Google has admitted that the blackout protest by thousands of subreddits earlier this month had a negative effect on user experience. The search results yielded generic outcomes, often boosted by SEO algorithms which did not answer a user's query adequately.&nbsp;

According to a CNBC report, Prabhakar Raghavan, Google’s senior vice president in charge of search, told employees that despite making new changes, the search results were not as comprehensive as Reddit search results during the blackout.&nbsp;

“Many of you may wonder how we have a search team that’s iterating and building all this new stuff and yet somehow, users are still not quite happy,” Raghavan said. “We need to make users happy.”

Raghavan was responding to an employee's comment about negative user feedback.&nbsp;“What can we do to improve the user experience on the core product that made Google a household name,” the employee asked.&nbsp;

While Google yielded exhaustive search results in its initial years, lately it has been offering robotic responses that do little to answer the query.&nbsp;As a result, most Google users employ adding 'Reddit' to any query to receive better results which an ordinary Google search is not able to provide. However, since major subreddits had gone dark (private or closed), as a sign of protests, the queries lost relevance and returned empty results.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/explained-why-thousand-of-subreddits-are-going-dark-on-reddit-603320">Also read |&nbsp;Explained: Why are thousands of subreddits going dark on Reddit?</a>

<h2>Why did the subreddits go dark?</h2>

The blackout decision was taken by moderators after Reddit announced plans of charging developers, for access to its API (Application Programming Interface), starting July 1.&nbsp;The changes clocked in will introduce hefty charges for "premium access" to Reddit's data which will effectively kill third-party apps such as Apollo, Narwhal, Relay, and Infinity.

The aforementioned apps would have to fork out as much as $5 per user each month simply to pay the new fees to Reddit, according to Christian Selig, Apollo's sole developer. At their current rate of API usage, the ballpark annual figure would be more than $20 million.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-us-to-ban-kids-from-social-media-platforms-586781">WATCH |&nbsp;Gravitas: US to ban kids from social media platforms?</a>

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<h2>What is Reddit saying?</h2>

Reddit has claimed that it needs to be paid adequately for the millions it spends on operating the platform. It adds that the knowledge the platform has amassed over the years is too prized to give away for free.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“More than any other place on the internet, Reddit is a home for authentic conversation. There’s a lot of stuff on the site that you’d only ever say in therapy, or AA, or never at all. But we don’t need to give all of that value to some of the largest companies in the world for free,” Reddit’s CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman said in an interview with the New York Times.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

&nbsp;

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Google has admitted that the blackout protest by thousands of subreddits earlier this month had a negative effect on user experience. The search results yielded generic outcomes, often boosted by SEO algorithms which did not answer a user's query adequately.

Google has admitted that the blackout protest by thousands of subreddits earlier this month had a negative effect on user experience. The search results yielded generic outcomes, often boosted by SEO algorithms which did not answer a user's query adequately. According to a CNBC report, Prabhakar Raghavan, Google’s senior vice president in charge of search, told employees that despite making new changes, the search results were not as comprehensive as Reddit search results during the blackout. “Many of you may wonder how we have a search team that’s iterating and building all this new stuff and yet somehow, users are still not quite happy,” Raghavan said. “We need to make users happy.” Raghavan was responding to an employee's comment about negative user feedback. “What can we do to improve the user experience on the core product that made Google a household name,” the employee asked. While Google yielded exhaustive search results in its initial years, lately it has been offering robotic responses that do little to answer the query. As a result, most Google users employ adding 'Reddit' to any query to receive better results which an ordinary Google search is not able to provide. However, since major subreddits had gone dark (private or closed), as a sign of protests, the queries lost relevance and returned empty results. Also read | Explained: Why are thousands of subreddits going dark on Reddit? Why did the subreddits go dark? The blackout decision was taken by moderators after Reddit announced plans of charging developers, for access to its API (Application Programming Interface), starting July 1. The changes clocked in will introduce hefty charges for "premium access" to Reddit's data which will effectively kill third-party apps such as Apollo, Narwhal, Relay, and Infinity. The aforementioned apps would have to fork out as much as $5 per user each month simply to pay the new fees to Reddit, according to Christian Selig, Apollo's sole developer. At their current rate of API usage, the ballpark annual figure would be more than $20 million. WATCH | Gravitas: US to ban kids from social media platforms? × What is Reddit saying? Reddit has claimed that it needs to be paid adequately for the millions it spends on operating the platform. It adds that the knowledge the platform has amassed over the years is too prized to give away for free. “More than any other place on the internet, Reddit is a home for authentic conversation. There’s a lot of stuff on the site that you’d only ever say in therapy, or AA, or never at all. But we don’t need to give all of that value to some of the largest companies in the world for free,” Reddit’s CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman said in an interview with the New York Times. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Google admits Reddit blackout affected search experience as users were 'unhappy'

