Maybe enshittification is a good thing. Here's why
enshittification \[en-shit-uh-fi-key-shuhn\] (noun): the gradual degradation of an online platform or service's functionality, as part of a cycle in which the platform or service first offers benefits to users to attract them, then pursues more and more profits at the expense of users.
"Enshittification" by default is a bad thing. It's in the name. Even if you didn't know what it was, if you heard something was "enshittified," would you have a positive inclination towards it? Probably not.
As the trap of enshittification closes in on us all, the optimist in me thinks, "You know what? Maybe this is a good thing."
I know it sounds paradoxical, but hear me out: the worse things get, the more motivated people are to ask questions, migrate to alternatives, and build better platforms.
And hopefully, also enact well-informed legislation that prevents what appears to be this "necessity" of enshittification from continuing to happen in an endless cycle.
Let me be clear: enshittification is not "good" in that it actually benefits us. The noun itself is not a positive term.
What is positive, however, is the outcry and intellectual conversation and that I've seen for various "enshittified" platforms. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Google
- Destroyed by fake (and often harmful) sponsored results.
- Plagued by lengthy and irrelevant search-engine-optimized results, many of which are now AI-generated and wildly inaccurate, strengthening the landslide of misinformation.
- Suppressing valuable and independent content in exchange for its own proprietary ecosystem and walled garden.
- YouTube
- Discord
- Netflix
- Facebook + Threads + Instagram
- Amazon
- No longer gives you the best results, but rather the results from sellers who paid the most to appear at the top.
- Rampant in counterfeit products.
- Rampant in fake reviews.
- Roku and "Smart" TV manufacturers
- Ever wonder why the price of TVs has fallen? Because your data and constant surveillance is much more valuable than the one-time sale of the TV.
- Printers
- Tesla
- TikTok
- WhatsApp
- How private (and secure) are your conversations if moderators can read your messages?
- Hulu, Max, Prime Video, Netflix, Apple Music, Spotify, and every other streaming service
- We don't own anything (despite paying for it) and it can be removed at any time without warning.
Piracy on the rise again. Streaming was supposed to end piracy, but it ended up making it worse. So it's no surprise to see an increase of people "sailing the high seas."
Let me be clear: I don’t “like” that things have gotten this bad, but I do like that the worse things get, the more we can collectively organize and pressure reform to fix these things.
It’d be great to see a true social revolution take place in our lifetimes. We built this, albeit incorrectly. We can also take it down and rebuild it.
Imagine value-based services provided in exchange for money, not monopolized by businesses that are designed and can only survive by exploiting its users (both individual consumers and other businesses).
How bad do things have to get in order to see meaningful change? Only time will tell.
For indie hackers in particular, I see this is a great opportunity to build new platforms and services that can compete on one simple premise: not being enshittified.
Coudn't agree more. I remember back when you could own lifetime software. Now it's mostly recurring. That's why companies like Appsumo hit it really big when it comes to lifetime software.
Now you need a bunch of discounts & coupon codes to keep your hosting up xD
A very interesting post. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for reading ✊
I like the idea a lot. But platforms that aren't "enshittified" would need to be supported. They would need to be financed by benevolent for-profit ventures that do something independent of the main utility of the platform.
What ideas or alternatives are there to avoid ads or subscriptions or locking down content?
Good question—here's your answer
Hoping for better regulations and user-focused innovation!
Thanks for the post Hiram. Enshitified subscriptions are truly out of control.
I'm wondering why everything can't be prepay and metered with continuous live microscopic billing analytics.
The tech is there already, and it seems kinda shitty not to extend that transparency to the end user. Lately I've been experimenting with some solutions for my stuff.
Spotify also enshittified creator experience - taking their content and monetizing it, while paying them nothing in return: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/nov/30/spotify-smaller-artists-wrapped-indie-musicians
It's inevitable at this point—and there's nowhere else to go, because the distribution is consolidated.
Great topic! I often wonder about the hidden forces behind the phenomenon of enshittification, which seems to inevitably affect most, if not all, large-scale companies. Is it due to collective human greed, or are there unknown structural forces that compel businesses to deteriorate as they grow? Why can't initiatives that start with good intentions endure? There are countless examples of enshittification, yet no lasting cases of businesses avoiding it. Understanding these forces is crucial for those aiming to prevent enshittification when building a business, even if these forces may lead to inevitable decline.
Good thoughts, and excellent questions. I don't think the answer is one-dimensional—I think there are a few forces at play, including, but not limited to:
I'm surprised you missed out the enshittification king:
Google Analytics 4
It literally led to the emergence of a whole indie niche of analytic products that don't suck.
Enshittification is a good thing, it creates room for us indies to grow and slowly nibble at the lunch of the big, lumbering, complacent behemoths.
Good call, Jay. I didn't even think of GA4 because I've been using OptikAnalytics instead. Plus, I'm de-Googled.
We could also add Uber and Lyft to the list.
I agree that there's a silver lining in enshittification.
Excellent thinking. The cost of participation in online culture cumulatively has a huge subscription cost—with almost nothing durable or tangible to show for it. Simply with media consumption, we pay more now for online streaming across all the platforms than we ever did for even the most obscene cable package there was. On and on, in nearly every industry, the subscription model erodes perception of value.
Well said 👏
interesting post,,
I think as we sap the middle class of any disposable income and destroy the consumer economy in service of "endless growth", we'll hit a stage where most services get priced at a "luxury" price point where only high-earners can consume them. But who knows, we might even get a government subsidy for streaming services because the US government loves finding creative ways to prop up this debt economy and keep zombie companies alive.
Damn, you went in. You might not be wrong though. I hope you are, for everyone's sake, but... 😬
In short, I think these services will kill themselves trying to squeeze every penny from customers, and competition will probably arise. So I think we may see short term issues, but hopefully long term opportunity. I'm just sour at all the price gouging I'm seeing on consumers while big companies lay off staff and make record profits.
I mean... sour and rightfully so 🤷♂️
Thanks for sharing it
Glad you found it insightful 🤝
I'm very much on the side of the argument you're making. I think you're right in pointing out the opportunity for IH.
I think though that enshitification is a symptom of scale and monopoly.
Which if true, means that getting rid of enshitification in new products probably means sacrificing scale.
I think that's the place where IH products are shining, as smaller teams and bootstrapping means less need for scale and exponential growth.
Probably a good question to ask is if you can fulfill the need that one of the bigger companies are serving, but do it for a smaller and more affluent than the average niche.
I generally agree with your comment, though I'll disagree that enshittification is a symptom of scale itself. It's possible to have scale without enshittification. We see proof of this in certain decentalized networks and open source software.
You're right about a good chunk of it boiling down to legislative failure (hence the monopolies/duopolies).
This is also why the majority of startups simply don't even have the opportunity to compete in the first place.
Exactly. I'm also thinking of the monetization then, if enshitification won't take place. Where you now must build a direct competitor to these behemoths, without having the same funding. It would seem difficult tbh
You're right—it is difficult, and that's by design...