The difference, though, is Reddit has no peers. The closest I'm aware of is Voat, which is basically the Isle of Misfit Toys for Reddit's banned hate speech subs.
Eh, I didnt really need a "peer" to replace reddit. After the redesign I just stopped going for the most part; I'm here or on google news if I'm just killing time. I'll still search reddit if I want to see a discussion about a specific subject, but even then I'm mostly looking at 1-2 year old threads. I feel like the content is in a feedback loop with the redesign, and they're both killing the host.
Not sure your age, but I think a lot of us are just growing up, and we're seeking more stable, intelligent news sources. I stopped using Reddit a couple years prior to the redesign. HN and Google News satisfy my news niche as well.
Out of curiosity, why Google News specifically? I stopped going on Reddit and mostly come here or glance at Twitter for social media. If I want news I normally go to a specific outlet's website.
Going to specific news sites always ends up with that feeling of being "captured" and hearing my own opinions repeated back to me. I'd rather read a handful of Fox News articles a month and consider if they have any valid points than just dismiss them entirely.
Spinning up another Reddit clone, with some nice new features is trivial at this point. You provide a reason for someone to spend time filling a void, and they will.
Very tricky. Reddit is an awesome website not because of any technical reasons. There are both HUGE and very niche communities in reddit. It's really hard to get them. This is not a CS problem, this is a sociology problem.