What will I learn about: how Reddit's founders pivoted from a gas station food delivery pitch to building the internet's unofficial front page with guidance from Paul Graham?

Discover how Reddit's founders pivoted from a gas station food delivery pitch to building the internet's unofficial front page with guidance from Paul Graham.

What will I learn about: how Reddit revolutionized online communities by introducing upvotes and downvotes, effectively outsourcing editorial decisions directly to its users?

Understand how Reddit revolutionized online communities by introducing upvotes and downvotes, effectively outsourcing editorial decisions directly to its users.

What will I learn about: Learn why launching a bare-bones Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is crucial for gathering early user feedback and securing investment before focusing on scalability?

Learn why launching a bare-bones Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is crucial for gathering early user feedback and securing investment before focusing on scalability.

What will I learn about: how Reddit utilized clever growth hacking techniques, such as creating fake accounts to populate the site, to build the illusion of an active community that attracted real users?

Find out how Reddit utilized clever growth hacking techniques, such as creating fake accounts to populate the site, to build the illusion of an active community that attracted real users.

What will I learn about: Explore the turbulent early dynamics of Reddit's leadership, including the erratic behavior of programming prodigy Aaron Swartz, to see how co-founder conflicts can push a startup to the brink of burnout?

Explore the turbulent early dynamics of Reddit's leadership, including the erratic behavior of programming prodigy Aaron Swartz, to see how co-founder conflicts can push a startup to the brink of burnout.

We Are the Nerds

The Birth and Tumultuous Life of Reddit, the Internet’s Culture Laboratory

Christine Lagorio-Chafkin

★ 4.5 / 5(55 ratings)

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Categories:

Technology & the Future Biography & Memoir

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

💡Did you know that the 'front page of the internet' was actually born in a messy apartment filled with beer bottles and pizza boxes?
💡Have you ever wondered what really happened behind the scenes during the explosive executive infighting and scandals that nearly destroyed Reddit?
💡Are you curious about how a group of self-proclaimed 'nerds' built a platform that survived years of internal chaos to eventually capture billions of clicks every month?

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Key Takeaways from We Are the Nerds

✓Discover how Reddit's founders pivoted from a gas station food delivery pitch to building the internet's unofficial front page with guidance from Paul Graham.
✓Understand how Reddit revolutionized online communities by introducing upvotes and downvotes, effectively outsourcing editorial decisions directly to its users.
✓Learn why launching a bare-bones Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is crucial for gathering early user feedback and securing investment before focusing on scalability.
✓Find out how Reddit utilized clever growth hacking techniques, such as creating fake accounts to populate the site, to build the illusion of an active community that attracted real users.
✓Explore the turbulent early dynamics of Reddit's leadership, including the erratic behavior of programming prodigy Aaron Swartz, to see how co-founder conflicts can push a startup to the brink of burnout.

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from We Are the Nerds

Mind Map

We Are the Nerds

Origins & Founding+

Early Growth Strategy+

The Aaron Swartz Era+

Acquisition & Burnout+

Power of the User Base+

Free Speech & Toxicity+

Leadership Turmoil+

Return & Reform+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 8

How did the original concept for Reddit come about?

A. Ohanian and Huffman brainstormed the idea in their college dorm room.
B. Paul Graham tasked them with creating a web content aggregator after rejecting their initial pitch.
C. Aaron Swartz brought the idea to them when they merged with Infogami.
D. Condé Nast commissioned them to build a front page for their digital magazines.

Question 2 of 8

What 'growth hacking' strategy did Reddit's founders use to make the site appear active in its early days?

A. They spent heavily on targeted advertising on competing websites.
B. They paid popular bloggers to write exclusive content for the site.
C. They created numerous fake accounts and posted content themselves.
D. They offered cash rewards to the first thousand users who signed up.

Question 3 of 8

What was a major source of early internal tension involving Aaron Swartz at Reddit?

