Spyke

US makes up just over 42% of total traffic, of which just over 70% is on mobile. No stats about 1st party / 3rd party apps usage.

33
100reply

In developing countries it's far more common to use the internet via mobile.

6
lemmy.world

I live in India and barely anyone I know uses reddit. So to see it being 3rd on the list is pretty surprising. Although to be fair, with the population we have, even a small percentage is a big number.

1

Aisa laga hi tha.

I feel we are underestimating the power of NSFW content. Do you think people would pay to look at Ullu, AltBalaji content? Reddit is money free consumption place for them.

Also, I have a different experience. In the past few years, I have seen a lot of people around who have started using Reddit a lot.

1
lemmy.world

I just don’t understand the thought process. They could’ve just shelled out $10M for Apollo and made that the official Reddit app. Then give users the choice of ads or pay for ad free experience.

so basically they’re making a massive gamble that most people will just switch over to their garbage app. Maybe they will, but for sure the power users, big sub moderators & regular posters are all coming to Lemmy. You know, all the people that made Reddit worth visiting.

Personally I think this will be the end of Reddit.

86
lemm.ee

Well, Reddit did shell out money for a third party client. They bought the iOS app Alien Blue in 2014 and turned that into an official app before quickly abandoning it for their client in 2016.

63
Revan343reply
lemmy.ca

They bought the app , and then destroyed it.

They should have learned for their second try, and just bought the app, then not destroyed it.

20

If your core offering can be recreated by a bunch of hobbyists in the their spare time, and your value is 100% the content your users create and moderate then perhaps you're not the great product company you thought you were and you should leave product creation to others.

But hey, perhaps it's a good idea to take the reasons for using your site away and see what happens.

After all, your friends take their private planes everywhere while you're forced to fly first class occasionally - and you want that money.

8
rbitsreply
lemmy.fmhy.ml

That would never happen though. The icentives of Christian Selig and the incentives of Reddit are very different. People like it because it's not made by Reddit

5

That is the crux of the issue, yeah. Reddit needs to make money, which requires enshittifying their app to serve more ads...which drives people away from using their app.

Lemmy's lack of profit motive is probably the best thing going for it. The decentralization is good too, but I still think it's secondary to the fact that it doesn't need to try to make a profit

3
lemm.ee

Realistically Reddit will survive, but it will be a zombie of its former self, kind of similar to how Digg is these days. Let's just hope it kills their valuation and /u/spez has to answer for it.

39
AlexisLunareply
lemmy.blahaj.zone

I really hope it survives, only because I want to preserve and archive all of it's content. Sure, there's a lot of duplicate data and links to other places, but there's also a lot of unique things there. If it dies before it can be properly archived we would lose most of it, with only internet archive keeping some. That would be sad.

9

I think that it's been fairly well archived prior to July 1st. Now that API access is blocked, further backing up becomes harder.

12

There are some off sites reddit archives, given enough time, there will be a way to find data without visiting reddit.

8

So you read reddit specifically through the way back at all times, so it'll archive as you go?

1

Some of the communities I was in on Reddit don't seem to want to move. They're ones where users don't go to Reddit, they go to r/whatever, and have usernames matched to the sub.

I doubt Reddit can survive on those sort of users, in those sort of subs, but many of them will stay on Reddit as long as it keeps working

I now only use Reddit for those subs, but rarely since I now only use Reddit thorough it's old web interface with Reddit Enhancement Suite

1
lemmy.ca

The remaining 30% computer users might be me googling all my IT problems

72

Quora is so disgusting. I thank reddit will become just like quora . Reddit + to read full answers , they show you related topic under question instead of the answers , etc .

13
kilkil2reply
sh.itjust.works

you know, now that you mention it, I should really look into using lemmy for all the things I used reddit for

17
slrpnk.net

Better yet would be a shared knowledge base of "just how to do stuff" without any corporate overlords and just moderation to prevent danger or harm for spreading. Like wikihow, but not so shit. Just have basically your notes.txt file for work but with more contributors. The problem with these threaded support threads lasting forever as "here's how to do stuff" is they exist as snapshots and time makes things malleable

4
Grimpenreply
lemmy.ca

I've used TiddlyWiki for work notes for ages. I used to just keep my Wiki on a thumb drive, but now I use Dropbox and "TiddlyWiki In The Sky". Have it open in another browser tab.

Searchable, tags, all the good Wiki stuff.

3

I used TiddlyWiki for years and dearly love it. I've been using Logseq to fill that need as of late because TiddlyWiki just ran into bugs too often for me to comfortably and happily rely on it

3
lemm.ee

Exactly why reddit wanted all 3rd party apps gone. All they could see was dollar signs going down the toilet.

