I don't think you get enshittification quite right here (although I fully agree on the criticism of the word itself): it's about network effects and how it makes it incredibly difficult for any individual to defect from the service. A company comes in and offers a great product at a low price (often free), everyone joins, then they raise the price. You may wish to opt out at that point but most of the value of the service is that everyone else is using it, you often can't buy a better product for any price.
I think the criticism of enshittification here is flawed in the same way as the concept itself - you seem much more frustrated with the word for being constructed sillily. The points about consumers having access to more than ever before ring true, but feel to miss the broader point made by enshittification; it’s not just that you can be priced higher and ever more efficiently, it’s that the level we set is between life and death. And no one likes making decisions with a knife at the neck.
#14: It's unrealistic to expect a new general purpose technology to show up quickly in GDP figures.
It took many decades for steam engines to show up in GDP; likewise for electric motors, electric light, and electric telegraphy. Fax machines existed before WWII but did not show up in productivity till the 1980s. Transistors were invented in 1947 but were pretty much used in novelty items like the Sony transistor radio until the 1970s. Cell-phones were invented in the 1980s but did not show up till the 2000s.
It takes a long time for diffusion of awareness and understanding, and longer still to adapt work practices to take advantage of a new technology.
Expecting instant change bespeaks ignorance of humans and systems.
#15 highlights a significant risk during this century. I fear we will see consequences of poor policy choices of the last 30 years. See them up close, much closer than we would like. It is the positive argument for Trump's trade policy, although tariffs are a very blunt instrument.
Interesting piece in the FT on "how economies forget". It is thoroughly paywalled. Who wrote it? If that author wrote a book on the topic I'd read the heck out of it.
Glad to see the enshittification paragraph. I so often hear Americans on podcasts say things like (I'm not exaggerating) "Now if you get the cheapest Netflix package, they make you watch ads – we live in hell / capitalism is a nightmare" etc. It really was a remarkable coup for Cory Doctorow, who has a dire track record as a tech pundit, to achieve renewed late-career relevance simply by coining this one annoying word.
I don't think you get enshittification quite right here (although I fully agree on the criticism of the word itself): it's about network effects and how it makes it incredibly difficult for any individual to defect from the service. A company comes in and offers a great product at a low price (often free), everyone joins, then they raise the price. You may wish to opt out at that point but most of the value of the service is that everyone else is using it, you often can't buy a better product for any price.
I think the criticism of enshittification here is flawed in the same way as the concept itself - you seem much more frustrated with the word for being constructed sillily. The points about consumers having access to more than ever before ring true, but feel to miss the broader point made by enshittification; it’s not just that you can be priced higher and ever more efficiently, it’s that the level we set is between life and death. And no one likes making decisions with a knife at the neck.
#14: It's unrealistic to expect a new general purpose technology to show up quickly in GDP figures.
It took many decades for steam engines to show up in GDP; likewise for electric motors, electric light, and electric telegraphy. Fax machines existed before WWII but did not show up in productivity till the 1980s. Transistors were invented in 1947 but were pretty much used in novelty items like the Sony transistor radio until the 1970s. Cell-phones were invented in the 1980s but did not show up till the 2000s.
It takes a long time for diffusion of awareness and understanding, and longer still to adapt work practices to take advantage of a new technology.
Expecting instant change bespeaks ignorance of humans and systems.
#15 highlights a significant risk during this century. I fear we will see consequences of poor policy choices of the last 30 years. See them up close, much closer than we would like. It is the positive argument for Trump's trade policy, although tariffs are a very blunt instrument.
Interesting piece in the FT on "how economies forget". It is thoroughly paywalled. Who wrote it? If that author wrote a book on the topic I'd read the heck out of it.
Glad to see the enshittification paragraph. I so often hear Americans on podcasts say things like (I'm not exaggerating) "Now if you get the cheapest Netflix package, they make you watch ads – we live in hell / capitalism is a nightmare" etc. It really was a remarkable coup for Cory Doctorow, who has a dire track record as a tech pundit, to achieve renewed late-career relevance simply by coining this one annoying word.
for what it's worth I enjoyed the enshittification rant, even though I agree maybe 50%ish