Enshittification

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What is enshittification?

The phenomenon of online platforms gradually degrading the quality of their services, often by promoting advertisements and sponsored content, in order to increase profits. (Cory Doctorow, 2022, extracted from Wikitionary) source

The lifecycle of Big Internet

We discuss how predatory big tech platforms live and die by luring people in and then decaying for profit.

Embrace, extend and extinguish

We also discuss how naturally open technologies like the Fediverse can be susceptible to corporate takeovers, rugpulls and subsequent enshittification.

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Bluesky now has 24 million users. Jay Graber is still vowing to keep it from enshittification (www.wired.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/enshittification

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cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/20853350

Bluesky has seen massive growth in the weeks following the US election. As of Tuesday, there are 24 million users on the social media platform. With great engagement comes great responsibility, which means Bluesky CEO Jay Graber has to do a lot to keep her promise to not “enshittify” the platform with ads while still funding its explosive growth.

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Enshittification, as its known, generally comes as social media platforms expand and need to squeeze money out of users in order to please investors and keep the lights on. Since Bluesky doesn’t plan to run ads, WIRED senior writer Kate Knibbs asked, how does Bluesky plan to make money? “Subscriptions are the first step,” Graber said, referring to a plan to have users pay a regular fee for the ability to upload higher-quality video, for example, or access certain customization features.

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[–] De_Narm 15 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Of course she's gonna say that, it's the easiest way to get new users right now. And, of course, Bluesky will be enshitified. It's inevitable for every service trying to make money.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Honestly disagree. I think it's important to distinguish between companies who make a product or offer a service and charge appropriately for that transaction. Commerce isn't an inherent evil.

Enshittification is inevitable when the customers are no longer the primary method to make money for the executives. That's the perverse incentive that results in actively sabotaging your own business for greater short term profits because you've created a system that doesn't punish you for doing so (typically by running every 'real' competitor into the ground first).

If they are more concerned about stock price, or advertisers or selling data, those are the avenues to enshittification. But selling a service to end users for profit is just normal business.

[–] actually 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Blue sky does not primarily make money off its users?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I was responding to this specific statement

It's [enshittification is] inevitable for every service trying to make money.

[–] actually 2 points 2 weeks ago

Ok I get it, I think you are correct and also convinced blue sky must enshittify eventually, but may be years from now