It's not a new pattern. And like MySpace, Yahoo, Digg, and so many others, Reddit will eventually fall out of favor and be replaced by a new better, less corporate system.

And that system will also follow the same path (unless it is started by an already-very-rich group of techies who value status more than money).

Just think: if you were fabulously wealthy, then burning a few million a year to have a completely free, non-commercial social site would be perfectly reasonable. Of course, eventually you would die and someone would then begin the usual path with your legacy...