Alexis Ohanian Says Hes A ‘techno Optimist, Despite Social Medias Impact On Society
Does Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian regret creating it? The entrepreneur and founder of the venture capital firm Seven Seven Six, speaking at an event at the University of Virginia, gave a somewhat pessimistic view of the current social media landscape and the maker economy - everyone's "now I'm trained and trained just to get by." In likes, retweets, and upvotes... I wish I could be more optimistic about this, but we're watching it happen right before our eyes. However, he ultimately describes himself as a technological optimist" - an apparent reference to Marc Andreessen, a16z A's general partner's recent diatribe in which he said technology could solve all our problems.
"Guilty as charged," Ohanian told Cara Swisher during an interview. "I think the pendulum will swing again. I think it's faster than we think. The war in the Middle East could be a turning point, he said, because it's now "very clear" that we need something better than platforms. We will understand our world today. "
As you may recall, the founder of Reddit resigned from the Reddit board in 2020 due to disagreements over moderation and his desire to crack down on violent and hateful communities. It was a moment when he came to terms with what his platform had created. He then asked a member of the Black Council to change his seat on the council. Company Y, along with Combinator partner Michael Seibel, agreed to hire Black as its first board member.
Reddit also banned several toxic communities, including r/donaldtrup, after the violence at the US Capitol, and Ohanian said the site has "definitely improved" and gotten better as a business since then.
But when it comes to social media in general, where Reddit is expected to play a role, Ohanian said, it does a lot to highlight "the worst aspects of our nature." In addition, he worries about people's desire to be the first and be the first on any leaderboard on the platform, which later leads to situations where misinformation can be spread.
"There's a lot of pressure these days to be number one, and UGC (user-generated content) is always going to win. It's not always going to be true, though. But it's becoming the center of where the conversation is happening. And then I think. What percentage of our population actually wants that? He sighs and says let me stop being stupid and wait until people do the work, synthesize, and then help me resist?
"We're also very excited about all these stories, whether it's from traditional media or user-generated — someone posting on their phone, you know, in a Telegram group. We're tired and weary, and unfortunately, using the worst part of it," - Ohanian added, "We have a lot of instincts."
Part of the challenges faced in the development of social media platforms was primarily related to the way organizations were built. For example, Ohanian said Reddit grew out of managing a forum in college, when he believed the online community was as real as the offline community. He said he never imagined the site would one day become a multibillion-dollar company with millions of users. He said that this idea would be "ridiculous". Of course, he never imagined that his startup could be so successful as to influence elections and democracy.
"Oh my God, to think that I'm going to be this successful and have this big of an impact on democracy requires a level of desperation that I can't experience as a first-time CEO," he said. "Was it a blind spot? Absolutely," he admitted.
Another part of the problem, Ohanian noted, is that more people use the Internet today than the tech industry's early founders imagined. While I welcome increased access to technology, it has also brought many challenges.
"I don't like the idea that the Internet, which I'm very nostalgic about, is actually an ivory tower," he added, but on the other hand, the reality is that we're all dealing with more people. . More time than we can imagine. This can lead to people disagreeing with each other's different versions of the truth, even if they believe their truth is something as far away as a flat Earth, he said, pointing to an example he's seen on Reddit. .
At the same time, he said, it is difficult to ask platforms like Facebook, Twitter or Reddit to be responsible for checking the truth and accuracy. Ohanian also described TikTok as "an arm of the Chinese government" that's really good at "giving us what we want, when we want it" — in other words, it's not always the source of the truth.
If anything, Ohanian still credits Twitter (now called X) with creating the best moderation system.
"Community Response: Personally, I think this is a good thing: it's the best metric I've ever seen. Honestly, I wish we'd thought of this sooner."
However, he emphasized the idea that a platform like X could be a city square.
"The square [metaphor]... collapses. Because if it's a public square, what does that mean? City or town? If you lead it, you're the mayor. But there's no democratic election," Ohanian stressed. "You are the president." executive So you look like a king? It's fine if you want to have fun in the town square. Know him and say: Yes, this is the town square, and I am its eternal dictator, its tyrant.
Despite the problems of social media and the dire consequences for society, Ohanyan still believes there is some hope. For example, he notes that the founders of the 776 funds he invests in are smarter than their age and more knowledgeable about issues. Perhaps the following platforms will continue to be addictive, he said, but in a way that "doesn't further undermine democracy."
It is also believed that when everything is perfect for us on social media, our brain will start to crave what we don't have. "I think we're going to see a resurgence of face-to-face meetings and personal experiences... The bright side is that I hope it brings us back to our humanity and things that no AI can replace."
"I look at it with optimism," Ohanyan added. "I think there is still room for improvement, but we are fighting very strong people. If we can solve this, it will bring a lot of benefits. It is true, because we will see that there is a lot in common."
