Alexis Ohanian

Like there are some practical needs that we still have from hundreds of thousands of years ago that I think we need to meet. Like I said, I want to spend my years supporting all this stuff that I know my girls will be proud of.

Like there are some practical needs that we still have from hundreds of thousands of years ago that I think we need to meet. Like I said, I want to spend my years supporting all this stuff that I know my girls will be proud of.

Yeah. Well, look, early on, these really radical communities almost never exist. Certainly back then, because there were just fewer people online, you know, 2005 starting Reddit, I was just hoping it would work. There were so few people online actively creating content that, you know, for early years, it wasn't even a thing. It never even came up.

Yeah. Well, look, early on, these really radical communities almost never exist. Certainly back then, because there were just fewer people online, you know, 2005 starting Reddit, I was just hoping it would work. There were so few people online actively creating content that, you know, for early years, it wasn't even a thing. It never even came up.

And when it did, it was just an easy ban because it was a one-off post. I left, so sold the company in 2006 to Condé Nast, stuck around until 2010. Then I left, became a partner at Y Combinator, started a venture fund, and I came back in 2014 as executive chairman. That was in the wake of a previous CEO infamously defending revenge porn. This was definitely Reddit's nadir.

And when it did, it was just an easy ban because it was a one-off post. I left, so sold the company in 2006 to Condé Nast, stuck around until 2010. Then I left, became a partner at Y Combinator, started a venture fund, and I came back in 2014 as executive chairman. That was in the wake of a previous CEO infamously defending revenge porn. This was definitely Reddit's nadir.

He'd written this infamous blog post defending keeping these horrible photos up. And that was, not surprisingly, one of his last acts as CEO. And I was asked by the board to come back. I said, great. First thing we did, shocker, ban revenge porn. Pretty easy, very obvious thing to do.

He'd written this infamous blog post defending keeping these horrible photos up. And that was, not surprisingly, one of his last acts as CEO. And I was asked by the board to come back. I said, great. First thing we did, shocker, ban revenge porn. Pretty easy, very obvious thing to do.

And then it was a task of, one, rebuilding the business, rebuilding the faith with users, with brands, with everyone, and then starting to just modernize all the things. And then as this stuff started coming up and once it got to the board levels, you know, I'll give you the steel man version of the argument that I heard was these are communities that are important because of free speech and.

And then it was a task of, one, rebuilding the business, rebuilding the faith with users, with brands, with everyone, and then starting to just modernize all the things. And then as this stuff started coming up and once it got to the board levels, you know, I'll give you the steel man version of the argument that I heard was these are communities that are important because of free speech and.

The one argument that I really didn't necessarily believe, I didn't believe, was around the therapeutic value of having communities like this for people who have PTSD, like soldiers or medical folks. And I pushed back pretty hard on that one because I just still didn't believe that it was real. Probably the most elucidating takeaway for me was once a spotlight was shown on it,

The one argument that I really didn't necessarily believe, I didn't believe, was around the therapeutic value of having communities like this for people who have PTSD, like soldiers or medical folks. And I pushed back pretty hard on that one because I just still didn't believe that it was real. Probably the most elucidating takeaway for me was once a spotlight was shown on it,

The thing I would have respected more, even though I disagreed with it, would have been taking that same argument and making it publicly and just saying, yeah, look, this is a free speech issue. We feel like this should be here. And even though I would disagree with it, I'd still respect that it was consistent. But we know that's not what happened. What happened was, okay, yeah, are bad.

The thing I would have respected more, even though I disagreed with it, would have been taking that same argument and making it publicly and just saying, yeah, look, this is a free speech issue. We feel like this should be here. And even though I would disagree with it, I'd still respect that it was consistent. But we know that's not what happened. What happened was, okay, yeah, are bad.

We're going to ban it now. And, and that for me was when I just, I realized, no, this isn't this. I can't, I can't spend, I don't know, however many decades I got left on this earth doing this and being a part of this. And, um,

We're going to ban it now. And, and that for me was when I just, I realized, no, this isn't this. I can't, I can't spend, I don't know, however many decades I got left on this earth doing this and being a part of this. And, um,

I think the really telling thing in the era we're in now is we have the first generation of young people who are like in their early 20s who have grown up, like truly grown up on these social media platforms. And so it's exposed some of the most problematic parts.

I think the really telling thing in the era we're in now is we have the first generation of young people who are like in their early 20s who have grown up, like truly grown up on these social media platforms. And so it's exposed some of the most problematic parts.

It's also exposed some of the most impressive parts, like the excellence of an 19-year-old, 20-year-old who's pitching me to start her company. She is... orders of magnitude smarter, farther along, just just more impressive than I was at her age 20 years ago. And I think the Internet has a huge role to play in that.

It's also exposed some of the most impressive parts, like the excellence of an 19-year-old, 20-year-old who's pitching me to start her company. She is... orders of magnitude smarter, farther along, just just more impressive than I was at her age 20 years ago. And I think the Internet has a huge role to play in that.