Enshittification ⇥ pluralistic.net
This is enshittification: surpluses are first directed to users; then, once they’re locked in, surpluses go to suppliers; then once they’re locked in, the surplus is handed to shareholders and the platform becomes a useless pile of shit. From mobile app stores to Steam, from Facebook to Twitter, this is the enshittification lifecycle.
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An enshittification strategy only succeeds if it is pursued in measured amounts. Even the most locked-in user eventually reaches a breaking-point and walks away, or gets pushed. […]
This essay has been enthusiastically passed around since it was published earlier this year, but I keep forgetting to put it into the syllabus I call a website. It is true of online platforms, software-as-a-service providers, operating systems, and services. You may quibble with individual aspects of Doctorow’s argument — tech company layoffs, for example, are probably less a result of their self-preferencing strategies and more likely because the company overbuilt itself by assuming the trend line of the pandemic would remain at a similar rate. There is little denying its compelling underlying premise, however.