Starting June 12, thousands of communities on social media platform Reddit have gone dark. Meaning, these subreddits have locked themselves as a sign of protest against the site's 'ludicrous' new decision to try to monetise access to its data.

Starting June 12, thousands of communities on social media platform Reddit have gone dark. Meaning, these subreddits have locked themselves as a sign of protest against the site's 'ludicrous' new decision to try to monetise access to its data. The drastic decision comes after Reddit announced its plans of charging developers for access to its API (Application Programming Interface), starting July 1. The changes clocked in will introduce hefty charges for "premium access" to Reddit's data which will effectively kill third-party apps such as Apollo, Narwhal, Relay, and Infinity. The aforementioned apps would have to fork out as much as $5 per user each month simply to pay the new fees to Reddit, according to Christian Selig, Apollo's sole developer. At their current rate of API usage, the ballpark annual figure would be more than $20 million. But wait a minute...what is API? In layman's terms, API is a structured way of letting one programme offer services to other programmes. Suppose you want butter chicken at your home. You go to the kitchen, assemble the ingredients and prepare the meal. However, what if you want spaghetti and don't have the ingredients? You go to the nearby Italian restaurant. But you don't enter their kitchen and start making the dish, right? You walk to their counter and place an order and wait for them to cook it for you and later serve it to you as a takeout or dine-in dish. A similar analogy can be used with Reddit. Imagine you are a third-party app and need user data that can be utilised to make the app efficient and customise it further. Reddit, till now, was not charging any premium for it. However, the next time you reach the Reddit API counter for data, you will have to cough out some cash...a lot of cash, as it turns out. It is important to note that despite being launched in 2005, Reddit did not have an official app until 2016. Even now, the app is excessively buggy with posts taking their sweet time to open and videos buffering and in some cases, not even starting. However, for years, people used third-party apps to scroll through Reddit. It became their preferred choice, so much so that they have stuck with them and never used the official one. But after Reddit announced the changes, the likes of Apollo have announced that they will be shutting shop on June 30. What is Reddit saying? Reddit has claimed that it needs to be paid adequately for the millions it spends on operating the platform. It adds that the knowledge the platform has amassed over the years is too prized to give away for free. “More than any other place on the internet, Reddit is a home for authentic conversation. There’s a lot of stuff on the site that you’d only ever say in therapy, or AA, or never at all. But we don’t need to give all of that value to some of the largest companies in the world for free,” Reddit’s CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman said in an interview with the New York Times. "Expansive access to data has impact and costs involved; we spend multi-millions of dollars on hosting fees and Reddit needs to be fairly paid to continue supporting high-usage third-party apps. Our pricing is based on usage levels that we measure to be comparable to our own costs." The company added that by introducing a pricing mechanism, the developers would be forced to make their maps 'more efficient' to reduce the number of API calls required. WATCH | Gravitas: US to ban kids from social media platforms? × What are the Reddit mods saying? Ever since the change in Reddit policies was announced, thousands of subreddits across the platform arrived at a common consensus that they will go dark in solidarity with the developers and third-party apps. Popular subreddits with millions of followers such as r/todayilearned, r/funny and r/gaming amongst others have announced they are closing their doors for 48 hours. In a joint statement, Reddit mods said the increase in API pricing rendered it unaffordable for third-party app developers to continue their services. Moreover, the mods added that their work, which was made a tad easier by the third-party apps was also about to become difficult. "Many of us rely on third-party apps to manage our communities effectively. Let's just rip the band-aid right off: in many cases these apps offer superior mod tools, customisation, streamlined interfaces, and other quality of life improvements that the official app does not offer," read the statement. "The potential loss of these services due to the pricing change would significantly impact our ability to moderate efficiently, thus negatively affecting the experience for users in our communities and for us as mods and users ourselves.," it added. Also read | Reddit violated publicity rights: WallStreetBets founder Jaime Rogozinski's big claims in lawsuit The mods said they understand Reddit's financial obligations but for the longevity and success of the platform, it was important to conserve the rich ecosystem built over the years that includes the third-party apps. "We ask for a solution that recognizes the vital role these third-party apps play and takes into consideration the negative impacts this decision might have on both users and moderators. A sustainable pricing model that encourages rather than discourages these apps' growth and innovation will only strengthen the Reddit community." Why is Reddit so popular? Unlike any other social media platform, Reddit is the one true place on the internet where users can have genuine interaction and more often than not, find solutions to most obscure of their real-life problems. According to reports, the platform and its content have been heavily used to train Language Learning Models (LLM) which have contributed to the success of artificial intelligence chatbots such as ChatGPT and Google Bard. Despite allegations of harbouring a certain ideological bent with mods playing sides, Reddit as a platform is one of the most intriguing and immersive platforms out there. The API battle, however, may put a dent in the platform's popularity. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Explained: Why are thousands of subreddits going dark on Reddit?

