Enshittification: Difference between revisions

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<blockquote>''"It is a seemingly inevitable consequence arising from the combination of the ease of changing how a platform allocates value, combined with the nature of a "two-sided market," where a platform sits between buyers and sellers, hold each hostage to the other, raking off an ever-larger share of the value that passes between them."''

-Corey Doctorow, ''Wired,'' 2023</blockquote>Enshittification at it's core is a three-stage process.

#Companies offer their product or service to users with great incentive to try and build an established userbase. It is usually during ~~this~~ stage the company is the most focused on providing a positive user-experience and listening to feedback.

=== Stage 1 - Incentivizing Mass Adoption ===

#Once a stable userbase is locked in, companies offer access to the userbase to business customers with great incentive. This stage is usually when the user-experience begins to decline as the company is now more focused on catering to partners such as suppliers and advertisers.

Companies offer their product or service to users with great incentive to try and build an established userbase. It is usually during the early stage of the company is the most focused on providing a positive user-experience and listening to feedback.

#When both users and business partners are locked in, the company shifts it's surpluses to the shareholders. It no longer has any incentive to grow or maintain quality for either of it's customer bases and relentlessly seeks profit at any rate for the shareholders. Companies at this stage also tend to have such a large market presence that switching barriers naturally (or intentionally) fall into place for those trying to leave for alternatives.

For example, [[Uber]] was initially well-recieved for offering competitive prices for transportation, leading to a large userbase adopting the platform.

=== Stage 2 - Catering to Business Clients ===

Once a stable userbase is locked in, companies begin offer access to the userbase to business customers with great incentive. This stage is usually when the user-experience begins to decline as the company is now more focused on catering to partners such as suppliers and advertisers.

For example, in 2023, Reddit removed free access to their API nearing the time of its IPO.<ref name="TheVergeAnnouncement">{{Cite web |last=Shakir |first=Umar |date=April 18, 2023 |title=Reddit's upcoming API changes will make AI companies pony up |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/18/23688463/reddit-developer-api-terms-change-monetization-ai |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230614020642/https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/18/23688463/reddit-developer-api-terms-change-monetization-ai |archive-date=June 14, 2023 |access-date=June 17, 2023 |work=[[The Verge]]}}</ref> Then, in 2024, Reddit struck a $60M deal with Google to give access to its user-generated content for AI training data.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tong |first=Anna |last2=Wang |first2=Echo |last3=Coulter |first3=Martin |last4=Tong |first4=Anna |last5=Wang |first5=Echo |date=2024-02-22 |title=Exclusive: Reddit in AI content licensing deal with Google |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/reddit-ai-content-licensing-deal-with-google-sources-say-2024-02-22/ |access-date=2025-06-20 |work=Reuters |language=en}}</ref>

=== Stage 3 - Quality Degradation for Shareholders ===

When both users and business partners are locked in, the company shifts it's surpluses to the shareholders. It no longer has any incentive to grow or maintain quality for either of it's customer bases and relentlessly seeks profit at any rate for the shareholders. Companies at this stage also tend to have such a large market presence that switching barriers naturally (or intentionally) fall into place for those trying to leave for alternatives.

An ongoing example is YouTube's crackdown on users using ad-blockers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=YouTube intensifies crackdown on ad blockers {{!}} AdGuard |url=https://adguard.com/en/blog/youtube-new-banner-adblockers-violate-tos.html |access-date=2025-06-20 |website=AdGuard Blog |language=en}}</ref> While such a crackdown might reduce ad-blocker usage and increase short-term shareholder returns, it degrades the experience for users and reduces the quality of impressions for advertisers. Over 30% of the world's population uses YouTube, with a ~98% market share in online video media.<ref>{{Cite web |title=YouTube - Market Share, Competitor Insights in Media Players And Streaming Platforms |url=https://www.6sense.com/tech/media-players-and-streaming-platforms/youtube-market-share |access-date=2025-06-20 |website=6sense}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=23 Essential YouTube Statistics You Need to Know in 2025 |url=https://thesocialshepherd.com/blog/youtube-statistics |access-date=2025-06-20 |website=The Social Shepherd |language=en}}</ref>

