Does everyone hate Google now? | Google's story over the last two decades has been a tale as old as time: enshittification for growth
Does everyone hate Google now? | Google's story over the last two decades has been a tale as old as time: enshittification for growth
Google's story over the last two decades has been a tale as old as time: enshittification for growth. The once-beloved startup—with its unofficial "Don't Be Evil" motto—has instead become a major Internet monopolist, as a federal judge ruled on Monday, dominating the market for online search. Google is also well-known for its data-harvesting practices, for constantly killing off products, and for facilitating the rise of brain-cell-destroying YouTubers who make me Fear for Today's Youth. (Maybe that last one is just me?)
Google's rapid rise from "scrappy search engine with doodles" to "dystopic mega-corporation" has been remarkable in many ways, especially when you consider just how much goodwill the company squandered so quickly. Along the way, though, Google has achieved one unexpected result: In a divided America, it offers just about everyone something to hate.
Here are just a few of the players hating Google today.
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All companies enshittify themselves eventually, and the fact that those that were trying to fight it within the company were still getting shit on from within and from outside the company only hastened its fall by just removing them as a deciding factor through sheer pressure. Google really isn't as dystopian as people put it as - for one, it's too incompetent at starting and sticking to new ventures.
As it continues falling and eventually the traditional competitors overtake it, I think it will become apparent what a truly dystopian megacorporation actually is before Google completely becomes anything remotely close to it - Microsoft would have reached that line if they had successfully been able to sneak in Recall. DuckDuckGo fell when Bing did, smoke and mirrors... Google is pretty bad right now, just not what I would call a dystopic megacorp.
All companies enshittify themselves eventually,
This isn't a foregone conclusion, just a number of things that are increasingly likely:
- When a place becomes "cool" and "rich", then they get job applicants that are all in on "get rich quick" and as they get to call shots they are ready to destroy the core value to pulp out some profit. Particularly older companies like Intel, IBM and Microsoft have had time for that mindset to promote into the positions.
- Failing that, investors can rapidly corrupt existing leadership, particularly for "startups". It might start sincere, but then when a relatively small bunch find themselves with a multi-billion dollar payday, pedal to the floor to ruin things.
- Additionally, any major player not in a position to be a part of the fun will make their knock-offs and market or monopoly their way to displace. Oh look, Microsoft Teams....
There's a moderately successful, but also reasonably modest company that went about 50 years without getting "enshitified". The founder was passionate about it, kept the company private, and held in until his 80s when he finally decided he really couldn't do it anymore. Then they went public and immediately the layoffs, price hikes, and cloudification commenced, as the flood gate of enshitification opened on his retirement.
This isn’t a foregone conclusion, just a number of things that are increasingly likely:
The system incentivises it, though. I don't like dealing in absolutes, so I am inclined to agree with you on that basis alone. However, enshittification is not a bug, it's a feature.
It's a pretty terrible feature then. Feature is a weird word
I still stand by what I said and only add an addendum, all companies enshittify themselves eventually or cease to exist before it happens.
In your counterexample, the problem is that the founders eventually die, and then the time comes for that company to be passed down, and then you are just proving my point. Even stores like LTT Store and GamersNexus' will eventually enshittify themselves or cease to exist, because they will eventually have to pass ownership and even their owners will feel some remorse if they vanish it into the void instead of leaving it off for their family to inherit.
If it's a small localized family business, it can exist for longer without compromising itself because it will not receive as much pressure and the services it has to concern itself are much more limited, but otherwise and even then, enshittification is as avoidable as death.