Recent searches
Search options
Administered by:
@pixelfed Honestly, this is the worst open letter I've ever read. It lacks maturity and professionalism. It's full of snarky comments and a tone that doesn't encourage an adult conversation.
He had the chance to show Meta is the one acting like a child, but instead he made himself sound like one. And that's sad.
@masteralf @hirad @pixelfed One key point to keep in mind is that Meta software is really, really bad. Links are blocked basically at random, because they use the misnamed "AI" and this is really naive pattern matchers and random number generators. People go around attributing purpose to the actions of Meta's algorithms when really they ought to know better.
Anyway, Mark Zuckerberg is a big dope who could not possibly understand an open letter and so it looks silly even to address one.
@chemoelectric@masto.ai@masteralf @hirad @pixelfed I prefer my Pixelfed to my Instagram these days BTW. Instagram is such awful software.
@masteralf @hirad @pixelfed Aside: I sense in here the myth of "enshittification", which is the notion that Zuckerberg provided something idealistic and then "enshittified" it. This myth depends on the assumption that Zuckerberg always intended to give away something out of the pureness of his heart, rather than to make money.
He simply did what you are supposed to do as a profit-making business: get people deeply interested, and THEN charge them a profitable amount for it.
@chemoelectric @masteralf @hirad @pixelfed You misunderstand the concept of "enshittification". It doesn't presuppose an initial idealism. Obviously the intent has always been to make money but, initially, you did that by making something that people *liked*, that was fun to use, etc.
@gpilz @masteralf @hirad @pixelfed AND THAT YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO PAY EXTRA FOR to keep that enjoyment. And that didn't wall itself off so it could make money off of people. Etc.
It's like if someone handed out a gadget on the street and gave free access, then made it so you had to trek to a store, pay money, and subscribe to the service. A lot of people would stop enjoying it. So what? THE COMPANY IS NOT A CHARITY.
@chemoelectric @masteralf @hirad @pixelfed Enshittification is, among other things, about an inherent bait and switch. You grow your user base by offering one thing then, once that base large enough to make switching expensive, you change your offering to be something much shittier. It has nothing to do with charity, its about honest business practices.
@gpilz @masteralf @hirad @pixelfed They add advertisements to Amazon Prime. People don't enjoy the advertisements. But what do they think, that Amazon is a charity that provides them television purely for their pleasure? Broadcast TV has advertisements because it is a BUSINESS. So is Amazon a BUSINESS. It's job is to make money.
They can charge you more or put up ads. More people would prefer ads. Not everyone can afford what clever commentators pretend they can.
@chemoelectric @masteralf @hirad @pixelfed But, originally, there were no advertisements. People signed up and PAID MONEY for an ad free service. Would as many people have signed up and subscribed if, at the time, there had been ads? Clearly Amazon didn't think so, or it would have included advertisements from the beginning.
@gpilz @masteralf @hirad @pixelfed Oh, puhleez. That is just elitism, keeping it a service for the wealthy few.
I'm muting the thread.
@chemoelectric @gpilz @masteralf @hirad @pixelfed defending mercenary capitatim is one thing, kissing 45's butt is another.
@chemoelectric @masteralf @hirad @pixelfed That's what "enshittification" is, as Cory Doctorow originally defined it. See https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys
@chemoelectric @masteralf @hirad @pixelfed
“ He simply did what you are supposed to do as a profit-making business: get people deeply interested, and THEN charge them a profitable amount for it.”
No, that’s what drug dealers used to do. And what companies following the neoliberal playbook do to create imaginary value out of thin air to entice shareholders.
What a profit-making business is supposed to do is to provide a service that is valuable to its customers and ideally generate revenue that is larger than the expenses, expenses which should include fair wages to the employees.