Alexis Ohanian’s Upcoming Social Media Platform Has Just One Guideline: Avoid Rude Behavior
In 2001, prior to cofounding Reddit, marrying the world’s top tennis player, and becoming a symbol of devoted fatherhood and a serial entrepreneur, Alexis Ohanian delivered a 3-minute, 20-second commencement speech at his high school. “Your impact should not be gauged by media attention or your paycheck figures,” he advised his peers, “but by the influence you have on the world around you.”
Ohanian’s guidance served as a glimpse into his future: The now 42-year-old Reddit cofounder built a social network that once branded itself as “the front page of the internet.” Even after stepping away from Reddit, his entrepreneurial spirit remains unwavering. Over the last twenty years, he has invested in, advised, and mentored a vast array of early-stage startups. He has leveraged his prominence to champion causes like paternity leave, net neutrality, and tech inclusivity.
In March of this year, Ohanian announced his return to the social networking arena. Together with Kevin Rose, a former rival and the founder of Digg, they have reacquired the platform for an official relaunch.
Ohanian was a guest on Uncanny Valley for the podcast’s inaugural Big Interview. Tune in weekly for new episodes featuring one-on-one discussions with various voices from WIRED’s community.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
KATIE DRUMMOND: We kick off these conversations with some rapid-fire questions. Are you up for it?
ALEXIS OHANIAN: Absolutely. I’ve had my coffee.
Great! What’s your busiest text thread?
With my wife and our nannies.
That makes sense. Parenting duo over there. ChatGPT or Claude?
I dabble with both. I’d say I lean towards ChatGPT more, but I feel Claude does a better job with writing and coding. ChatGPT was largely trained on extensive Reddit data, so I guess I should utilize it more.
We’ll touch on that later. Now, I hate to bring this up, but you worked at Pizza Hut in high school.
I did, and there’s nothing I dislike about that.
I worked at Tim Horton’s, so I totally understand. Favorite pizza topping?
Jalapenos.
That’s a bold choice. First video game you bought?
Oh man. With my own cash?
Yes.
It was likely a helicopter action sim called Comanche: Maximum Overkill. I had just gotten my new 486SX computer—so exciting.
Now you’re making me want to revisit that game on YouTube.
My first was probably something like SimTower, and I sometimes crave recreating those condos. New York or San Francisco?
New York. I was born in Fort Greene. No contest.
American football or soccer?
I’ll always be a die-hard American football fan. That was my sport, my passion. While I’ve grown to appreciate soccer, my roots are in the NFL.
Rajat Sharma
https://in.linkedin.com/in/rajat-mediaHelping D2C Brands Scale with AI-Powered Marketing & Automation 🚀 | $15M+ in Client Revenue | Meta Ads Expert | D2C Performance Marketing Consultant