A. He demanded to be made the sole CEO of the company.
B. He secretly tried to sell the company to a competitor.
C. He refused to switch the site's programming language from Lisp to Python.
D. He became increasingly erratic, lost interest in programming, and isolated himself from the team.

Question 4 of 8

Why did media giant Condé Nast initially take a 'hands-off' approach after acquiring Reddit?

A. They were terrified of alienating Reddit's fickle user base and didn't fully understand the platform.
B. They were entirely focused on revamping their print magazines like Wired and The New Yorker.
C. The acquisition contract strictly prohibited them from making any changes for five years.
D. They planned to immediately spin Reddit off into a separate, publicly traded company.

Question 5 of 8

What lesson did Reddit's decision-makers learn from the downfall of their competitor, Digg?

A. That relying solely on volunteer moderators is legally unsustainable.
B. That forcing commercialized redesigns on users can cause a massive exodus.
C. That implementing a strict real-name policy drives away engagement.
D. That failing to secure early venture capital guarantees bankruptcy.

Question 6 of 8

What was the ultimate consequence of Reddit's early 'free speech absolutism' policy?

A. It prevented the site from ever securing outside investment.
B. It led to the creation of highly toxic communities, forcing the site to eventually ban certain subreddits.
C. It caused the founders to be sued by the US government for violating internet censorship laws.
D. It resulted in a completely self-policing community where users successfully banished trolls on their own.

Question 7 of 8

What characterized the tenures of post-founder CEOs Yishan Wong and Ellen Pao?

A. Rapid international expansion and a harmonious company culture.
B. A successful transition to a highly profitable, ad-driven business model.
C. Extreme internal turmoil, abrasive leadership, and eventual abrupt departures.
D. A seamless integration of Reddit into Condé Nast's traditional media portfolio.

Question 8 of 8

What significant policy change did Steve Huffman implement shortly after returning as CEO in 2015?

A. He banned all 'not safe for work' (NSFW) content to attract more advertisers.
B. He declared Reddit was not meant to be a bastion of free speech and banned content glorifying violence.
C. He removed the upvote/downvote system to reduce cyberbullying.
D. He mandated that all users must link their accounts to a verified email address.

We Are the Nerds — Full Chapter Overview

1Recommendation
2Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman founded Reddit, but the idea wasn’t theirs.
3Reddit got off to a fast start, but growth was slow – and artificial at first.
4A cofounder complicated life at Reddit in its early years.
5Reddit showed enough promise to be acquired by media giant Condé Nast.
6From the outside, Reddit seemed to be thriving, but it was actually near collapse.
7Fear of alienating Reddit’s users shaped the company’s early decisions.
8Reddit’s commitment to free speech let hate communities flourish.
9Two poor CEOs triggered internal turmoil at Reddit.
10After reconciling, Ohanian and Huffman returned to Reddit to fix things.
11Final summary

We Are the Nerds Summary & Overview

We Are the Nerds (2018) chronicles the turbulent rise of Reddit, one of the internet’s most popular and controversial websites. The product of careful research into the content aggregator’s history and in-depth interviews with leading staffers, Lagorio-Chafkin whisks us from its birth among beer bottles and pizza boxes to executive infighting and billions of clicks a month – with controversy-laden pit stops along the way.

Who Should Listen to We Are the Nerds?

Those curious about how Reddit started
Individuals interested in technology and culture
Anyone seeking an inside look into one of Silicon Valley’s most dramatic companies

About the Author: Christine Lagorio-Chafkin

Christine Lagorio-Chafkin is a senior writer for Inc.com and Inc. magazine. She covers business, entrepreneurship and innovative startups. We Are the Nerds is her first book.

We Are the Nerds

If You're Curious About These Questions...

Listen to We Are the Nerds — Free Audiobook

Key Takeaways from We Are the Nerds

Learning Tools

Mind Map

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

We Are the Nerds — Full Chapter Overview

We Are the Nerds Summary & Overview

Who Should Listen to We Are the Nerds?

About the Author: Christine Lagorio-Chafkin

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