The enshittification of the internet follows a predictable trajectory: first, platforms are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things b...
It doesn’t necessarily roll off the tongue, but that’s a good thing. It seems to be catching on, and frankly those large companies and orgs that are enshittifying and get labeled thusly might actually not love being called out with it, and hopefully slow their roll.
Doubtful, but a man can dream.
I used to work at S***ify… which is currently enshittifying at top-speed. It fits.
Welp… how long-winded do you want me to get on this one? You could look up literally hundreds of examples in mainstream news about how Shopify came up as a lean scrappy underdog circa 2012 alongside many of the second wave of budding platforms. In those days they were just a snowboard company who hated the pre-rolled ecomm solutions (especially Amazon) and came up with their own way.
Turns out a few other people liked their way as well… so they pivoted to SaaS and took off running. Their mantra at that time (and they still pull it out on the regular now… for laughs) was “Arming the rebels” (against Amazon…)
They built their SaaS platform on world-class customer/merchant support. Built things users asked for. Hired talented people who were inspired by the environment of doing good in the world… etc etc. They believed in what they were doing… i.e. “Make Commerce Better.”
Around the time I joined (2021) they got absolutely fucking hammered by new clients/merchants over lockdown. They were primed for “easy dropshipping” this and “low-cost barrier to entry” that for tens of millions of broke people sitting at home for lockdowns across 18+ months, looking for (pre-rolled) ways to earn an income. Their own marketing to small and emergin businesses (easy money over here!) ended up fucking them in the end.
They did an over-hiring wave like any other tech compan at the time. Very shortly after their email and chat support queues were overrun (weeks-long wait times) they reduces phone support hours for normal merchants before killing them completely shortly thereafter (workers can only field one call at a time, vs 3 chats and multiple emails per hour)… Obv they kept phones open for Plus merchants (enterprise, of course). That’s Enshittification - Stage 1. They built their business, name, and reputation helping the little guy (the “rebels”)… and now they were pulling up the ladder behind them to help the Plus/enterprize clients get and remain profitable, instead.
I could keep going. If you look far enough into it they started aggressively courting Enterprize clients last year after their shares tanked, and after they laid off 30% of staff… and while they do that they need to pull finances and resources further away from their “rebels” to keep the Nikes and the Chapters of the world happy. Established mega-corps don’t love it if you’re giving “the little guy” stellar support while you give them (Nike) the same level. They want “better”, at all times.
They’ve been at multi-billion dollar valuation for years prior to Covid. It was the pressure through lockdowns and out the other side tha pressured them to keep growing profitability, sent them over the edge of enshittification. They’ve clearly taken a lot of advice from Wall Street and Silicon Valley about how to stay on the money train (from same)… during tough financial times. They’re already pulling top-notch support from their enterprize clients, and third-party app devs (ask me how I know that). The next (obvious) phase is to claw back those margins that keep enterprize clients happy, once they have enough of them locked in that a few leaving won’t hurt them. That’s phase 3, if you haven’t been keeping track.
Do you need more of a primer, or did I answer your question?
I read halfway through this comment fully under the impression it was about Spotify and was profoundly confused until I scrolled up and realized my mistake.
But rent seeking sounds too… clean. It’s almost an euphemism. Because in the end, the result is that for a whole lot of people, the experience of using the services goes to shit.
Edit: I just googled it and yeah, you’re exactly right. Interesting!
Can we all take a moment to appreciate how stupid that word sounds. I feel like we can come up with something better.
I just wanted to say, definitely watch the video if you have the time. Cory Doctorow is absolutely right and an incredibly smart guy.
It’s perfect. It enshittifies itself. It’s like the shitty rule of capitalist economics in the 21st century.
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Reminds me of Idiocracy lol https://youtu.be/eYb22BLBqGw?si=JDx8KyrgmWqk8AQm
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://piped.video/eYb22BLBqGw?si=JDx8KyrgmWqk8AQm
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
It doesn’t necessarily roll off the tongue, but that’s a good thing. It seems to be catching on, and frankly those large companies and orgs that are enshittifying and get labeled thusly might actually not love being called out with it, and hopefully slow their roll.
Doubtful, but a man can dream.
