The Reddit / Apollo Fiasco
The all-out feud between Reddit and Apollo has offered onlookers a little bit of everything. We have independent developer versus Big Business tension. Reddit, a social news network with approximately 60 million daily users, is looking to IPO later this year. Apollo, a third-party Reddit client for iOS and iPadOS, has become a symbol of much larger themes that transcend a third-party client. Questions are swirling regarding just how important Reddit is to the broader web. Some users are adamant Reddit will decline while others think Reddit will see no long-term impact from recent developments. There are then allegations of blackmail, threats, and just overall nastiness coming from both sides.
Combining all of the moving pieces together, two broad storylines appear:
There is a reason why the similarities between Elon Musk going after third-party Twitter clients and Reddit doing the same appear uncanny. Musk inspired Reddit, giving leadership confidence to follow suit.
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