We Are The Nerds: A deep-dive into the birth and life of Reddit

Ramp

Hunter

I was lucky enough to read a pre-release copy (h/t to @rrhoover!). Such a fun read, and Christine doesn't hesitate to earnestly dig deep into both the good and bad sides of Reddit. Crazy that such a small team of <10 built and scaled Reddit so quickly. 👏👏 @lagorio - What topics or stories do you wish you could have included in the book? Any deleted chapters?

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6yr ago

Christine Lagorio

We Are The Nerds

Maker

@rrhoover @nickabouzeid Hey guys!! I really appreciating you digging in to an early copy! I didn't set out to write an extraordinarily long book, but considering it covers 12 years of Reddit's life, with no shortage of fascinating drama, on the business, cultural, and personal fronts--the three major threads the book covers--I originally wrote 190,000 words...a SUPER long book. So, some things were cut. Mostly superfluous, and my editor at Hachette was fantastic. There were long descriptions of the on-site happenings during both The Button and Place that probably would have bored everyone in the universe save myself and a few Internet-culture geeks and Reddit employees. There was also a scene I'll call "firetrucks" that included one of the first instances of Swatting, and involved the Crystal Towers, aka "Y Scraper." Because I was speaking with my sources for the purpose of the book during most interviews, I'll leave that story for them to tell! What were your favorite parts, @rrhoover and @nickabouzeid ?

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6yr ago

Nick Abouzeid

Ramp

Hunter

@rrhoover @lagorio A few weeks out, it's still jarring how Reddit managed to continue to explode despite team issues, failed initiatives, corporate restructurings, etc. The original team's project continued to grow *despite* all of the issues. Speaks to just how powerful the Reddit content, community, and core vision is. Was also so fun to read about how Alexis and Serena first met. 🤗😘

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6yr ago

Ryan Hoover

Product Hunt

Reddit is such a fascinating company. It hasn't followed the typical expectation of a startup. It got acquired relatively early in its lifetime and then "slowly" and consistently grew to become the 3rd most trafficked site on the web (in the U.S.). What was your biggest surprise amongst all its drama, @lagorio? Maybe @alexisohanian can chime in with his as well. 😃

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6yr ago

Christine Lagorio

We Are The Nerds

Maker

@alexisohanian @rrhoover Does when @alexisohanian started dating Serena Williams count?

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6yr ago