DEF CON 31 - An Audacious Plan to Halt the Internet's Ensh*ttification - Cory Doctorow
www.youtube.com
The enshittification of the internet follows a predictable trajectory: first, platforms are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things b...
  • Lvxferre@lemmy.mlM
    39·
    9 months ago

    OP, please, when sharing this sort of long video, try to contextualise it to the topic of the comm. A few words go a long way.

    That said what an amazing find. Most of the things that Cory explains in this video are the things that he already explained through text. Even then, it’s great to hear him talking, even if he goes on 10min parentheses.

    I think that the most relevant parts are, up to ~25:00, in my own words:

    • The four steps of enshittification - 1) platform is nice for the users, 2) platform backstabs users to be nice for businesses, 3) platform backstabs businesses to hoard the value for itself, 4) platform dies
    • The three criteria that ensure enshittification: 1) mono/oligopoly, 2) ability to change the rules for the users and work around legislations regarding labour, privacy, or fair trading laws, 3) ability to change the laws to outlaw users and other companies fighting back.

    Later on he’ll talk about how to bring a “good internet” up, without enshittification, but I’m still watching the video.

    In the context of Reddit the whole thing sounds a lot like “we tried to play the enshittification game like the adults, but we’re just a bunch of little greedy pigboys”. Reddit is trying to go to the second step of enshittification, but it is not in a good position to be nice for businesses - why would you advertise in a site that is leaking users and that is clearly becoming unmanageable? It was able to backstab the users, and that’s it.