Reddit moved to acquire Alien Blue, the iOS app which is built to browse and search through the site. Over the last several months, rumors have swirled about the potential purchase that many said was only a matter of time.
Prior, Reddit simply did not have a flagship application in the App Store that was a legitimate contender to truly optimize its social news platform. However, the company now has that in Alien Blue. Reddit is regularly called “the front page of the internet” and as of late has gained extra traffic as well as criticism, being home to the iCloud celebrity photo leaks, Dropbox account leaks, and many more – similarly geared attacks against the internet.
However, Reddit has a strong following on the internet. The site enjoys strong traffic numbers, and usages, and this will further solidify them in the arena of social sharing for major news events, under-the-radar news events, and much more. Reddit currently runs the Reddit AMA app, but many have criticized the function of the app, and this move – along with the hiring of Alien Blue’s sole developer Jase Morrissey – will definitely stand to improve the overall experience that the site is trying to put forth.
Right now though, Reddit seems steadfast in their desire to not change the brand of Alien Blue, or to even change the name of the app. A slight icon change in an effort to create some uniformity between all of their applications – but nothing major – and that’s a surprise to some close to the situation.
After going through what is for Reddit, a potentially major acquisition that could seriously improve their chances to play in the bigger market of competition with other social news platforms – this seems like a curious move in that, it could leave a lot of opportunity on the table.
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However, the focus on “user experience,” and Ellen Pao’s statement regarding the acquisition was clear in that the company had no intentions of making wholesale changes to something that, in their opinion, worked excellently as it stood. “Our whole philosophy has been to give our users choice,” the Head of Strategic Parternships, Ellen Pao said in a statement following the acquisition.
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Moving forward Reddit users will have to just wait and see about how this will impact the bottom line of the performance, and usage of Reddit as a whole. Reddit has also simplified the price scheme of the app as well. The basic version, or non-pro version of the app will cost nothing, and the upgrade to a pro version will cost $2 in the App Store. For the next week though, the company is making the upgrade free, to anyone who is looking to take advantage, as the company streamlines everything they have going on right now.
