Enshittification describes the decay and death of social media platforms, as coined by Cory Doctorow in 2023.
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It's a three-stage process
The process occurs in three stages: providing a positive user experience, abusing users for business customers' benefit, and eventually abusing business customers for the platform's own gain.
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Terminal enshittification
Terminal enshittification occurs when users suddenly leave a platform en masse due to scandals or other negative events.
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Respecting user freedom
To combat this, platforms should respect the end-to-end concept and allow users the freedom to leave.
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Importance of interoperability
Interoperability is necessary to prevent network effects from locking in users and impeding competition.