The people who make your apps go to Stack Overflow for answers – here's how it works

Decoder with Nilay Patel

Vox Media Podcast Network

Technology, Business

4.3 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 25 October 2022

⏱️ 70 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today I'm talking to Prashanth Chandrasekar the CEO of Stack Overflow – a highly specialized kind of social network, with a really unique business model. If you don't know Stack Overflow is a major part of the modern software development landscape: it’s where developers come together, ask questions, and get answers about how to build software, including actual code they can use in their own projects. It’s basically a huge question and answer forum. More than 100 million people visit Stack Overflow every single month. The company also sells Stack Overflow as an internal forum tool that big companies can use for their own teams: Microsoft, Google, Logitech—you name it, they’re using Stack Overflow to coordinate conversations between their engineers. The platform has a long reputation of elitism; Prashanth himself is a developer and he told me his own first experience on Stack Overflow was a negative one. In fact, he took over as CEO about three years ago, after a pretty serious moderation controversy that saw several longtime Stack Overflow moderators quit. I wanted to talk to Prashanth about how it works, how the company makes money, and how to grow such a specialized user base while still being welcoming to new people. Links: Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Stack Overflow Sold to Tech Giant Prosus for $1.8 Billion Stack Overflow helps millions of developers do their jobs every single day. Its new CEO says the next stage of its growth is selling to businesses. Big Tech's hiring freeze unlocks rich talent pool for U.S. startups Stack Overflow raises $85M in Series E funding to further accelerate SaaS business Chris Dixon thinks web3 is the future of the internet — is it? Stack Overflow Has a New Code of Conduct: You Must 'Be Nice' Code of Conduct - Stack Overflow Eight great sites that offer online classes The other side of Stack Overflow content moderation Everything you need to know about Section 230 Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/23185361 Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Today’s episode was produced by Creighton DeSimone and Jackie McDermott and it was edited by Callie Wright. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Sr Audio Director is Andrew Marino and our Executive Producer is Eleanor Donovan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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0:42.8	the way insurance should be. Visit covergenius.com slash vox today to learn more.
0:50.8	Here's some big questions. Is disruptive innovation really just a game of chance?
0:54.2	And how should society share the benefits of those innovations equitably?
0:58.2	This month Harvard Business Review's flagship podcast, IdeaCast, is debating some of the most
1:02.8	influential business ideas of the last century to understand how they've changed the way we work
1:07.5	and live. It's a special series called Four Business Ideas that change the world.
1:12.0	Get new episodes each Thursday and October in the IdeaCast feed.
1:17.7	Hello and welcome to Decoder. I'm Neil Appetel, Editor in Chief of the Verge and Decoder is
1:21.6	my show about big ideas and other problems. Today we're talking to Prashant Chandra Sucker, CEO of
1:27.1	Stack Overflow. Now if you don't know, Stack Overflow is a major part of the modern software
1:32.4	development landscape. It's not a tool though. It's a forum. It's where developers come together,
1:38.0	ask questions and get answers about how to build software, including actual code that can use
1:43.7	in their own projects. It's basically a huge question and answer site. More than 100 million
1:49.2	people visit Stack Overflow every single month. Their company also sells Stack Overflow as an
	...

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