Cory DoctorowJan 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

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

Show threadAngus McIntyreJan 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.

Show threadVidar Hokstad / Galaxy BoundJan 21, 2023

@angusm @pluralistic Having been on the inside of (and co-founded) a few tech startups, a lot of this tends to coincide with death-marches to try to become profitable.

A whole lot of this suddenly becomes "acceptable" when accompanied by an implicit "or we'll run out of cash or our investors will fire us".

One of the reasons why I've gotten increasingly picky over the years, and a danger of taking VC money (I say, having spent the last 4+ years working at a VC...)

Show threadJeff CraigJan 21, 2023
@vidar @angusm @pluralistic Our industry is way too harsh on people building sustainable businesses. Even the moniker given to them, "Lifestyle Businesses" is so ridiculously condescending.
Show threadJeff MartinJan 21, 2023
@foxxtrot @vidar @angusm @pluralistic “Lifestyle business” is so condescending, it makes me want to take the term back. Wear it as a badge of pride. And to warn investors to stay away: I’m not the sell-out you’re looking for.
Show threadVidar Hokstad / Galaxy Bound

@cuchaz @foxxtrot @angusm @pluralistic

I'm currently in a "regular" day job, but if I were to do another startup, that'd probably be what I'd aim for. The "go big or go home" frenetic stuff is fun the first couple of times, and when you don't have responsibilities.

But the extra stress and extra pressure to compromise integrity and the like is not worth it.

Jan 21, 2023 at 6:51pmWeb
Show threadAphrodite (recharging)Jan 21, 2023

@vidar @cuchaz @foxxtrot @angusm @pluralistic

serious q from someone who made the choice 25ish years ago not to go to san jose etc (and stopped regretting the decision to go to university):

do any internet era vc fueled companies have founders that don’t turn out to be hardcore control freaks?

the frenetic pacing & overwork culture makes a lot more sense reframed as desperation by founders to maintain absolute control.

Show threadVidar Hokstad / Galaxy BoundJan 21, 2023

@Aphrodite @cuchaz @foxxtrot @angusm @pluralistic

I think quite a few original founders were ok at the outset, but the thing is the ones who don't want to play hardball often end up sidelined by at the first sight of trouble, and that acts as an additional lever to pressure people into either getting with the program or clocking out - either by leaving or finding some technical niche to hide behind.

Show threadAphrodite (recharging)Jan 21, 2023

@vidar @cuchaz @foxxtrot @angusm @pluralistic

i deeply appreciate the insight.

i do disagree with the premise some were ok then turn when interpreted through the framework i suggested in my allotted 500.

but you are right.

interestingly this helps clarify an awful lot in a situation i’m investigating that at a glance appears has nothing to do with the vc-tech intersection but on reflection likely does.