Y Combinator CEO Michael Seibel is set to join Reddit's Board of Directors, replacing the company's co-founder Alexis Ohanian.

Ohanian, the husband of tennis star Serena Williams, had quit from his seat on the board of the social news company to be given to a black candidate.

"In addition to his vast experience guiding companies in every part of the tech sector, Seibel has consistently promoted diversity and inclusion in the startup world," Reddit said in a blog post while making the announcement.

Seibel is also the cofounder of Justin.tv, the interactive video platform that later transformed into Twitch.

Born in Brooklyn, Seibel graduated from Yale with a degree in political science.

Seibel led Justin.tv as CEO from 2007 to 2011, then co-founded and served as CEO of Socialcam, a popular social video app and another successful Y Combinator startup.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/reddit-co-founder-serena-williams-husband-quits-board-seeks-black-candidate-303791">Also read |&nbsp;Reddit co-founder, Serena William's husband, quits board; seeks black candidate</a>

In 2012, Socialcam sold to Autodesk, Inc., and in 2014, Twitch Interactive sold to Amazon for $970 million.

Seibel started working part time at Y Combinator in 2013, became a partner in 2014, and then CEO of the accelerator programme in 2016.

Ohanian said in an online post that he had resigned from the board of Reddit, which he co-founded 15 years ago. He vowed to use any future gains on his stock in the enterprise to serve the black community, predominantly by curbing racial hate.

Y Combinator CEO Michael Seibel is set to join Reddit's Board of Directors, replacing the company's co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Ohanian, the husband of tennis star Serena Williams, had quit from his seat on the board of the social news company to be given to a black candidate.

Y Combinator CEO Michael Seibel is set to join Reddit's Board of Directors, replacing the company's co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Ohanian, the husband of tennis star Serena Williams, had quit from his seat on the board of the social news company to be given to a black candidate. "In addition to his vast experience guiding companies in every part of the tech sector, Seibel has consistently promoted diversity and inclusion in the startup world," Reddit said in a blog post while making the announcement. Seibel is also the cofounder of Justin.tv, the interactive video platform that later transformed into Twitch. Born in Brooklyn, Seibel graduated from Yale with a degree in political science. Seibel led Justin.tv as CEO from 2007 to 2011, then co-founded and served as CEO of Socialcam, a popular social video app and another successful Y Combinator startup. Also read | Reddit co-founder, Serena William's husband, quits board; seeks black candidate In 2012, Socialcam sold to Autodesk, Inc., and in 2014, Twitch Interactive sold to Amazon for $970 million. Seibel started working part time at Y Combinator in 2013, became a partner in 2014, and then CEO of the accelerator programme in 2016. Ohanian said in an online post that he had resigned from the board of Reddit, which he co-founded 15 years ago. He vowed to use any future gains on his stock in the enterprise to serve the black community, predominantly by curbing racial hate.

Reddit names first black board member after Alexis Ohanian quits