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Richmond Times Dispatch (Virginia)
January 26, 2014 Sunday
Reddit founder tells his story
U.Va. graduate mixes autobiography with challenges for today
by SANDE SNEAD; Special correspondent
The chance to meet Alexis Ohanian at an INFORUM event at The
Commonwealth Club in San Francisco allowed me to read his book,
"Without Their Permission: How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not
Managed," with an insider's respect and appreciation for his charming
sense of humor.
If you are a speed reader and just want the short version, read the
creative and hilarious footnotes crafted by this University of
Virginia graduate who founded Reddit.com. He is at once brilliant and
self-deprecating throughout this memoir of his 30-year-old geeky life.
And I mean that with all the respect of a person whose chief IT trick
is unplugging and plugging back in the modem when it doesn't work.
"Without Their Permission" is an autobiography mixed with a good dose
of challenges to today's even-younger generation. He posits that the
Internet is the ticket to achieving the modern-day American dream.
It certainly was for Ohanian and college suitemate Steve Huffman.
Their first idea was to launch My Mobile Menu, an app that would allow
you to order what you wanted online before arriving at the restaurant
-- a great concept, but one that was offered up before the
proliferation of mobile phones and just a decade ahead of its time.
However, the duo changed gears and started Reddit right out of college
after receiving sage advice from Y Combinator founder and venture
capitalist Paul Graham, based on their own Internet habits. "That's
it!" Graham said after meeting with them one-on-one. "You should build
the front page of the web."
Just a year after launch, Ohanian sold Reddit to Conde Nast
Publications in 2006 and started two other web companies -- Breadpig
and Hipmunk -- before helping to defeat a bill that would have led to
a significantly less-open Internet.
Born to an Armenian-American father and a German mother, Ohanian comes
from humble beginnings. He says resourcefulness counts more than
resources, and he even discounts his college education. He says it
doesn't matter where you go to school (apparently forgetting that he
probably wouldn't be where he is today were it not for the fortuitous
meeting with U.Va. suitemate Steve Huffman).
Where this book lost me is with the artwork. As I said in the
beginning, Ohanian is charming. What I didn't say is that he is also
childlike -- which isn't a complaint but could create problems for
readers. You will meet Mister Splashy Pants and Breadpig and the
Reddit alien doodle.
"When Steve and I were settling on name for Reddit, we searched for
the word read within expired domain listings and found Breadpig.com,"
Ohanian writes in his inspired footnotes. "Floored by the absurdity of
the name, we bought it immediately. Steve envisioned a breadpig as a
pig with bread wings, and the rest is history."
Later, the book introduces Lester Chambers of the 1960s soul group The
Chambers Brothers. Ohanian spots a photo that was uploaded by Lester's
son, Dylan, on Facebook. He shares the indignation that Chambers did
not receive a penny of royalties after making records and performing
from 1967 to 1994. Ohanian got an idea from University of Southern
California professor Jonathan Taplin, who suggested that Chambers and
others like him use "the virtual begging bowl, Kickstarter."
And this is where the title of the book comes in: Ohanian teamed with
Chambers to produce an album that they didn't need anyone's permission
to make.
This is a theme that runs throughout the book and one that Ohanian
adopts as his own personal mantra: "Making the World Suck Less." That,
he has achieved -- both with his entrepreneurial endeavors and with
this entertaining book.
Sande Snead is a Richmond-based writer and president of SS
Communications, her marketing and public-relations firm.
WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION: HOW THE 21st CENTURY WILL BE MADE, NOT
MANAGED Alexis Ohanian 245 pages, Business Plus, $27
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
January 26, 2014 Sunday
Reddit founder tells his story
U.Va. graduate mixes autobiography with challenges for today
by SANDE SNEAD; Special correspondent
The chance to meet Alexis Ohanian at an INFORUM event at The
Commonwealth Club in San Francisco allowed me to read his book,
"Without Their Permission: How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not
Managed," with an insider's respect and appreciation for his charming
sense of humor.
If you are a speed reader and just want the short version, read the
creative and hilarious footnotes crafted by this University of
Virginia graduate who founded Reddit.com. He is at once brilliant and
self-deprecating throughout this memoir of his 30-year-old geeky life.
And I mean that with all the respect of a person whose chief IT trick
is unplugging and plugging back in the modem when it doesn't work.
"Without Their Permission" is an autobiography mixed with a good dose
of challenges to today's even-younger generation. He posits that the
Internet is the ticket to achieving the modern-day American dream.
It certainly was for Ohanian and college suitemate Steve Huffman.
Their first idea was to launch My Mobile Menu, an app that would allow
you to order what you wanted online before arriving at the restaurant
-- a great concept, but one that was offered up before the
proliferation of mobile phones and just a decade ahead of its time.
However, the duo changed gears and started Reddit right out of college
after receiving sage advice from Y Combinator founder and venture
capitalist Paul Graham, based on their own Internet habits. "That's
it!" Graham said after meeting with them one-on-one. "You should build
the front page of the web."
Just a year after launch, Ohanian sold Reddit to Conde Nast
Publications in 2006 and started two other web companies -- Breadpig
and Hipmunk -- before helping to defeat a bill that would have led to
a significantly less-open Internet.
Born to an Armenian-American father and a German mother, Ohanian comes
from humble beginnings. He says resourcefulness counts more than
resources, and he even discounts his college education. He says it
doesn't matter where you go to school (apparently forgetting that he
probably wouldn't be where he is today were it not for the fortuitous
meeting with U.Va. suitemate Steve Huffman).
Where this book lost me is with the artwork. As I said in the
beginning, Ohanian is charming. What I didn't say is that he is also
childlike -- which isn't a complaint but could create problems for
readers. You will meet Mister Splashy Pants and Breadpig and the
Reddit alien doodle.
"When Steve and I were settling on name for Reddit, we searched for
the word read within expired domain listings and found Breadpig.com,"
Ohanian writes in his inspired footnotes. "Floored by the absurdity of
the name, we bought it immediately. Steve envisioned a breadpig as a
pig with bread wings, and the rest is history."
Later, the book introduces Lester Chambers of the 1960s soul group The
Chambers Brothers. Ohanian spots a photo that was uploaded by Lester's
son, Dylan, on Facebook. He shares the indignation that Chambers did
not receive a penny of royalties after making records and performing
from 1967 to 1994. Ohanian got an idea from University of Southern
California professor Jonathan Taplin, who suggested that Chambers and
others like him use "the virtual begging bowl, Kickstarter."
And this is where the title of the book comes in: Ohanian teamed with
Chambers to produce an album that they didn't need anyone's permission
to make.
This is a theme that runs throughout the book and one that Ohanian
adopts as his own personal mantra: "Making the World Suck Less." That,
he has achieved -- both with his entrepreneurial endeavors and with
this entertaining book.
Sande Snead is a Richmond-based writer and president of SS
Communications, her marketing and public-relations firm.
WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION: HOW THE 21st CENTURY WILL BE MADE, NOT
MANAGED Alexis Ohanian 245 pages, Business Plus, $27
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress