Enshittification: it’s not just you―the internet sucks now. Here’s why, and here’s how we can disenshittify.
We’re living through the Enshittocene, the Great Enshittening, a time in which the services that matter to us, that we rely on, are turning into giant piles of shit. It’s frustrating. Demoralizing. Even terrifying.
Enshittification identifies the problem and proposes a solution.
When Cory Doctorow coined the term enshittification, he was not just finding a funner way to say “things are getting worse.” He was making a specific diagnosis about the …
Enshittification: it’s not just you―the internet sucks now. Here’s why, and here’s how we can disenshittify.
We’re living through the Enshittocene, the Great Enshittening, a time in which the services that matter to us, that we rely on, are turning into giant piles of shit. It’s frustrating. Demoralizing. Even terrifying.
Enshittification identifies the problem and proposes a solution.
When Cory Doctorow coined the term enshittification, he was not just finding a funner way to say “things are getting worse.” He was making a specific diagnosis about the state of the digital world and how it is affecting all of our lives (and not for the better).
The once-glorious internet was colonized by platforms that made all-but-magical promises to their users―and, at least initially, seemed to deliver on them. But once users were locked in, the platforms turned on them to make their business customers happy. Then the platforms turned to abusing their business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. In the end, the platforms die.
Doctorow’s argument clearly resonated. Once named, it became obvious that enshittification is everywhere, so much so that the American Dialect Society named it its 2023 Word of the Year, and was cited as an inspiration for the 2025 season of Black Mirror.
Here, now, in Enshittification the book, Doctorow moves the conversation beyond the overwhelming sense of our inevitably enshittified fate. He shows us the specific decisions that led us here, who made them, and―most important―how they can be undone.
Doctorowin proosa on erinomaisen luettavaa ja vakavastakin aiheesta huolimatta oikeissa paikoissa huvittavaa. Doctorow esittelee lanseeraamaansa "paskiintumisen" konseptia esimerkillisesti Amazonin, Googlen ja Twitterin esimerkkien kautta, analysoi yhteiskunnallisia rakenteita, jotka ovat ruokkineet käyttämiemme alustojen paskiintumisen ja ehdottaa mahdollisia korjaustoimenpiteitä.
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A look at how the new business model is to make you pay more
4.0 stars
A very entertaining and scary read. While it focuses on tech, it applies to physical products and even services. Essentially, companies try to extract more and more from us, often by throwing features and capabilities, or shrinking the product.
I have a hunch the book contains some of his longer blog posts from the past. Maybe with some new material. It's organized well and reads well. I had not read his previous books, but do recognize his name and know he's worked with the Electronic Freedom Foundation.
Probably could be a stronger book with summarized interviews of various sources who can back up some of the claims and biases. Still, an enjoyable read.