==Why it is a problem==

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 <blockquote>''"It is a seemingly inevitable consequence arising from the combination of the ease of changing how a platform allocates value, combined with the nature of a "two-sided market," where a platform sits between buyers and sellers, hold each hostage to the other, raking off an ever-larger share of the value that passes between them."''
 -Corey Doctorow, ''Wired,'' 2023</blockquote>Enshittification at it's core is a three-stage process.
-#Companies offer their product or service to users with great incentive to try and build an established userbase. It is usually during this stage the company is the most focused on providing a positive user-experience and listening to feedback.
+=== Stage 1 - Incentivizing Mass Adoption ===
-#Once a stable userbase is locked in, companies offer access to the userbase to business customers with great incentive. This stage is usually when the user-experience begins to decline as the company is now more focused on catering to partners such as suppliers and advertisers.
+Companies offer their product or service to users with great incentive to try and build an established userbase. It is usually during the early stage of the company is the most focused on providing a positive user-experience and listening to feedback.
-#When both users and business partners are locked in, the company shifts it's surpluses to the shareholders. It no longer has any incentive to grow or maintain  quality for either of it's customer bases and relentlessly seeks profit at any rate for the shareholders. Companies at this stage also tend to have such a large market presence that switching barriers naturally (or intentionally) fall into place for those trying to leave for alternatives.
+For example, [[Uber]] was initially well-recieved for offering competitive prices for transportation, leading to a large userbase adopting the platform.
+=== Stage 2 - Catering to Business Clients ===
+Once a stable userbase is locked in, companies begin offer access to the userbase to business customers with great incentive. This stage is usually when the user-experience begins to decline as the company is now more focused on catering to partners such as suppliers and advertisers.
+For example, in 2023, Reddit removed free access to their API nearing the time of its IPO.<ref name="TheVergeAnnouncement">{{Cite web |last=Shakir |first=Umar |date=April 18, 2023 |title=Reddit's upcoming API changes will make AI companies pony up |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/18/23688463/reddit-developer-api-terms-change-monetization-ai |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230614020642/https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/18/23688463/reddit-developer-api-terms-change-monetization-ai |archive-date=June 14, 2023 |access-date=June 17, 2023 |work=[[The Verge]]}}</ref> Then, in 2024, Reddit struck a $60M deal with Google to give access to its user-generated content for AI training data.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tong |first=Anna |last2=Wang |first2=Echo |last3=Coulter |first3=Martin |last4=Tong |first4=Anna |last5=Wang |first5=Echo |date=2024-02-22 |title=Exclusive: Reddit in AI content licensing deal with Google |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/reddit-ai-content-licensing-deal-with-google-sources-say-2024-02-22/ |access-date=2025-06-20 |work=Reuters |language=en}}</ref>
+=== Stage 3 - Quality Degradation for Shareholders ===
+When both users and business partners are locked in, the company shifts it's surpluses to the shareholders. It no longer has any incentive to grow or maintain quality for either of it's customer bases and relentlessly seeks profit at any rate for the shareholders. Companies at this stage also tend to have such a large market presence that switching barriers naturally (or intentionally) fall into place for those trying to leave for alternatives.
+An ongoing example is YouTube's crackdown on users using ad-blockers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=YouTube intensifies crackdown on ad blockers {{!}} AdGuard |url=https://adguard.com/en/blog/youtube-new-banner-adblockers-violate-tos.html |access-date=2025-06-20 |website=AdGuard Blog |language=en}}</ref> While such a crackdown might reduce ad-blocker usage and increase short-term shareholder returns, it degrades the experience for users and reduces the quality of impressions for advertisers. Over 30% of the world's population uses YouTube, with a ~98% market share in online video media.<ref>{{Cite web |title=YouTube - Market Share, Competitor Insights in Media Players And Streaming Platforms |url=https://www.6sense.com/tech/media-players-and-streaming-platforms/youtube-market-share |access-date=2025-06-20 |website=6sense}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=23 Essential YouTube Statistics You Need to Know in 2025 |url=https://thesocialshepherd.com/blog/youtube-statistics |access-date=2025-06-20 |website=The Social Shepherd |language=en}}</ref>
 ==Why it is a problem==