65

They had dollars while you were on the toilet. Now it's flushed down the drain.

16

I'll sue the desktop site on my phone before I'll use that hot garbage they call an app. It loads faster and works better plus not fucking video ads or that Jesus shit ad they are pushing.

4
lemmy.ca

Worth mentioning that mobile ≠ app. Many people use Reddit in their browsers. Or the official app for that matter. This article doesn't really give those numbers which I'm sure unfortunately place the third party app users in a smaller minority. Still, I never used a third party app personally and I was still outraged enough at Reddit's behavior to leave. Hopefully more will follow suit.

64
adriaanreply
sh.itjust.works

Aren't they also pushing changes to have mobile browsers redirect to the app with no option for staying in the browser?

47

Actually yes. When i began ussing reddit about some years ago i was a lurker on the mobile browser. Then they started pesterin for me to make an account at very much every turn of the corner. Then they started blocking various fucktionalities like visiting subs and blocking nsfw stuff. So i made an account and the subs where still unaccsesible saying something like "this comunity is abailable in the app" an at random too. So i downloaded the app. Used it a couple of months, then learned rif existed and never looked back. Tl;DR: Yes redit has been realistcally unusable on moblie browser for years now. At least for me. Dont know how others manage to use it like that.

20

Felt like they were doing that for a while. It's why I went on Boost. I refused to be pushed onto their mobile app.

8
Rustyreply
lemmy.ca

You can just enable "desktop site" checkbook in your mobile browser, it would send non-mobile user agent to the server. That's the only way a server can detect a mobile browser.

8
adriaanreply
sh.itjust.works

While that's an option the desktop site is barely navigable on a desktop let alone on a mobile device

10
kilkil2reply
sh.itjust.works

old.reddit.com is still an option, for now at least.

But honestly? I'm going to stick to lemmy as much as I can.

10

old.reddit.com sucks on a phone though. It's very difficult to navigate without zooming in and out all the time to click on links.

9
domreply
lemmy.ca

It could stop you from using the browser altogether and point you to the app.

24

What an unnecessarily user-hostile move. No wonder they’re going to implement it.

12

It blocks you after a certain point and makes you download the app though. Or is that just me? I had to force desktop view to keep seeing content

4

That would be a reasonable assumption to make, with one big caveat: reddit originally had no official app, so third-party apps were our only options. If we suppose that people rarely change their habits until they're forced to (a claim that seems almost self-evident to me), then it would be reasonable to suppose that a lot of users would still be using those same 3rd-party apps they started out with. Especially considering the official app was kind of crappy from its inception.

If third-party app users made up a large percentage of users, it might also partly explain why spez is so hellbent on his crusade.

12

I was under the impression the initial plan just started with top api usage apps, which I didn't think would affect my app yet. Still left immediately and now turns out my app was shut down.

2

Back when I used reddit... weird saying I know, I consumed Reddit on my phone, my ipad, and desktop in various combinations, pretty much constantly. Phone/ipad during work, and additional desktop use after. Desktop using Reddit Enhancement Suite (unusable without really), and Apollo for mobile. Spez made going cold turkey on Reddit stupid easy for this heavy user of over 10 years.

It's like going to your favorite donut shop every day for a decade, where your on good terms with the employees, but the boss is shit but you hardly ever see him so it's ok. Then one day, instead of the usual server, Spez shows up, and hands you your favorite donut with a scoop of shit on top, and says that's how they serve them now. Yeah, I'll go somewhere else, thanks.

59

really makes you wonder how Swartz would feel about all this. what would he think of the fediverse? lemmy vs reddit?

18
sh.itjust.works

Here's hoping. Its probably gonna be bussines as usual with their ridicolous culture wars.

10

It's not entirely like usual. They're still doing that thing where they repost top posts to make it seem alive.

I don't know if it's admins, mods or bots doing it, but there sure isn't a lot of user generated content ob Reddit today.

8

Sure hope they don't do anything to anger a large quantity of regular users rather than improve their native mobile apps and incentivize said users to use their official app rather than just kill the more popular third party ones...

16

Seeing as the vast, vast majority of mobile users are using the official app, it really doesn’t suck that much for them. I wish it wasn’t the case, but it is.

