Enshittification is the process by which a platform lures in and then captures end users (stage one), who serve as bait for business customers, who are also captured (stage two), whereupon the platform rug-pulls both groups and allocates all the value they generate and exchange to itself (stage three):
Enshittification isn’t merely a form of rent-seeking – it is a uniquely digital phenomenon, because it relies on the inherent flexibility of digital systems. There are lots of intermediaries that want to extract surpluses from customers and suppliers – everyone from grocers to oil companies – but these can’t be reconfigured in an eyeblink the way that purely digital services can.
A sleazy boss can hide their wage-theft with a bunch of confusing deductions to your paycheck. But when your boss is an app, it can engage in algorithmic wage discrimination, where your pay declines minutely every time you accept a job, but if you start to decline jobs, the app can raise the offer:
More news orgs need to leave that shithole platform.
I only recently (say, 3 months ago?) discovered Cory’s blog and I just have to say that it is absolutely amazing. The books he wrote & co-wrote are fantastic reads and help explain how we ended up in this mess in the first place.
Can’t recommend him enough.
Interesting article. We definitely need some intervention or reinvention to combat enshittification of these major platforms. Hopefully the fediverse can help. Or maybe a different approach like non profit foundations. Because chasing profit growth is at odds with what customers are after in this (and many other cases)
