Hardcover, 352 pages
English language
Published by MCD.
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 …
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.
How does one write nonfiction about antitrust and economics that reads like candy while having so much substance?
I read about a chapter a day. Then, each day my loved ones were subjected to me evangelizing a new thing living in head, rent free, from that chapter.
Even when I was familiar with events, the way Doctorow extracts the right bits to weave into a unified tapestry is masterful.
There are plenty of reviews of this book so go read one of those instead.
This book helps to explain why almost everything on the internet---and, more generally, our capitalist world---is getting worse. There are things that can be done about it but I'm not sure that there is the political will in the world to make it happen.
There are plenty of reviews of this book so go read one of those instead.
This book helps to explain why almost everything on the internet---and, more generally, our capitalist world---is getting worse. There are things that can be done about it but I'm not sure that there is the political will in the world to make it happen.
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.
Suosittelen tätä kirjaa kaikille. Ostakaa esim. e-kirja tai äänikirja suoraan kirjailijalta hänen nettisivuiltaan craphound.com! Voin myös lainata omaa fyysistä kopiotani eteenpäin pyynnöstä :)
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.
Suosittelen tätä kirjaa kaikille. Ostakaa esim. e-kirja tai äänikirja suoraan kirjailijalta hänen nettisivuiltaan craphound.com! Voin myös lainata omaa fyysistä kopiotani eteenpäin pyynnöstä :)
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.
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.
I don't care much for Doctorow's fiction but he has a knack to explain complicated things clearly. And this is true here, as he explains all the ways we got to our enshittified stated. As importantly, the last part of the book is dedicated to potential solutions. 4 stars instead of 5 because the idea that Trump might have an "anti-trust agenda" is laughable.
I don't care much for Doctorow's fiction but he has a knack to explain complicated things clearly. And this is true here, as he explains all the ways we got to our enshittified stated. As importantly, the last part of the book is dedicated to potential solutions. 4 stars instead of 5 because the idea that Trump might have an "anti-trust agenda" is laughable.
