[ignostic]

"Advertising" isn't that big of a secret. It seems like the default monetization strategy. If that is the strategy, it's all just in the tactics and targeting.

Ads aren't the most innovative way to make money, but it's not easy, either. Reddit, for example, still hasn't remotely figured it out despite huge potential and an enormous user base. FB and Twitter are getting there, but it's not been an easy road and investors are still expecting more.

[NoodleIncident]

Everyone on Reddit uses adblock. Besides, any major change to the Reddit advertising model would have a chance of making everyone leave, like when everyone on Digg left for Reddit.

Reddit Gold and similar features are working much better at monetization than ads ever did. They're getting closer to breaking even these days, according to their blog.