Reddit is determined to “go commercial”. It’ll be successful at first because there’s a wealth of good data in Reddit. However, those who contribute rather than just consume will drift away. The content becomes stale (who wants recommendations for great Bluetooth headsets from 2015?).
Cory Doctorow wrote an excellent article on how TikTok, Facebook, Amazon and more have become worse, and why. It was written in January before Reddit’s API announcement, but it applies to Reddit every bit as much as the others. It’s worth a read: Tiktok’s enshittification
That article is fantastic, read it when it was first posted and just read it again now. His closing lines hit home:
“…policymakers should focus on freedom of exit – the right to leave a sinking platform while continuing to stay connected to the communities that you left behind, enjoying the media and apps you bought, and preserving the data you created…”
“The Netheads were right: technological self-determination is at odds with the natural imperatives of tech businesses. They make more money when they take away our freedom – our freedom to speak, to leave, to connect.”
That article was absolutely brutal. This is what happens when you put all of your eggs in one basket. Incidentally, many youtubers have been suffering from the phenomenon too. When a company grows big enough, this sort of thing seems to happen every time.
Reddit is determined to “go commercial”. It’ll be successful at first because there’s a wealth of good data in Reddit. However, those who contribute rather than just consume will drift away. The content becomes stale (who wants recommendations for great Bluetooth headsets from 2015?).
Cory Doctorow wrote an excellent article on how TikTok, Facebook, Amazon and more have become worse, and why. It was written in January before Reddit’s API announcement, but it applies to Reddit every bit as much as the others. It’s worth a read: Tiktok’s enshittification
That article is fantastic, read it when it was first posted and just read it again now. His closing lines hit home:
“…policymakers should focus on freedom of exit – the right to leave a sinking platform while continuing to stay connected to the communities that you left behind, enjoying the media and apps you bought, and preserving the data you created…”
“The Netheads were right: technological self-determination is at odds with the natural imperatives of tech businesses. They make more money when they take away our freedom – our freedom to speak, to leave, to connect.”
Holy enshittification batman. That’s an enlightening read. Thank you.
That article was absolutely brutal. This is what happens when you put all of your eggs in one basket. Incidentally, many youtubers have been suffering from the phenomenon too. When a company grows big enough, this sort of thing seems to happen every time.