Reddit Cofounder Alexis Ohanian Says 'much of the Internet Is Now Dead'

Posted3 months agoActive3 months ago

doctorshady

9 points

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businessinsider.comTechstory

calmnegative

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Internet HistoryTech Industry TrendsOnline Culture

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Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian laments that much of the early internet has been lost due to corporate influence and changing user behaviors, sparking discussion about the evolution of online communities.

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01Story posted
Oct 15, 2025 at 12:20 AM EDT
3 months ago
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Oct 15, 2025 at 3:11 AM EDT
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Discussion (4 comments)

Showing 4 comments

orionblastar

3 months ago

1 reply

I think AI has eaten the third-party sites as people choose to ask AI instead of searching the Internet. Without search engines, how will new and old sites be found?

WorldPeas

3 months ago

That and private chat rooms have become more popular as people don't really seem to like talking with strangers anymore now that most aren't more clever than cleverbot(remember that one?). I can't comment as I'm not really part of anything like that, but at least from some of the products I've seen here, that's the platitude I tell myself to explain why so many forums I used to frequent for answers and show-and-tell are basically dead.

smallerize

3 months ago

Weird not to mention that he's launching a new social media site. (He and Kevin Rose are re-launching Digg.)

pols45

3 months ago

There is no coherent theory/philosophy of why we need the internet or a network that connects everything. Different people say different things. I feel that is why things are unraveling.

The network was built because engineers figured out how to build it (with out routers and switches bursting into flames handling all the traffic).

So the system was built and post facto people started coming up with stories and use cases for the system.

Once the stories and use cases start getting coherent, people start saying ok I like this feature or that, but I don't like everything else that comes with this system, can I get the features without all the other crap.

And the answer is yes. There is no technical reason you can't. So the "old internet" is probably destined to die.

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ID: 45588050Type: storyLast synced: 11/17/2025, 10:07:17 AM

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