Mastodawn

Cory Doctorow Jan 21, 2023

Here is how #platforms die: first, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys

Pluralistic: Tiktok’s enshittification (21 Jan 2023) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

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Angus McIntyre Jan 21, 2023

@pluralistic Has anyone correlated enshittification with changes in the management structure of platforms?

I've seen a bunch of tech companies started by technologists -- nerds -- who were passionate about what they made and who attracted equally passionate users. But as the company grew, the MBAs and professional CEOs were brought in, and everything changed.

Few companies probably begin with enshittification as a goal. But at a given point incentives, focus and management all start to shift.

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orcrist86 Jan 21, 2023

@angusm @pluralistic
People rail on MBAs and they deserve it for the most part. Most MBA programs treat people like factory parts. Leadership as an actual skill is never developed. I praise the lord every day for my military leadership academy which ran the exact opposite of my MBA in terms of leadership skills and the value of people.

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Oborosaur Jan 21, 2023

@orcrist86 where did you attend? (I ask this knowing nothing about the structure of military leadership academies in any part of the world.)

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orcrist86

@oborosaur I went to the Non Commissioned Officer Academy at Fort Hood. Most major posts have them. They are led entirely by enlisted folks. No officers or their business degrees anywhere to be seen. I went during the Be Know Do era that focused on moral authority and a chameleon leadership style where you chose approaches based on the individual motivations and needs of your subordinates.