It’s no secret that Reddit (considered by many to be Digg’s biggest rival) has not not fared well after being acquired by Condé Nast, it’s current parent company.
Between the hack attempts and the lack of corporate support, it’s very clear to the geekverse that Reddit is the red headed step child of Condé Nast (pun not intended) and under its current leadership the site could become extinct through neglect.
However there is a glimmer of hope for the zealous community as Ben Huh of the Cheezeburger Network has offered to take Reddit under his wing (and yes he is serious about the offer).
Hi TDWers, I’m Ben Huh, and I run the Cheezburger Network (which includes The Daily What, if you were too Prop 19’d to notice). I have made this offer privately to a few people associated with Reddit, and I’ll say it publicly now:
I believe that Reddit is one of the best communities I have seen on the Internet. I also believe that Reddit would benefit from more resources and less corporate interference. We can offer all of the above. And we’d love to buy Reddit and all those pesky troublesome users that we love so much.
Condé, we’ll be waiting for a call.
Cheers,
Ben Huh.
Although a marriage between Reddit and Cheezeburger might sound strange (as Cheezeburger emphasizes images while Reddit is more of a geek community), there are actually 4 reasons why these two odd sites would compliment each other.
I Can Hav Social?
Instead of having to rely upon social tweet and Facebook like buttons, the Cheezeburger Network could instead harness a thriving community to ensure steady traffic to their various blogs.
This would allow Cheezeburnger to rely upon its own social graph instead of being at the whims of Facebook (who may not be willing to share all of its analytical data to its partners).
Real Reddit Support
Instead of having to beg for money due to the lack of support from its corporate execs, Reddit could receive real financial support from someone who actually cares about them.
This would allow the Reddit engineers to not only purchase adequate equipment to deal with the increased traffic, but also release new features to help them compete against Digg.
No More Culture Shock
One only has to look at Reddit’s recent clash with Condé Nast to understand how vastly different both cultures are. While Condé Nast seems to guided more by lawyers, Reddit embraces a more libertarian attitude.
Truth be told Condé Nast and Reddit seem to compliment each other like oil and water, darkness and light, Android and iPhone, etc. (the list could go on).
A liberated Reddit could focus less on battling their execs, and more on improving the site.
A Decent Mobile App
Although Reddit does have a decent iPhone App, truth be told the mobile experience is looking rather dim (especially in iOS 4).
If Cheezeburger was able to acquire the site, the Reddit team could finally enter the age of iRelevance and give all of us a real reason not to use Digg (or even Stumbleupon).
Will Condé Nast Sell?
Despite the offer by Ben Huh, Condé Nast has yet to respond with any interest in the deal, let alone naming a price they’re willing to sell Reddit for (after all, they may not want to sell).
Either way lets hope Huh’s offer will encourage other potential buyers to make a bid, as Reddit would benefit more under a company dedicated to expanding Reddit’s digital empire than one who sees it as a way to simply pay the bills.
