Conde Nast buys Reddit.com, but have you seen Lipstick.com?
TechCrunch is breaking the news that Conde Nast (big media company) is acquiring Reddit.com (little technology company). Print media is struggling as readership for newspapers and magazines is declining, and consumers are finding new and more engaging content providers. Don’t count these big media conglomerates out without a fight. At first glance, they may not appear to be nimble, tech savvy players, but they still employ some of the smartest people in the world and have deep, deep pockets.
Magazines have few places left to go but online, and this news proves that they are already on the move. As soon as I heard the Reddit news, I pinged my friend at Conde Nast to get his thoughts. He hadn’t heard of the Reddit or the acquisition, but immediately sent my to Lipstick.com. It would seem that although he hadn’t heard of Reddit, he was very familiar with Reddit given that the Lipstick interface looks almost identical to Reddit’s (and if you scroll to the bottom, Lipstick is in fact, Reddit).
Conde Nast, the unlikely Disruptor. Buying Reddit is telling the world that Conde Nast can play. The fact that Lipstick.com is live, and has been for some time, is signaling that there’s more to this acquisition than meets the eye. bk