this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2026
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Enshittification

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What is enshittification?

The phenomenon of online platforms gradually degrading the quality of their services, often by promoting advertisements and sponsored content, in order to increase profits. (Cory Doctorow, 2022, extracted from Wikitionary) source

The lifecycle of Big Internet

We discuss how predatory big tech platforms live and die by luring people in and then decaying for profit.

Embrace, extend and extinguish

We also discuss how naturally open technologies like the Fediverse can be susceptible to corporate takeovers, rugpulls and subsequent enshittification.

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cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/41318971

Destin Sandlin examines the systemic engineering and economic hurdles involved in manufacturing a grill scrubber entirely in America. Through a deep dive into sourcing components like injection-molded knobs and specialized chain mail, the project highlights the complexities of maintaining domestic supply chains and preserving vital technical trade skills in a competitive global market.

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[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca -4 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Yes, he made a “better” grill scrubber completely in the USA, but it costs $60

He copied a scrubber made by Cuisineart for $29-39.

[–] Taldan@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

They copied him, which reiterates a fundamental problem with our capitalist model - it's too easy to copy a good design and make a cheaper copy

He spent a lot of engineering hours on R&D. Cuisinart skipped that by stealing his design. They also save a lot of money by having it made in China

[–] almost1337@lemmy.zip 5 points 2 days ago

Was the Cuisinart one around when the first video went up a year ago, or did a major company see a potentially good idea and leverage their resources to mass produce a cheaper version?

If you watch the original video from last year, they did a lot of design work from first principles, so I doubt they copied from the big company.