Return to Answer

Note: This post is being updated to show the actual changes associated with the roadmap I described in 2021.

Forward looking statement

Overall, I think what we will see in the near term is no significant changes, perhaps some minor investments (For example, Collectives); in the mid term, an alteration to the way that advertising is served (For example The Future of our Jobs Ad slots, "Reach and Relevance", and Privacy Changes) and some phasing out of underperforming facets of the exchange (For example, Jobs and Dev Story); in the long term a purchase by another firm as profitability here wanes (For example, the Layoffs on 5/10/23 and the Layoffs on 10/16/23), probably a large tech company who would put this to good use somewhere.

Don't worry too much though, this place makes enough money and has a large enough community to survive the process. Just focus on creating good content that stands the test of time. Maybe even have some fun and help someone along the way.

State of SO at the time of sale

What happens to Stack Overflow is no longer up to anyone here; not the CEO, the board, no one, has a say in the future of the business of Stack Overflow.

What happens is purely up to the outlook of whomever decided to purchase the platform. Seeing as how they spent $1.8B it means that there is a serious investment in the success of the site and overall product, so that is good. However, what that also means is that this is now going to be purely governed by monetary milestones from either an oversight board or an investment group.

Everyone cited - Atwood, Spolsky, Prashanth - they all strongly mention money as what is changing. Money always comes with strings attached when it is influenced by such a large group. There will now more than likely be consequences for parts of the exchange failing to perform financially.

Let's all be clear though, Prosus didn't purchase Stack Overflow... Naspers did. The CEO and board are who make large purchases like this, and Naspers (who fully owns Prosus) is the CEO and board for Prosus. Bob van Dijk is the current CEO of both Naspers and Prosus. Naspers was founded as a publication company, with the mission statement "for the free unimpeded expression of public opinion on all major issues". So, while having someone like Bob there who has experience from eBay and Allegro, and a general outlook of having free expression, it would seem a good fit. One would hope this place was left in good hands.

On the other hand, Naspers is so big that it has its hands in both good and bad places. While the "corporate learning companies" segment seems good, there are also a wide variety of other internet segments which may have a conflict of interest with regards to the way we see advertising.

Note: This post is being updated to show the actual changes associated with the roadmap I described in 2021.

Forward looking statement

Overall, I think what we will see in the near term is no significant changes, perhaps some minor investments (For example, Collectives); in the mid term, an alteration to the way that advertising is served (For example The Future of our Jobs Ad slots, "Reach and Relevance", and Privacy Changes) and some phasing out of underperforming facets of the exchange (For example, Jobs and Dev Story); in the long term a purchase by another firm as profitability here wanes (For example, the Layoffs on May 10 2023 and the Layoffs on October 16 2023), probably a large tech company who would put this to good use somewhere.

Don't worry too much though, this place makes enough money and has a large enough community to survive the process. Just focus on creating good content that stands the test of time. Maybe even have some fun and help someone along the way.

State of SO at the time of sale

What happens to Stack Overflow is no longer up to anyone here; not the CEO, the board, no one, has a say in the future of the business of Stack Overflow.

What happens is purely up to the outlook of whomever decided to purchase the platform. Seeing as how they spent $1.8B it means that there is a serious investment in the success of the site and overall product, so that is good. However, what that also means is that this is now going to be purely governed by monetary milestones from either an oversight board or an investment group.

Everyone cited - Atwood, Spolsky, Prashanth - they all strongly mention money as what is changing. Money always comes with strings attached when it is influenced by such a large group. There will now more than likely be consequences for parts of the exchange failing to perform financially.

Let's all be clear though, Prosus didn't purchase Stack Overflow... Naspers did. The CEO and board are who make large purchases like this, and Naspers (who fully owns Prosus) is the CEO and board for Prosus. Bob van Dijk is the current CEO of both Naspers and Prosus. Naspers was founded as a publication company, with the mission statement "for the free unimpeded expression of public opinion on all major issues". So, while having someone like Bob there who has experience from eBay and Allegro, and a general outlook of having free expression, it would seem a good fit. One would hope this place was left in good hands.

