What happened
In October 2013, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian published his first book, 'Without Their Permission: How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed.' Part memoir and part manifesto, the book recounted Reddit's founding story while arguing that the open internet had lowered the barriers for entrepreneurs, activists, and creators to build things without waiting for gatekeepers' approval. It moved across three themes: launching a tech startup, becoming an investor, and running effective social-media campaigns.
The book cemented Ohanian's public role as an evangelist for open-internet causes at a moment when he had stepped back from day-to-day operations but remained Reddit's most visible founder. Released the year after the SOPA blackout in which Reddit played a prominent part, the book tied the platform's identity to a broader political argument about online freedom and bottom-up innovation. It helped raise Ohanian's profile as an author and speaker, foreshadowing his return to a formal leadership role at the company in 2014.