Have you ever wondered about the people behind the websites we use every day? Today, we’re going to talk about Steve Huffman, one of the guys who created Reddit. You might not know his name, but if you’ve ever spent time on Reddit, you’ve experienced his work.
Let’s dive into his story and see how a computer-loving kid became the boss of one of the biggest websites in the world.
Growing Up Geeky
Steve Huffman was born on November 12, 1983, in a place called Warrenton, Virginia. Now, most kids are playing with toys at 8 years old, but not Steve. He was already learning how to program computers! Can you imagine? While other kids were watching cartoons, little Steve was typing away on a keyboard, figuring out how to make computers do cool things.
He went to a school called Wakefield School in Virginia and graduated in 2001. Then he headed off to college at the University of Virginia. That’s where things got really interesting for Steve.
College Days and a Big Idea
At college, Steve studied computer science, which is basically learning how to make computers do all sorts of amazing things. But the most important thing that happened to Steve at college wasn’t in a classroom. It was meeting his roommate, Alexis Ohanian.
Steve and Alexis became good friends. They both loved computers and had big dreams about creating something cool on the internet. Little did they know, their friendship would lead to something huge.
A Road Trip That Changed Everything
One day, Steve and Alexis decided to take a road trip to Boston. They wanted to hear a talk by a famous programmer named Paul Graham. After the talk, they got to chat with Paul, and he invited them to apply to his startup school called Y Combinator.
At first, Steve had an idea for an app that would let people order food by text message. But Paul wasn’t too excited about that. Instead, he asked Steve and Alexis to come up with a new idea. And boy, did they come up with a good one!
The Birth of Reddit
In a brainstorming session with Paul Graham, Steve and Alexis came up with the idea for Reddit. Paul called it the “front page of the Internet.” It was going to be a place where people could share and talk about anything and everything.
Steve got to work right away. He used a programming language called Lisp to build the entire website by himself. That’s pretty impressive! In June 2005, Steve and Alexis launched Reddit to the world.
Reddit Takes Off
Something amazing happened after Reddit launched. People loved it! The website started growing really fast. By August 2005, just a couple of months after it started, Steve noticed that he didn’t need to add content to the front page anymore. Users were doing it all by themselves!
This was huge. It meant that Reddit was becoming exactly what Steve and Alexis had hoped for – a place where people came together to share and discuss all sorts of interesting stuff.
A Big Decision
In October 2006, when Steve was just 23 years old, something big happened. A company called Condé Nast offered to buy Reddit. Steve and Alexis had to make a tough choice. In the end, they decided to sell Reddit for somewhere between $10 million and $20 million. That’s a lot of money, especially for someone so young!
Steve stayed with Reddit for a few more years, working as the CEO. But in 2009, he decided it was time for a change and left the company.
New Adventures
After leaving Reddit, Steve didn’t just sit around. He spent some time in Costa Rica (sounds nice, right?), and then he got an idea for a new project. Along with a friend named Adam Goldstein, Steve created a website called Hipmunk. It was designed to help people find good deals on travel.
Hipmunk launched in August 2010, and Steve was the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). This means he was in charge of all the technical stuff that made the website work. People were impressed with Steve’s work, and in 2011, he was named on Inc. magazine’s “30 Under 30” list. That’s a big deal!
The Return to Reddit
Now, here’s where the story gets really interesting. In 2014, Steve admitted something surprising. He said that selling Reddit had been a mistake. The website had grown way more than he ever expected.
Then, in July 2015, Reddit needed help. The CEO at the time, Ellen Pao, had resigned, and the company was going through some tough times. Guess who they called? That’s right – Steve Huffman.
Steve came back to Reddit as the CEO, ready to tackle some big challenges. He had three main goals:
- Make Reddit apps for iPhones and Android phones
- Fix Reddit’s mobile website
- Create better ways to test new features
Making Reddit Better
When Steve came back to Reddit, he didn’t just sit in the big chair and relax. He got to work making Reddit better for everyone. Here are some of the things he did:
- He made the mobile experience better, so people could use Reddit easily on their phones.
- He improved the behind-the-scenes stuff that keeps Reddit running smoothly.
- He created new rules about what kind of content is allowed on Reddit. This included banning stuff that encourages violence and hiding some content that people might find offensive.
- He removed some groups on Reddit that were just there to cause trouble for everyone else.
Steve explained that he wanted Reddit to be a place where people could have open and honest discussions, not just a free-for-all where anything goes.
The Big IPO
In March 2024, something really exciting happened for Reddit and Steve. The company had its Initial Public Offering (IPO). This means that for the first time, regular people could buy shares of Reddit on the stock market.
This was a huge deal. Everyone was talking about Reddit’s IPO, and it didn’t disappoint. On March 20, Reddit’s shares were priced at $34 each, which was at the top end of what they expected. This showed that a lot of people believed in Reddit and thought it was valuable.
Making Reddit More Advertiser-Friendly
One of the big things Steve worked on was making Reddit more attractive to advertisers. This is important because advertising is how Reddit makes money to keep the site running.
He also led efforts to make it possible for people to host videos and images directly on Reddit. This made the site more fun and engaging for users.
The Big Redesign
In early 2017, Steve started working on something big – a complete redesign of Reddit’s website. This was a huge deal because Reddit had looked pretty much the same for over a decade.
Steve said that the old design looked like a “Dystopian Craigslist” (that’s a fancy way of saying it looked outdated and a bit weird). He worried that this old-fashioned look was scaring away new users.
The redesign took more than a year to complete. It was a lot of work, but in April 2018, the new-look Reddit was launched. This fresh design made Reddit easier to use and more appealing to new users.
Fighting for Net Neutrality
Steve isn’t just about making Reddit successful. He also cares about important issues that affect the internet. One of these issues is called “net neutrality.”
Net neutrality is the idea that all internet traffic should be treated equally. Steve believes this is really important. He told The New York Times that without net neutrality, internet service providers could choose winners and losers online.
Steve encouraged Reddit users to speak up about net neutrality. He asked them to contact their representatives in Washington, D.C., to show support for keeping the internet open and fair for everyone.
Steve Outside of Work
So, what’s Steve like when he’s not working on Reddit? Well, he lives in San Francisco, California. He likes to help other people learn about programming. He mentors aspiring programmers at coding boot camps and has even taught online courses about web development.
But here’s something you might not expect – Steve is a ballroom dancer! That’s right, when he was in college, he used to compete in dance competitions. It just goes to show that even tech geniuses need some time to cut loose and have fun!
Some Bumps in the Road
Of course, not everything has been smooth sailing for Steve and Reddit. There have been some controversies along the way.
In 2016, Steve got into trouble for changing some posts on a Reddit group for Donald Trump supporters. People were really upset about this, and Steve had to apologize and undo the changes.
More recently, when Reddit filed for its IPO, it came out that Steve had received a total compensation of $193 million in 2023. Some Reddit users thought this was way too much money. Steve had to explain that his pay was a mix of salary and stock, and it was tied to how well he did as CEO.
Steve’s Thoughts on Other Apps
Steve isn’t afraid to share his opinions about other apps and websites. For example, he’s been pretty critical of TikTok. He called it “fundamentally parasitic” and said he worries about the kind of data it collects from users.
Wrapping It Up
So there you have it – the story of Steve Huffman and Reddit. From a kid who loved computers to the CEO of one of the biggest websites in the world, Steve’s journey has been pretty amazing.
He’s faced challenges, made tough decisions, and sometimes made mistakes. But through it all, he’s stayed committed to making Reddit a place where people can come together to share ideas and have interesting conversations.