this post was submitted on 08 Aug 2025
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Enshittification
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What is enshittification?
The phenomenon of online platforms gradually degrading the quality of their services, often by promoting advertisements and sponsored content, in order to increase profits. (Cory Doctorow, 2022, extracted from Wikitionary) source
The lifecycle of Big Internet
We discuss how predatory big tech platforms live and die by luring people in and then decaying for profit.
Embrace, extend and extinguish
We also discuss how naturally open technologies like the Fediverse can be susceptible to corporate takeovers, rugpulls and subsequent enshittification.
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A few years ago, the U.S. passed a law requiring a back-up camera. Of course, this required a display on the dashboard. So, now all new cars sold in the U.S. have some sort of display on the dash, even the cheapest cars. I thought at the time, the real reason for this, since mirrors have always worked just fine, was to eventually display ads in the cars.
As cars have gotten bigger they have larger blind spots. That law was lobbied for by a man who accidentally backed over his child because his mirrors couldn’t see behind his truck.
The screens were originally just CCTV and couldn’t show ads at all.
I had a truck years ago that, yes, had a center screen. But its backup camera was integrated into the rear view mirror. I really liked that.