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
1/
@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.
@angusm @pluralistic I think “maximizing resource extraction efficiency” is both a) just what MBAs *do*, and b) probably the most characteristic mode of enshittification
I wonder if it’s possible to model an economic system that *isn’t* focused exclusively on efficient resource extraction.
That could be pretty neat, huh?
@cmdrmoto @angusm @pluralistic
Simple solution: executive stock grants must be post-dated 7 years
It's not complicated. It aligns long term thinking for everyone involved. But it won't be popular because that's way too much accountability for people involved.
Cory Doctorow
Angus McIntyre
Fugue State Machine Moto
Gaëtan Perrault