users moderated the subs for free, and users generated almost all of the content.
Well… They didn’t have an app for the longest time. That’s why there were so many 3rd party.
Reddit began as a clunky forum and was popular long before smartphones, though. And like the other person said, they didn’t have an app for a long time. So this take of yours is a little flawed.
It wasn’t popular long before smartphones. It was known about, sure. But the development of modern smartphones is what made Reddit one of the biggest sites in the world.
I was on it prior to that so I completely disagree
It was one of the biggest sites in the world prior to smartphones? Ok
And now, it’s back the other way, with too many web sites (including this one) tailored too far for mobile sites and not enough focus on desktops.