On the other hand, Naspers is so big that it has its hands in both good and bad places. While the "corporate learning companies" segment seems good, there are also a wide variety of other internet segments which may have a conflict of interest with regards to the way we see advertising.

Note: This post is being updated to show the actual changes associated with the roadmap I described in 2021.

Forward looking statement

Overall, I think what we will see in the near term is no significant changes, perhaps some minor investments (For example, Collectives); in the mid term, an alteration to the way that advertising is served (For example The Future of our Jobs Ad slots, "Reach and Relevance", and Privacy Changes) and some phasing out of underperforming facets of the exchange (For example, Jobs and Dev Story); in the long term a purchase by another firm as profitability here wanes, probably a large tech company who would put this to good use somewhere.

Don't worry too much though, this place makes enough money and has a large enough community to survive the process. Just focus on creating good content that stands the test of time. Maybe even have some fun and help someone along the way.

State of SO at the time of sale

What happens to Stack Overflow is no longer up to anyone here; not the CEO, the board, no one, has a say in the future of the business of Stack Overflow.

What happens is purely up to the outlook of whomever decided to purchase the platform. Seeing as how they spent $1.8B it means that there is a serious investment in the success of the site and overall product, so that is good. However, what that also means is that this is now going to be purely governed by monetary milestones from either an oversight board or an investment group.

Everyone cited - Atwood, Spolsky, Prashanth - they all strongly mention money as what is changing. Money always comes with strings attached when it is influenced by such a large group. There will now more than likely be consequences for parts of the exchange failing to perform financially.

Let's all be clear though, Prosus didn't purchase Stack Overflow... Naspers did. The CEO and board are who make large purchases like this, and Naspers (who fully owns Prosus) is the CEO and board for Prosus. Bob van Dijk is the current CEO of both Naspers and Prosus. Naspers was founded as a publication company, with the mission statement "for the free unimpeded expression of public opinion on all major issues". So, while having someone like Bob there who has experience from eBay and Allegro, and a general outlook of having free expression, it would seem a good fit. One would hope this place was left in good hands.

On the other hand, Naspers is so big that it has its hands in both good and bad places. While the "corporate learning companies" segment seems good, there are also a wide variety of other internet segments which may have a conflict of interest with regards to the way we see advertising.

Note: This post is being updated to show the actual changes associated with the roadmap I described in 2021.

Forward looking statement

Overall, I think what we will see in the near term is no significant changes, perhaps some minor investments (For example, Collectives); in the mid term, an alteration to the way that advertising is served (For example The Future of our Jobs Ad slots, "Reach and Relevance", and Privacy Changes) and some phasing out of underperforming facets of the exchange (For example, Jobs and Dev Story); in the long term a purchase by another firm as profitability here wanes (For example, the Layoffs on 5/10/23 and the Layoffs on 10/16/23), probably a large tech company who would put this to good use somewhere.

Don't worry too much though, this place makes enough money and has a large enough community to survive the process. Just focus on creating good content that stands the test of time. Maybe even have some fun and help someone along the way.

State of SO at the time of sale

What happens to Stack Overflow is no longer up to anyone here; not the CEO, the board, no one, has a say in the future of the business of Stack Overflow.

What happens is purely up to the outlook of whomever decided to purchase the platform. Seeing as how they spent $1.8B it means that there is a serious investment in the success of the site and overall product, so that is good. However, what that also means is that this is now going to be purely governed by monetary milestones from either an oversight board or an investment group.

Everyone cited - Atwood, Spolsky, Prashanth - they all strongly mention money as what is changing. Money always comes with strings attached when it is influenced by such a large group. There will now more than likely be consequences for parts of the exchange failing to perform financially.

Let's all be clear though, Prosus didn't purchase Stack Overflow... Naspers did. The CEO and board are who make large purchases like this, and Naspers (who fully owns Prosus) is the CEO and board for Prosus. Bob van Dijk is the current CEO of both Naspers and Prosus. Naspers was founded as a publication company, with the mission statement "for the free unimpeded expression of public opinion on all major issues". So, while having someone like Bob there who has experience from eBay and Allegro, and a general outlook of having free expression, it would seem a good fit. One would hope this place was left in good hands.

