Enshittification: Difference between revisions

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

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

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

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.

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 ===

===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.

Once a stable userbase is locked in, companies begin offering 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 ===

===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.

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 -Corey Doctorow, ''Wired,'' 2023</blockquote>Enshittification at it's core is a three-stage process.
-=== Stage 1 - Incentivizing Mass Adoption ===
+===Stage 1 - Incentivizing Mass Adoption===
 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.
 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 ===
+===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.
+Once a stable userbase is locked in, companies begin offering 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 ===
+===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.