The concept of enshitification, as coined by author and activist Cory Doctorow, is simply feels Correct. Whether you’re searching on Google, shopping on Amazon, or scrolling through Facebook, the big platforms often feel like they aren’t trying to bring as much value to us as they could to us. It wasn’t always like this, was it? Can we get it back?
on this issue of The VergecastDoctors have an answer. No, it wasn’t always like that, and yes, we too can do get it back. Doctor’s new book, Ensitification: Why does everything suddenly go wrong and what to do about itFull of explanations about the ways that big, successful, once user-focused products go wrong, and the ways in which regulators and competitors can make things better again.
Doctorow was a recent guest decoder, Explaining the nuts and bolts of the ensitification process. Here, we deal mostly with the question of what to do about it now. Doctorow’s work focuses largely on regulatory issues and technological changes, and his book largely advocates for changes at those levels. There is no pep talk in this notification About how users should demand better, embrace friction, shop local, or move away from Zuckerberg’s platform.
Why not? Is there anything that we, the users of these products, who supposedly vote with our wallets and our attention spans every day, can do to steer the Internet back in the right direction?
Doctors have some answers and some ideas. But he also quickly adds that it’s not your fault the way things are. And it’s not your problem to fix it. (Unless you have the power to change bad laws – then it’s largely your fault and your problem.) That said, the good Internet still exists and we have to bring it back.
If you want to learn more about everything discussed in this episode, here are some links to get you started: