Enshittification is the process by which a platform lures in and then captures end users (stage one), who serve as bait for business customers, who are also captured (stage two), whereupon the platform rug-pulls both groups and allocates all the value they generate and exchange to itself (stage three):

Enshittification isn’t merely a form of rent-seeking – it is a uniquely digital phenomenon, because it relies on the inherent flexibility of digital systems. There are lots of intermediaries that want to extract surpluses from customers and suppliers – everyone from grocers to oil companies – but these can’t be reconfigured in an eyeblink the way that purely digital services can.

A sleazy boss can hide their wage-theft with a bunch of confusing deductions to your paycheck. But when your boss is an app, it can engage in algorithmic wage discrimination, where your pay declines minutely every time you accept a job, but if you start to decline jobs, the app can raise the offer:

  • CriticalMiss@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I only recently (say, 3 months ago?) discovered Cory’s blog and I just have to say that it is absolutely amazing. The books he wrote & co-wrote are fantastic reads and help explain how we ended up in this mess in the first place.

    Can’t recommend him enough.

  • agent_flounder@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Interesting article. We definitely need some intervention or reinvention to combat enshittification of these major platforms. Hopefully the fediverse can help. Or maybe a different approach like non profit foundations. Because chasing profit growth is at odds with what customers are after in this (and many other cases)