Platform Decay (enshittification)

See also: BAD, digital-humanism, teaching-digital-technologies

Sources:

Term defined by Cory Doctorow to describe a pattern of evolution in the behaviour/quality of online platforms. Drawing heavily on recognising such platforms as two-sided markets.

The model Doctorow describes is:

  1. Platforms are good to their users.
  2. Then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers.
  3. They then abuse their business customers to generate value for the platform.

The solution depends on two general principles

  1. The end-to-end principle - the platform must provide the customer with exactly what the want - the "message" is delivered safely from end to end.
  2. The right to exist - allowing users to move if they are dissatisifed.