[CodeWriter23]

Condé Nast is where awesome goes to die.

[egberts1]

Even Ars Technica is getting stale.

[CodeWriter23]

They still have a couple of decent writers. But CN’s business model is buy publications with lots of eyeballs and increase the revenue per eyeball while decreasing the total number of eyeballs per publication but firm-wide across all properties eyeballs are on an upward trajectory. It’ll last as long as it does then there will be nothing but crap. Like SciFi turning into the wrestling channel at scale.

[itsoktocry]

>But CN’s business model is buy publications with lots of eyeballs and increase the revenue per eyeball while decreasing the total number of eyeballs per publication but firm-wide across all properties eyeballs are on an upward trajectory

According to Wikipedia, their last acquisition was Pitchfork in 2015. That's almost 10 years ago. Prior to that, the last popular property appears to be Ars in 2008 and reddit, in 2006. They don't actually seem to be buying many properties...

[CodeWriter23]

> It’ll last as long as it does then there will be nothing but crap.

Perhaps that is closer than we think

[Red_Leaves_Flyy]

Syfy makes it airs the occasionally great original content. Everything else, is and has been, junk filler on repeat for over two decades.

[Scoundreller]

Hrm, acquired in 2008. I thought it was earlier. For an alleged $25m per crunchvase, if they are to be trusted (probably not).

[CodeWriter23]

Probably correct. The top contributors were some internet.nerds that were top notch on the tech side and rose on merit and the trust they built with their audience. Splitting $25m among the 5-7 of them probably seemed like winning the lottery.

[fruffy]

They seem to be doing okay with the New Yorker, although I do not know how the magazine was viewed before their acquisition.

[ubermonkey]

Every year they don't ruin the New Yorker, I breathe a sigh of relief.

Granted, Si Newhouse bought it in 1985 - the only time the magazine's ownership changed! - and so maybe it enjoys a sort of grandfathered status at Conde Nast even with Newhouse dead?

I mean, I say that, but they recently ruined the previously-excellent iPad app, which has resulted in me going back to paper issues, but if that's the extent of the tomfoolery I'll take it.

[doctorpangloss]

I’m not so sure. I wouldn’t blame Condé Nast for this. But I’m sick of the New Yorker writers basically making shit up and pretending it’s true. Ragebaiting autofiction, but within the boundaries of acceptable Ivy League New York 23 year old discourse. Is that not ruined?

[ubermonkey]

Uh, citation needed.

[resolutebat]

Much to my surprise, they have managed to avoid killing Reddit so far. (Well, technically Reddit is owned by Conde's parent Advance, not Conde itself.)

[edgyquant]

They have tried really hard, have made it a completely different site than what they bought and driven out the original base.

[sph]

You haven't been looking hard enough if you believe Reddit is still the same it was pre-API bullshit.

Fake comments, more pliable moderators, dead subreddits are everywhere now.

[resolutebat]

I don't like the changes any more than you do, but as far as I can tell the API boycotts have had zero impact on the subreddits I follow.

[lobsterthief]

They’re working on it.

[StevenXC]

Are people still on Reddit since last summer?

[lobsterthief]

Yes, a lot of people, but anecdotally I know a lot of “long-time Redditors” who stopped using Reddit after the API fiasco. I, for one, never returned and only use HN now.

[StevenXC]

Same story here. It's a shame.