0
lemmy.ca

I honestly don't care what happens to Reddit. I've found something new to occupy my time. If Reddit stays, goes, prospers, flounders, or whatever, couldn't mean less to me. At the end of the day, it's just a fancier bulletin board. Which have existed for 25+ years at this point. Look at Lemmy or other instances of the fediverse for example, it was able to quickly and effectively pick up the people flocking, and the experience is largely the exact same thing. It's a little buggier, but it's early days at this volume. And it doesn't come with any of the bullshit, you don't like your experience for example, you can quickly find another instance and carry on.

16

Sure, now that I can't have a good app I don't care about reddit either, but if the content is on there l'll still find value in it

3
sexy_peachreply
feddit.de

That's fine though, since the mods and frequent posters are likely to be pissed off, so the website will get much worse. It's an opportunity for us.

10
lemmy.ca

I uninstalled boost today, can't wait for Boost for Lemmy. Although Jebora is pretty nice too.

43

Thanks. It's nice. They all have their quirks but connect seems good

4

Jerboa is a hot mess of bugs and I really miss RiF...but it's still a thousand times better than the official Reddit app

10

That makes sense. I'm not sitting in front of my computer all day, but I always have my phone.

Switching my entire mobile usage over to lemmy is easily 90-95% of my social media time.

41
lemm.ee

I just deleted Apollo off my phone, so I guess I'm done with Reddit for the most part.

39
Rhs519reply
lemmy.ca

I haven’t had the heart to delete it yet, but I’m also pretty much done with Reddit.

I checked it out on desktop today. Top 8 hits in 4 of my favorite subs were busted bot reposts. It was a short visit.

25
lemm.ee

I feel that. I just kept hitting it out of habit and it made me sad.

9

I replaced the reddit app with Connect for Lemmy. Instead of opening it accidentally I get the superior Lemmy experience.

3
Corkyskogreply
sh.itjust.works

I mean I think I saw a chart before the change and over 50% of people use the official app. So it's less then I had thought.

9

To be honest, I really doubt they felt the exodus. Most people don't care what Reddit is doing and /r/videos alone had more users than entire Lemmy network. I wish they felt it. I refuse to open Reddit now. They could have had a different, more user friendly approach, but no... quick and easy way to earn money.

5
lemmy.ca

I will not sit at desk to read . Smartphone are just way better for this kind of task . Most people access the internet with a smartphone ,not a PC tower.

31
morrowindreply
discuss.tchncs.de

What about a laptop or tablet? I usually only use my phone when I'm on the go or in a difficult situation.

3

laptops are bulky and phones are super convenient because they're always on and have quick pausing so you can easily pick up and put down. whenever you need to

8
frankyboireply
lemmy.ca

once you have a a phone , why pay 300$ for a tablet ? I was thinking to buy a tablet because I spend an outrageous amount of time reading stuff on the internet . I looked at low-end tablet and the screen quality was terrible . I look at a S7 FE tablet ,700$, way better , but should I spend 700$ for 3 inch bigger screen ? Tablet on the toilet? I don't think so. Tablet in my shower shelves , no. Tablet in my bed,maybe , but just while sitting ... What about listening to podcasts ... My phone do it and fit in my pocket , my bicycle , my car and my jogging fanny bag. So the tablet would be used only while I'm the couch or laying in my bed... but at this point I have a laptop . I have a 42 inch tv connected to my pc tower ,and a laptop that I barely use. Since I'm sitting all day long at my job. I prefer to lay down on my sofa at night ,not sit again behind a monitor on an office chair .

1

Tablet when you lose the ability to focus up close and need your device arm's length away. But there are treatments for list accommodation or glasses, so that's a non problem

1

Mainly for

  • chilling in bed or something, where a laptop is too clumsy
  • digital art/drawing/notes (for me, may not apply to others)

We also have like 10-12" tablets now and I'm a small phone fan, so I could see like a 5.5" phone and 11" tablet working well.

1

Yup. I work at a computer most of the day but there was no way in hell I was going to use my monitored work computer to browse Reddit.

I just wonder how much of a impact to daily engagement that the lack of third party will affect the company now. The blackouts were never going to be effective but combine that with a downward trend of engagement might be enough to fuck the leadership over.

Still, this seems like a nice place to be even if Reddit is forced to pull it's head out of its tech bro ass.

30
donslaughtreply
lemmy.fmhy.ml

I feel like that should be 50% of ALL Reddit users are on a toilet (guilty as charged). So if you have 50% of users on the toilet, and 70% of them on mobile, why that looks like a perfect 5/7 to me.

8

I had forgotten about 5/7. Ah, back in the good ol’ days of Reddit.

3

Lol i read your comment while taking a massive shit

1
aja
lemm.ee

That’s gonna drop. Right?

