💰 Reddit’s secret gold mine

PLUS: Why scooters are a pain in the @ss November 23, 2021 [The Hustle]( On Nov. 15, JPMorgan filed a $162m lawsuit against Tesla, accusing it of stiffing the bank on contractual obligations from a 2014 deal. In response to a request for comment, Musk told the Wall Street Journal, “If JPM doesn’t withdraw their lawsuit, I will give them a one-star review on Yelp.” Today’s rundown: - Reddit’s hidden gem: Why the company should look beyond advertising. - Pumpkinomics: A deep dive into the economics of pumpkins. - Scooters: Why they’re a pain in the you-know-what for cities. Let’s do it. The Big Idea [Reddit logo gif]( Reddit wants to be an advertising platform. What if it has better options? In September, Reddit [announced]( it was looking for advisers to help prep for a $15B IPO (and no doubt create the hottest new meme stock). As part of its IPO preparation, Reddit has honed its advertising business, which makes up the bulk of its revenue. But unlike other social media platforms, Reddit has better options for monetization. Reddit’s biggest asset is its ability to foster community In a recent [post]( from the Every newsletter bundle, Rohit Kaul broke down why advertising is a bad fit for Reddit. Here’s the rub: - Advertisers look for 2 things: - Awareness at the beginning of the buyer’s journey - Conversion at the end of the buyer’s journey - For awareness, Facebook and Twitter offer better reach than Reddit - For conversion, Google and Amazon are already firmly established in the consideration stage of the buyer’s journey Reddit’s biggest asset is its ability to foster deep engagement within its communities. Rohit has a simple suggestion to tap into this asset: Build products that enable its communities and creators. First, communities... … Reddit has 500+ subreddits with over 1m followers but few ways for those communities to make the experience unique. Some products that Reddit could introduce to drive monetization within its communities are live events, in-app marketplaces, and premium content. To enable creators… ... Reddit could do 2 things: - Offer customization options on profile pages so creators can showcase their best posts - Add a dedicated creators’ section to the homepage to help creators grow their audience Not all is bad on the advertising front Reddit is on track to [double]( its advertising revenue this year to $350m. While that’s impressive growth, it still pales in comparison to other social platforms (e.g., Pinterest did $1.1B through the 1st half of 2021). Another concern? If it becomes too saturated with ads, Reddit may ruin some of the magic of the platform. That gives all the more reason to build a better product for its communities and users, who may reward them by pumping the stock to the moon. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Reddit+wants+to+be+an+advertising+platform.+What+if+it+has+better+options%3F%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F11232021-reddit%3Futm_campaign%3DReddit%2Badvertising%26utm_content%3D11232021-reddit%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( SNIPPETS Adele’s wish: Spotify [removed]( the shuffle button from all album pages after Adele argued that tracks should play in the order the artist intended. PB&J unicorn: J.M. Smucker [announced]( plans to build a $1.1B plant to produce Uncrustables, its kid-friendly sandwiches that did $365m in sales in 2020. Power purchase: Ericsson, Sweden’s telecom powerhouse, [announced]( plans to acquire Vonage, the cloud communications provider, for $6.2B. New IPO: Samsara, which provides fleet management software, [filed]( for an IPO. The company was last valued at $5.4B in 2020. --------------------------------------------------------------- Hey — enjoy getting quick updates on what you care about? Take [20 seconds]( to personalize your Snippets. Pick your preferences👇 and we’ll send you more of what you love. Boom. [Personalize my Email →]( It’s Pie Time [pumpkin patch infographic]( When you’re not busy scarfing down pumpkin pie on Thursday, you’re gonna need some small-talk material to survive sitting next to Uncle Steve. Thankfully, in time for Thanksgiving, we dove deep into the economics of pumpkins. Here are some findings you can use for chitchat: - In 2020, the US produced ~1.4B pounds of pumpkins. - A Washington farmer recently won $19.7k for his 2,191-pound pumpkin behemoth. - The seeds from giant pumpkins can fetch $3-$5 each, and with 2k-5k seeds inside, giant pumpkins can yield $6k-$26k in profit. So, what are the economics of these orange orbs? How much is a pumpkin really worth? And how do pumpkin patches — a largely seasonal enterprise — make money year-round? To find out, we talked to pumpkin farmers, experts, and patch owners around the country. [Read the full story →]( Scooter Stuff [Scooters]( Cities are still struggling to manage scooters (and the people who ride them) Last week, Miami’s city commission voted to end its pilot scooter program, which kicked off in 2018, citing safety concerns. The city told operators to pick their scooters up or it would impound them, [per]( Mass Transit. While the city may allow scooters to return at a later date… Miami isn’t alone in scooter controversy For scooter advocates, they’re an affordable, convenient last-mile solution. But cities have been reluctant to embrace them, largely because: - People abandon them in walkways, which blocks access. - People ride them on sidewalks, endangering pedestrians. - They can be dangerous for riders, too. In 2019, numerous cities and countries around the world [banned or restricted]( scooters after riders were killed in collisions with vehicles. Also, people really like to [destroy]( scooters for some reason, which is its own problem. So, what’s the solution? Roger Woodman, a professor at the University of Warwick who researches shared micromobility, [told]( Automotive World that cities need bike/scooter lanes separate from pedestrian areas. Lime is [working]( on a program with San Jose, California, to detect sidewalk riding and inform users to stay off them. Some cities, including [Nottingham, United Kingdom](, are trying out bans and fines for people who don’t dock scooters where they belong. Others have tried [geofencing](, which can enforce speed and parking restrictions or turn a scooter off if someone takes it where they’re not allowed. Bird [uses]( geofencing to slow down its scooters in pedestrian-dense areas. And now: Some [helpful tips]( to avoid falling off a scooter. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Cities+are+still+struggling+to+manage+scooters+%28and+the+people+who+ride+them%29%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F11232021-scooters%3Futm_campaign%3DReddit%2Badvertising%26utm_content%3D11232021-scooters%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( AROUND THE WEB ✏️ On this day: In 1897, John Lee Love [filed]( a patent for a hand-cranked pencil sharpener known as the “Love Sharpener,” significantly improving and simplifying the tool’s design. 💨 Chill out: This [extremely relaxing map]( shows you how the wind is moving all over the world. ✨ How to: Marie Kondo helped us declutter our homes. Now, what if we did the [same thing]( with our workflows? 👑 That’s interesting: In 1907, the safe containing Ireland’s crown jewels was revealed to be empty save a blue ribbon. This is the [actually kind of funny story]( of the mysterious heist which, to this day, remains unsolved. 🥣 Useful: [Mealime]( is a meal-planning app. You choose your recipes, then it makes a grocery list for you. Several recipes are free, and you can unlock more for $2.99/month. 🦘 Aww: Have you ever wondered what it’d be like to raise a baby kangaroo? [Here you go](! Meme of the day [memes meme] It’s true, Reddit memes are 🔥 (Source: [Reddit](, duh) How did you like today’s email? Refer friends. Help us grow. Get cool stuff 🤠Share The Hustle with your custom referral link: [ Your referral count: 0 Today's email was brought to you by [Trung Phan](, [Jacob Cohen](, [Juliet Bennett Rylah](, [Rob Litterst](. Editing by: Zachary “Unbundling Reddit as we speak” Crockett. 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