Making Financial Headlines · Page 7
Reddit Tests a Login Requirement as Search Visitors Become Harder to Find
· New York time
Reddit shares fell after weak sales guidance and news that the company plans to test a login requirement as traffic from Google search shrinks. The company posted third-quarter earnings while considering a different way to bring visitors into its online discussions. A test is not the same as a completed permanent requirement for every visitor. It does, however, show Reddit weighing a more controlled entrance at a time when a source of outside traffic is becoming less reliable. An account requirement could change the experience for people who arrive to read a conversation and would rather not register. It could also give the platform a different relationship with those who do sign up. The immediate concern for investors was weak sales guidance, paired with the challenge of attracting and retaining an audience. Reddit's appeal often lies in finding a useful discussion among strangers, sometimes by following a search result directly to it. The proposed test puts an administrative step between the visitor and that conversation. The internet's enormous discussion table may soon have a sign asking guests to introduce themselves before they can inspect the menu. Whether they stay for the conversation is the question.
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