46
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 16 Jul 2024
46 points (100.0% liked)
Chat
7480 readers
15 users here now
Relaxed section for discussion and debate that doesn't fit anywhere else. Whether it's advice, how your week is going, a link that's at the back of your mind, or something like that, it can likely go here.
Subcommunities on Beehaw:
This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
I think that it can but it's harder to do so, since physical products are usually sold as discrete units, while digital products are often sold as a continuous service. Enshittification requires you to trap users into the continued consumption of the product, even after a sharp drop of quality, and that's easier to pull of under a continuous service.
If that's correct physical products can be enshittified too, but that would require a different sales model than just "go to the shop, buy it". Perhaps exploiting either subscriptions (like ink cartridges) and network effect (you need to use that product instead of a competing one because otherwise you break compatibility with what others use, and that compatibility is essential for the usage of the product).
that does make sense, and you cite two great examples. I initially thought of Apple as maybe a physical brand that hasn't enshittified, but really they hit that network effect that you're talking about.
It could also apply to degrading quality or features in replacements. Something like newer cars offering subscriptions for heated seats or extended battery range. Or leather goods switching to a lower grade.