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Steve Huffman

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Not to be confused with Steve Hoffman.
This article is about the American entrepreneur. For other uses, see Steve Huffman (disambiguation).
Steve Huffman
Huffman at Web Summit 2017
Born (1983-11-12) November 12, 1983 (age 41)
Other namesspez[1]
EducationComputer Science
Alma materUniversity of Virginia
Occupations
  • Co-founder and CEO of Reddit
  • Co-founder of Hipmunk
EmployerReddit

Steve Huffman (born November 12, 1983), also known by his Reddit username spez (/spɛz/), is an American web developer and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of Reddit, a social news and discussion website, which ranks in the top 20 websites in the world.[2] He also co-founded the airfare search-engine website Hipmunk.

Early life and education

Steve Huffman grew up in Warrenton, Virginia.[3] At age 8, he began programming computers.[3] He graduated in 2001 from Wakefield School in The Plains, Virginia.[4] At the University of Virginia (UVA), he studied computer science, graduating in 2005.[3][5]

Career

During spring break of his senior year at UVA, Huffman and college roommate Alexis Ohanian[1] drove to Boston, Massachusetts, to attend a lecture[6] delivered by programmer-entrepreneur Paul Graham.[1][7] Huffman and Ohanian talked with Graham after the lecture and he invited them to apply to his startup incubator Y Combinator.[1] Huffman came up with their original idea, My Mobile Menu,[7] which was intended to allow users to order food by SMS.[1][7] The idea was rejected, but Graham asked Huffman and Ohanian to meet him in Boston to pitch another idea for a start-up; it was at this brainstorming session that the idea for what Graham called the "front page of the Internet" was created.[1] Huffman and Ohanian were accepted in Y Combinator's first class.[1][7] Huffman coded the entire site in Lisp.[8][9] He and Ohanian launched Reddit in June 2005, funded by Y Combinator.[5][10]

The site's audience grew rapidly in its first few months, and by August 2005, Huffman noticed their habitual user-base had grown so large that he no longer needed to fill the front page with content himself.[8][11][12] At 23, Huffman and Ohanian sold Reddit to Condé Nast on October 31, 2006, for a reported $10 million to $20 million.[1][13] Huffman remained with Reddit until 2009, when he left his role as acting CEO.[14]

Huffman spent several months backpacking in Costa Rica[15] before co-creating the travel website Hipmunk with Adam Goldstein, an author and software developer, in 2010. Funded by Y Combinator,[16][17] Hipmunk launched in August 2010[18] with Huffman serving as CTO.[19] In 2011, Inc. named Huffman to its 30 under 30 list.[19]

In 2014, Huffman said that his decision to sell Reddit had been a mistake, and that the site's growth had exceeded his expectations.[20] On July 10, 2015, Reddit hired Huffman as CEO following the resignation of Ellen Pao[21] and during a particularly difficult time for the company.[22] Upon rejoining the company, Huffman's top goals included launching Reddit's iOS and Android apps, fixing Reddit's mobile website, and creating A/B testing infrastructure.[1]

Since returning to Reddit, Huffman instituted a number of technological improvements[22] including a better mobile experience and stronger infrastructure, as well as new content guidelines. These included a ban on content that incites violence, quarantining some material users might find offensive, and removing communities "that exist solely to ... make Reddit worse for everyone else".[1][22] Shortly after returning, Huffman wrote that "neither Alexis nor I created reddit to be a bastion of free speech, but rather as a place where open and honest discussion can happen."[23] In a 2012 interview, Ohanian had used the same phrase to describe Reddit, as noted by The New Yorker and The Verge.[15][24]

Huffman also worked to make the site more advertiser-friendly[1][22] and led efforts to host video and images on site.[25] In late 2016, Huffman was the focus of controversy for altering posts on a subreddit popular with supporters of Donald Trump, /r/The Donald. Following criticism from Reddit users, he undid the change and issued an apology.[26] Beginning in 2017, Huffman led the redesign of Reddit's website with its first major visual update in a decade.[27][28] Huffman said the site had looked like a "dystopian Craigslist" whose outdated look deterred new users.[27] Development of the new site took more than a year, and the redesign launched in April 2018.[27]

In 2020, Fortune magazine included him in their '40 Under 40' listing in the technology category.[29]

Controversies and criticism

On June 1, 2020, Huffman published an open letter as Reddit's CEO, titled "Remember to be Human - Black lives matter",[30] which addressed the topic of rampant racism on the platform.

Reddit and its leadership had constantly been accused of hosting and condoning racism, being even defined by the Southern Poverty Law Center as home to "the most violently racist" content on the internet.[31]

Former Reddit's CEO Ellen Pao, who had been herself victims of severe racist harassment by users of the platform, called out Huffman's letter with a tweet on her official Twitter profile, pointing out at its hypocrisy, saying that Reddit had long condoned racism and that the platform "monetizes white supremacy".[32]

Popular subreddits such as NBA and NFL agreed with Pao, and obscured their sections for 24 hours as a sign of protest with /u/spez (Steve Huffman's account), and stating that "Reddit has harbored racist policies for years".

