The protests have definitely made some sort of impact, even if it's not the initially intended impact. It has drawn media and public attention to the situation, it has dragged reddit's reputation into the ground, and it has exposed Reddit the Company's true colours and intentions for everyone to see, including the casual user who may not have cared about the API situation in the first place. Whether this has been for the good or for the bad is debatable. IMO we are now watching the disintegration of reddit in real time, and a few months later, after everything settles, reddit will still be here but it will no longer be the same. We have seen this happen before with Tumblr, Digg etc. And the Fediverse will grow and expand, and with some luck and effort, hopefully it can become something great.