On the other hand, Naspers is so big that it has its hands in both good and bad places. While the "corporate learning companies" segment seems good, there are also a wide variety of other internet segments which may have a conflict of interest with regards to the way we see advertising.

Forward looking statement

Overall, I think what we will see in the near term is no significant changes, perhaps some minor investments (For example, Collectives); in the mid term, an alteration to the way that advertising is served (For example "Reach and Relevance" and Privacy Changes) and some phasing out of underperforming facets of the exchange (For example, Jobs and Dev Story); in the long term a purchase by another firm as profitability here wanes, probably a large tech company who would put this to good use somewhere.

Don't worry too much though, this place makes enough money and has a large enough community to survive the process. Just focus on creating good content that stands the test of time. Maybe even have some fun and help someone along the way.

State of SO at the time of sale

What happens to Stack Overflow is no longer up to anyone here; not the CEO, the board, no one, has a say in the future of the business of Stack Overflow.

What happens is purely up to the outlook of whomever decided to purchase the platform. Seeing as how they spent $1.8B it means that there is a serious investment in the success of the site and overall product, so that is good. However, what that also means is that this is now going to be purely governed by monetary milestones from either an oversight board or an investment group.

Everyone cited - Atwood, Spolsky, Prashanth - they all strongly mention money as what is changing. Money always comes with strings attached when it is influenced by such a large group. There will now more than likely be consequences for parts of the exchange failing to perform financially.

Let's all be clear though, Prosus didn't purchase Stack Overflow... Naspers did. The CEO and board are who make large purchases like this, and Naspers (who fully owns Prosus) is the CEO and board for Prosus. Bob van Dijk is the current CEO of both Naspers and Prosus. Naspers was founded as a publication company, with the mission statement "for the free unimpeded expression of public opinion on all major issues". So, while having someone like Bob there who has experience from eBay and Allegro, and a general outlook of having free expression, it would seem a good fit. One would hope this place was left in good hands.

On the other hand, Naspers is so big that it has its hands in both good and bad places. While the "corporate learning companies" segment seems good, there are also a wide variety of other internet segments which may have a conflict of interest with regards to the way we see advertising.

Note: This post is being updated to show the actual changes associated with the roadmap I described in 2021.

Forward looking statement

Overall, I think what we will see in the near term is no significant changes, perhaps some minor investments (For example, Collectives); in the mid term, an alteration to the way that advertising is served (For example The Future of our Jobs Ad slots, "Reach and Relevance", and Privacy Changes) and some phasing out of underperforming facets of the exchange (For example, Jobs and Dev Story); in the long term a purchase by another firm as profitability here wanes, probably a large tech company who would put this to good use somewhere.

Don't worry too much though, this place makes enough money and has a large enough community to survive the process. Just focus on creating good content that stands the test of time. Maybe even have some fun and help someone along the way.

State of SO at the time of sale

What happens to Stack Overflow is no longer up to anyone here; not the CEO, the board, no one, has a say in the future of the business of Stack Overflow.

What happens is purely up to the outlook of whomever decided to purchase the platform. Seeing as how they spent $1.8B it means that there is a serious investment in the success of the site and overall product, so that is good. However, what that also means is that this is now going to be purely governed by monetary milestones from either an oversight board or an investment group.

Everyone cited - Atwood, Spolsky, Prashanth - they all strongly mention money as what is changing. Money always comes with strings attached when it is influenced by such a large group. There will now more than likely be consequences for parts of the exchange failing to perform financially.

Let's all be clear though, Prosus didn't purchase Stack Overflow... Naspers did. The CEO and board are who make large purchases like this, and Naspers (who fully owns Prosus) is the CEO and board for Prosus. Bob van Dijk is the current CEO of both Naspers and Prosus. Naspers was founded as a publication company, with the mission statement "for the free unimpeded expression of public opinion on all major issues". So, while having someone like Bob there who has experience from eBay and Allegro, and a general outlook of having free expression, it would seem a good fit. One would hope this place was left in good hands.

On the other hand, Naspers is so big that it has its hands in both good and bad places. While the "corporate learning companies" segment seems good, there are also a wide variety of other internet segments which may have a conflict of interest with regards to the way we see advertising.