A snapshot from the site from that period (thank you WayBackMachine) illustrates just how much of the culture was baked in early on, featuring conspiracy theories, wonkish dev chat, strong opinions, and вЂњspez,вЂќ HuffmanвЂ™s username.

The first 100 accounts on the site were created by either Ohanian or Huffman to give the appearance of activity. Written in GrahamвЂ™s beloved Lisp, the site served as a fairly straightforward link aggregator that allowed for upvoting and downvoting.

It didnвЂ™t take long for the founding duo to ship v1. By the end of an hour, theyвЂ™d hit on a new mission: build the вЂњfront page of the internet.вЂќ Reddit was born. While Graham didnвЂ™t like that MMM, he invited them to come back to Boston for a brainstorm. The pair pitched вЂњMy Mobile Menu,вЂќ a way to order food via text. Like so many others, Ohanian and Huffman didnвЂ™t get in with their first idea. Over a few beers, Graham encouraged the pair to apply to his new incubator in Cambridge: Y Combinator. As the story goes, at the end of the talk, Ohanian asked if Graham would come out to a drink with them. Huffman, a computer science student himself, was the motivating force, but he would have Ohanian to thank for brokering a meeting with Graham. They headed for Boston, where computer scientist, writer, and entrepreneur Paul Graham was scheduled to give a talk. The same year that Carlin delivered his iconic set, University of Virginia roommates Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian took a drive. ItвЂ™s a classic hero's tale with a call to adventure, challenges and setbacks, and a triumphant return. The Galaxy Brain moves to take it to the next levelДЇew companies have the narrative arc of Reddit.As the conductor of cultural currents, it may have more upside than any other social media company. Just as it is close to some of our unseemliest instincts, so too is it a vehicle for creativity and connection. In its particular energy and vibrancy, its wild potential and ugly foibles, its kindness and cruelty, the social media platform occupies the liminal space of CarlinвЂ™s electricity. There are a hundred ways someone might describe a company like Reddit, but this is what we think of most. вЂњElectricity is just organized lightning.вЂќ If Carlin is all rapid-fire verbosity in his 2005 set, heвЂ™s an expert of restraint in a complementary line: When harnessed, itвЂ™s a mollifying, enlightening force the thin membrane between civilization and barbarism. It also shades his view of electricity and what it represents. ItвЂ™s a bleak, bitter joke and serves as a coherent expression of CarlinвЂ™s particular weltanschauung: life is a sleepwalk along a knife-edge. It means jail doors springing open, crime flooding the streets. No electricity means no lights, he explains. All youвЂ™d have to do would be eliminate electricity.вЂќД¬arlin continues, embarking on one of his trademark quite-frightening-very-funny tirades, the flashes of incandescent, articulate fury that made him a genius. вЂњIt wouldnвЂ™t take much to throw us right back into barbaric times. But heвЂ™s too rumpled for that, too delightfully sour, as if a satyr stumbled through Steve JobsвЂ™ wardrobe. In the minimalism of his outfit and the starkness of his bald pate, he almost resembles a tech executive delivering a keynote. George Carlin wears a black long-sleeved t-shirt, hunched over a microphone. вЂњYou ever stop to realize how fragile all this is?вЂќ

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