I used to work at S***ify… which is currently enshittifying at top-speed. It fits.
Funny that it could either Shopify or Spotify, you refer to, as both are arguably enshityifying.
I first read it as Shittify
See my other comment 😂
In what ways does it enshittify?
Welp… how long-winded do you want me to get on this one? You could look up literally hundreds of examples in mainstream news about how Shopify came up as a lean scrappy underdog circa 2012 alongside many of the second wave of budding platforms. In those days they were just a snowboard company who hated the pre-rolled ecomm solutions (especially Amazon) and came up with their own way.
Turns out a few other people liked their way as well… so they pivoted to SaaS and took off running. Their mantra at that time (and they still pull it out on the regular now… for laughs) was “Arming the rebels” (against Amazon…)
They built their SaaS platform on world-class customer/merchant support. Built things users asked for. Hired talented people who were inspired by the environment of doing good in the world… etc etc. They believed in what they were doing… i.e. “Make Commerce Better.”
Around the time I joined (2021) they got absolutely fucking hammered by new clients/merchants over lockdown. They were primed for “easy dropshipping” this and “low-cost barrier to entry” that for tens of millions of broke people sitting at home for lockdowns across 18+ months, looking for (pre-rolled) ways to earn an income. Their own marketing to small and emergin businesses (easy money over here!) ended up fucking them in the end.
They did an over-hiring wave like any other tech compan at the time. Very shortly after their email and chat support queues were overrun (weeks-long wait times) they reduces phone support hours for normal merchants before killing them completely shortly thereafter (workers can only field one call at a time, vs 3 chats and multiple emails per hour)… Obv they kept phones open for Plus merchants (enterprise, of course). That’s Enshittification - Stage 1. They built their business, name, and reputation helping the little guy (the “rebels”)… and now they were pulling up the ladder behind them to help the Plus/enterprize clients get and remain profitable, instead.
I could keep going. If you look far enough into it they started aggressively courting Enterprize clients last year after their shares tanked, and after they laid off 30% of staff… and while they do that they need to pull finances and resources further away from their “rebels” to keep the Nikes and the Chapters of the world happy. Established mega-corps don’t love it if you’re giving “the little guy” stellar support while you give them (Nike) the same level. They want “better”, at all times.
They’ve been at multi-billion dollar valuation for years prior to Covid. It was the pressure through lockdowns and out the other side tha pressured them to keep growing profitability, sent them over the edge of enshittification. They’ve clearly taken a lot of advice from Wall Street and Silicon Valley about how to stay on the money train (from same)… during tough financial times. They’re already pulling top-notch support from their enterprize clients, and third-party app devs (ask me how I know that). The next (obvious) phase is to claw back those margins that keep enterprize clients happy, once they have enough of them locked in that a few leaving won’t hurt them. That’s phase 3, if you haven’t been keeping track.
Do you need more of a primer, or did I answer your question?
I read halfway through this comment fully under the impression it was about Spotify and was profoundly confused until I scrolled up and realized my mistake.
Honestly when I told people where I worked, half of them heard Spotify in their mind and rarely bothered to correct them 😂
Thanks for the detailed analysis!
Thank you, it’s clear 😊
So stupid I saw it used a lot of times and I used it myself before I even knew the guy… it conveys the meaning so well
Not only that, but they’re acting like they’re the first to figure this shit out.
This is just rent-seeking. It’s as old as capitalism itself. No need for dumb new terms.
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People are scared of the word “degeneration” for some reason
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I like this one actually, fewer syllables too.
Well, what do you suggest?
Rent seeking. It’s called rent seeking, and there is nothing new about it.
But rent seeking sounds too… clean. It’s almost an euphemism. Because in the end, the result is that for a whole lot of people, the experience of using the services goes to shit.
Edit: I just googled it and yeah, you’re exactly right. Interesting!
I just like pointing out that it’s nothing new.
It may not be a flashy term, but it has a lot of historical context and it’s basically a defining feature of modern capitalism at this point.
Absolutely. I read a whole lot about it after I posted my previous comment. Rent seeking is definitely the right term.
Glad to hear it. Spread the word, it’s a great term imo, and something more people need to be aware of.