Why does it feel like we're at a point where every social media + other digital media are making shitty decisions and falling apart?
Why does it feel like we're at a point where every social media + other digital media are making shitty decisions and falling apart?
I mean there's Reddit ofc, as well as Twitter in its entirety, Discord is implementing some dumb updates, there are issues with Tumblr as well as everything to do with Meta, and I'm sure there are plenty more (and I haven't even touched other digital media, for example the Sims). Why is it all happening in the span of about a couple months?
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As a phenomenon you'll see a lot of people call it "enshittification." The term seems to originate with Cory Doctorow who writes, "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."
The whole article on his blog is worth a read here: https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys. His Mastodon handle is @pluralistic if you'd like to follow his work there (woohoo federation!).
woohoo federation!
bro wtf we are actually living in the future, i just followed the equivalent of someone's twitter from the equivalent of my reddit account
im still getting used to this but i can both have twitter AND reddit?? amazing
Funny how this concept scares some people. It's pretty neat.
Good article too. I've just used enshittification to describe an HP printer.
The main sticking point is profitability. Not many platforms have managed to create a business model that's sustainably profitable. Reddit certainly hasn't. Now they're basically looking for a way to cash out so they're prioritising short term profitability over everything.
Honestly if reddit had come, cap in hand, and says "Hey what can we do to be awesome so you'll buy premium"
And then listened to our advice? I'd have bought premium to help em out.
Instead, they are acting genuinely insane. Like back when my brother was on cocaine and Adderall and would try to hit me up for money.
Reddit can die.
Yeah, totally agree with you. No one is mad Reddit wants to be sustainable. We're mad that Spez is being an absolute dick about it. And in fact, none of this is about charging for the API, it's about making it cost prohibitive for AI training and killing 3rd party apps so users are funneled into the official app's ads. If Reddit worked with 3rd party apps with reasonable industry pricing no one would have cared. All the BS Spez has been spouting for the news is straight up lying.
It's the same unforced error all these narcissistic CEOs seem to make, but it's even more profound on Reddit because Reddit had a fairly unique amount of trust from its community. All it would have taken is some humility and honesty and entire subreddits would have popped up to support it. Instead, we get Spez's bullshit that hit the trust and love of the community like a nuke. So I say fuck 'em, the entire site is tainted now imo. It will not get better. It will fester and the whole thing will rot.
But realistically, this man gives zero fucks that he just killed Reddit. Spez will get his IPO and cash out before any of the rot happens. They always do. That's whats so infuriating. Hopefully the Fediverse at large can do better since it is designed to never have one egomaniac who controls the whole thing.
@polygon @pluralistic @VoidCrow @wrath-sedan @Xeelee @TempleSquare
In hindsight, the signs were there.
https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/23/reddit-huffman-trump/There's a lot of learning points from this whole Musk/Huffman/Thiel/Sacks episode.
Their egregious behaviour in the past were all red flags.
The problem is that if Reddit dies, so does all the knowledge that people have stored there, thinking it will be available nigh-forever.
And that's the lock-in.
The issue is the mindset of profitability.
For a platform like reddit, the mindset for sustainability must be based on efficiency and utility, not profitability.
These platforms are called platforms rather than websites or simply "companies" for a reason. They act like a public utility rather than a for profit service of convenience. Public utilities also suck ass when operated as for profit businesses.
They're just trying to survive until they IPO. Then they can cash out and who gives a fuck about reddit after that.
@Xeelee @pluralistic @VoidCrow @wrath-sedan They all have business models that are sustainable. They might not all have models that promise and deliver growth every year from now until the heat death of the universe, but those are choices they made. Craigslist has been sustainable for over 25 years now and could stay sustainable forever. But it might not grow to billions of dollars in revenue because of decisions that @craignewmark made.
As an ex-admin of a Facebook anime shitposting page, I firsthand experienced it many times. The rules changed constantly, the reach died suddenly, and we were supposed to pay for ads.
This was all on top of struggle with economic and family issues, differences with the other admins, and seeing my community more and more embracing the far-right, the very thing that destroyed both my country and my dreams.
Maybe they weren't far-right and really just not as far left as you. More context on this is needed because it's become a real problem of people labeling everyone that criticizes progressive thinking or policy as "far-right" these days. It's why I can't stand Reddit anymore. Site does not encourage diversity of opinion and debate.
Reductivist, boring, and accurate. I’m impressed
I think the concept of a trust thermocline is important here: https://freethepeople.org/the-trust-thermocline-twitter-and-the-feds/
Was coming here to post same quote
Yes! Follow Cory Doctorow, he explains all of this so well.