Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of the website Reddit, just announced he’ll be visiting UF on Jan. 17 as part of a five-month-long tour promoting Internet entrepreneurship.
Ohanian will be discussing his book “Without Their Permission: How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed,” which will be available Oct. 1.
The Entrepreneurship Club at UF will be hosting the event, which does not have a location as of yet.
“If we are unencumbered by Reitz Union construction, we want to hold it in the Constans Theatre,” said Ian Mitchell, president of the club. “If that doesn’t pan out, then maybe we’ll hold it in the Emerson Alumni Auditorium, or the Gannett Auditorium at Weimer.”
Mitchell, 20, said he wants to have more of an intimate setting and expects 300 to 500 people to come.
David Nassau, industry outreach director of the club, said he wants to make it an event open to the community.
“Reddit is like the front page of the Internet, and it has most of the newest content right when it comes out,” the 19-year-old marketing sophomore said.
Nassau said he is excited about Ohanian’s visit to UF and said that hearing him talk about starting Reddit will be beneficial and inspirational to other students interested in starting their own companies in this digital age.
Trevin Baird, a 21-year-old microbiology junior, said he didn’t know Ohanian was visiting UF, but would attend if he had the time.
“I think [Ohanian] will open up people’s minds more to how much you can do with the Internet in terms of cultural and social aspects,” Baird said. “People will learn that it can be used for more than just half-minded browsing.”
A version of this story ran on page 5 on 9/6/2013 under the headline "Reddit guru announces college tour — and UF makes front page"