26
feddit.nl

Probably not by too much, realistically a lot of people are going to switch to the official app

40

I used to use the official app then started using rif just after the blackout and then moved here it seems alot of other people who used the official app are switching too

9
corey389reply
lemmy.world

I'm not going to switch to the official app. If anything thing, I'll use Firefox with UBO.

9

I too am not going to use the official app, however, we’re both on Lemmy.

People using the official app are still on reddit. We’re in a nice little bubble on this issue for sure.

12

That's why Captain Spork is taking all these measures to eliminate the largest 3rd party apps. He wants to force everyone into using the s***** Reddit Mobile app so they can suck all that tasty, valuable user data off your phone. Becoming a millionaire off of the free content and unpaid work of other people wasn't good enough, now he wants your data so he can sell that too.

25
lemmy.world

This is true for most online platforms. I work in Online Education as a SaaS Admin for LMS system hosting and at a conference I went to 4 or 5 years ago the UAE did an in depth presentation on their online academic outreach program. The adoption of education on mobile phones was astounding and the only other platform that mattered metric wise was Window PCs and it was a distant second.

24
Jufureply
lemmy.world

Do you have any links to this research? Sounds super interesting

8

Not anymore but they gave the presentation years ago so it may be posted somewhere. The data was very fascinating but also exactly what someone in my field already knew. I enjoyed seeing an entire countries data set vs my single institution and was pleased to see that my local trends reflected those of a country not even on my continent. I see they have a covid education trend study up also so I am probably going to read some of that info this month since it isn't tainted by my local data biases.

9
vlemmy.net

Not surprised, my personal browsing was almost entirely on mobile devices and 3rd party apps. My work browsing on computer is mainly for IT purposes and not logged in. Some subreddits are far better than the official support communities and they often come up early in google results.

21

To me it feels like search, Google etc, got a lot worse in the last few years but if you add "reddit" to your search you get good hits because reddit is like a thread archive where your specific problem has been discussed.

For that reason I will not be able to get rid of reddit completely and for some niche communities on there.

I hope there will be a critical mass on here soon so that this may even be bigger than reddit.

6
junereply
lemmy.world

I came across my first instance of finding a solution on Reddit that’s been deleted. I support the user for doing it, but it’s also gonna make life a bit hard as that becomes more common.

3

Oh, for sure! Reddit was the only thing making Google searches tolerable. I have a feeling it's only going to get worse before it gets better. Lemmy seems to be growing rapidly though, so with any luck it'll become the go to site for searches.

In the meantime, have you heard of Archive.org? It's a giant archive of things on the internet, it's a phenomenal resource for deleted Reddit posts or comments (I've found that old.reddit links tend to work better because of how comments are loaded). Google's search cache is also handy (especially if no one thought to have the page you need archived, but Google keeps directing you to it). It's a fair bit faster than Archive.org and usually has what you're looking for if google directed you the the page, but it can be hit or miss for older content because it's less of an archive and more the last time the search engine looked at the page. CachedView.Com makes it super easy to check both and has been invaluable the last few weeks.

4

I think you kinda need extensions to really make it work. New reddit was cancer. Old reddit with reddit enhancement suite and imagus (hover to show images) made the experience pretty awesome.

16

Old.reddit.com with Res is the way. But they seem to be breaking it slowly.

I noticed for example that chat stopped working recently. They really want you to use the new layout.

9

not surprising, people have their phones on them much more often than their computers. Personally I browse reddit from my phone 95% of the time, only using desktop for the odd moderating duty.

13

I believe it, when I first started using Reddit in 2008 it was almost entirely through desktop. By a few days ago, I had flipped to almost entirely using mobile. My habits changed a lot in 15 years

11
lemmy.world

well reddit on desktop is completely unusable. even old reddit with RES is garbage. that’s why 3rd party clients were so important.

9

I guess I got comfortable with RES over the years because I rather enjoyed using it on my desktop.

11

I preferred desktop and the old Reddit layout, was really fast to do whatever I wanted.

2
WiseThatreply
lemmy.ca

It's probably damped by how absolutely dogshit the mobile web and official app versions are.

When I use it on my phone I access with old.reddit.com, as desktop and I'm not sure how those are being counted.

8

Same here, I am willing to deal with small phone and occasionally misclick. But not willing to deal with the spams from the new format.

But now it's all in the past, removed all my post and comments yesterday.(keep the account so if post gets restored I can run the delete again.)

2
lemmy.world

Just letting you know that you're posting everything multiple times. I assume it's related to timeouts

5

Thanks. It seems Everything I posted yesterday got duplicated 1 billion times.

2