Why does it feel like we're at a point where every social media + other digital media are making shitty decisions and falling apart?

VoidCrow@lemmy.world to No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world – 931 points –

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.

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.

Is it though? Or is it that they need to satiate the VC backers? Could a platform keep going if it was content to pay it's employees and have some amount of reinvestment money and just exist without the need for infinite growth?

They're just trying to survive until they IPO. Then they can cash out and who gives a fuck about reddit after that.

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.