Most of his critics consider Huffman responsible for the rampant hatred and racism hosted on Reddit.[33]

Net neutrality activism

Huffman is an advocate for net neutrality rules.[34][35] In 2017, Huffman told The New York Times that without net neutrality protections, "you give internet service providers the ability to choose winners and losers".[34] On Reddit, Huffman urged redditors to express support for net neutrality and contact their elected representatives in Washington, D.C.[35] Huffman said that the repeal of net neutrality rules stifles competition. He said he and Reddit would continue to advocate for net neutrality.[36]

Personal life

Huffman lives in San Francisco, California.[37] He mentors aspiring programmers at coding bootcamps including Hackbright Academy.[38] Huffman was an instructor for e-learning courses on web development by Udacity.[39][40][41] He is on the board of advisors for the Anti-Defamation League's Center for Technology and Society.[42]

Huffman is a ballroom dancer.[37][9] At the UVA, Huffman competed in intercollegiate competitions.[37][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Hempel, Jessi (6 October 2015). "Inside Reddit's plan to recover from its epic meltdown". Wired. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  2. ^ "The top 500 sites on the web". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Jaffee, Michelle Koidin (Fall 2014). "The Voice of His Generation". Virginia. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  4. ^ "The Odyssey of an Alum". Wakefield School. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  5. ^ a b Zak Richards. "Unleashing High-Profile, High-Profit Websites".
  6. ^ Williams, Michelle (August 2015). "'This internet thing is not a fad': Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian to discuss online entrepreneurship at UMass Amherst". Mass Live. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d Fink, Steve (August 2015). "Mr. Meme". Baltimore. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Live Episode! Reddit: Alexis Ohanian & Steve Huffman". How I Built This With Guy Raz. 31 August 2017. NPR.
  9. ^ a b c Wallace, Benjamin (6 October 2015). "Can Steve Huffman Save Reddit From Itself?". New York Magazine. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  10. ^ Macale, Sherilynn "Cheri". "A rundown of Reddit's history and community [Infographic]". The Next Web Social Media. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  11. ^ Derek Mead (21 June 2012). "How Reddit Got Huge: Tons of Fake Accounts". Motherboard. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  12. ^ Casey Johnston (21 June 2012). "reddit founders made hundreds of fake profiles so site looked popular". Ars Technica. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  13. ^ "Condé Nast/Wired Acquires Reddit". 2006-10-31.
  14. ^ Koh, Yoree (13 September 2016). "Reddit's 'Ask Me Anything' CEO opens up on overcoming crisis". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  15. ^ a b Marantz, Andrew (19 March 2018). "Reddit and the Struggle to Detoxify the Internet". The New Yorker. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  16. ^ "About Hipmunk". Hipmunk. 2010-08-01.
  17. ^ Leena Rao (2010-08-01). "Reddit Co-Founder Dips Back Into Y Combinator With Travel Startup Hipmunk".
  18. ^ Pepitone, Julianne (19 August 2010). "Hipmunk's dazzling new view of flight search". CNNMoney. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  19. ^ a b "Adam Goldstein and Steve Huffman, Founders of Hipmunk". Inc.com. 2011-06-27.
  20. ^ Matthew Hall (10 Dec 2014). "'Atrocious, mobile sucks': Reddit co-founder Steve Huffman on what site has become". The Age.
  21. ^ Issac, Mike (July 10, 2015). "Ellen Pao Is Stepping Down as Reddit's Chief". New York Times. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  22. ^ a b c d Lagorio-Chafkin, Christine (9 March 2018). "Steve Huffman Talks About Bringing Reddit Back From the Brink". Inc. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  23. ^ "New CEO: Some People on Reddit 'Shouldn't Be Here at All'". Re/Code. 14 Jul 2015.
  24. ^ Adi Robertson (15 July 2015). "Was Reddit always about free speech? Yes, and no". The Verge. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  25. ^ Shaw, Dougal (2 June 2016). "Reddit plans to host videos on its site". BBC News. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  26. ^ Roisin Kiberd (5 December 2016). "'Spezgiving': How Reddit's CEO Tried And Failed to Troll the Trolls". Motherboard. Vice. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  27. ^ a b c Pardes, Arielle (2 April 2018). "The inside story of Reddit's redesign". Wired. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  28. ^ Loten, Angus (10 April 2018). "Reddit CEO revamped outdated website from the IT foundations". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  29. ^ "Steve Huffman | 2020 40 under 40 in Tech". Fortune. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  30. ^ Huffman, Steve (June 1, 2020). "Remember the Human – Black Lives Matter". Upvoted.
  31. ^ Hankes, Keegan (March 10, 2015). "Black Hole". Southern Poverty Law Center.
  32. ^ Collins, Katie (June 2, 2020). "Reddit slammed by former CEO Ellen Pao for 'amplifying' racism and hate". CNET.
  33. ^ Newcomer, Eric (June 21, 2020). "Racism is rampant on Reddit, and its editors are in open revolt". Fortune. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  34. ^ a b Kang, Cecilia (14 December 2017). "F.C.C. repeals net neutrality rules". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  35. ^ a b Ingram, Mathew (6 December 2017). "Reddit flexes its muscle over net neutrality". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  36. ^ "Reddit CEO says net neutrality vote stifles competition". Bloomberg LP. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  37. ^ a b c Osnos, Evan (30 January 2017). "Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich". The New Yorker. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  38. ^ Truong, Alice (17 December 2013). ""Become an iOS developer in 8 weeks": The truth about hack schools". Fast Company. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  39. ^ "Udacity CS253 Web Application Engineering". 2012-04-01.
  40. ^ Sue Gee (11 November 2015). "Top CS MOOCs by the numbers". I Programmer. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  41. ^ O'Neill, Megan (19 June 2012). "Reddit co-founder Steve Huffman sheds light on the early days". Adweek. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  42. ^ Carson, Erin (13 November 2017). "Anti-Defamation League taps tech giants to fight hate". CNet. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
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