"So now Cory Doctorow, a well-known tech writer, has put his finger on another phenomenon that did not have a name, and that is the gradual evolution, he would say deterioration of tech platforms. So Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, and so on. We fall in love with them, but they evolve into something we fall out of love with, but we're kind of stuck in their world and he calls that the enshitification of these services."
"But I do know exactly what you're talking about, and I think it happens in lots of areas. There's a product or service or platform as you say, that starts really great and then gets worse over time because the organization, whether it's public or private, becomes less focused and complacent. In a perfect world, the market would punish them for that. There would be clay as disruptors and consumers or business clients could take their money elsewhere."
Many major tech platforms begin by prioritizing users and rapid innovation but gradually shift priorities toward monetization, advertisers, and sellers. That shift often produces degraded experiences as organizations become less focused and more complacent. Network effects, market dominance, and user lock-in reduce competitive pressure, making it hard for users to leave even as value erodes. Market mechanisms that would ordinarily punish deterioration can fail when incumbents dominate a sector or geography. Addressing these structural incentives and creating viable alternatives are necessary to prevent platforms from becoming worse over time.
Read at Harvard Business Review
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