Has YouTube experienced enshittification?
this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2024
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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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No way. YouTube is such a flaghship product and a lynchpin in other businesses (like music, streaming, AI development).
I invoke Hanlon's razor.
https://killedbygoogle.com/
Chromecast was a flagship product.
Stadia was a flagship product.
YT Originals was a flagship product.
Hangouts was a flagship product.
I could go on, but I think my point has been made. Google gives zero fucks about products or consumers. They only care about money.
When they enshittify a product it's to make more money.
I'm not entirely disagreeing with Hanlon on this, but just because they're inept doesn't mean they aren't actively sabotaging themselves through corrupted negligence. Like a bank robber that didn't get an oil change in over 40k miles and goes on a high speed chase. Sure you rob the bank, but you won't get further than three blocks before your engine blows because of your negligence against your car while you planned the bank heist.
None of those were even close to flagships, they were all short term experiments.
YouTube is the basis for much of Google's portfolio and a steady moneymaker, not an upstart liek those.
Chromecast 2013-2024 (12-ish years)
Stadia 2019-2022 (4-ish years)
YT Originals 2016-2022 (7-ish years)
Hangouts 2013-2022 (10-ish years)
You must be joking. Why is YouTube a steady moneymaker? Is it perhaps the advertisements? So wouldn't that make Google ads be the "basis for much of Google's portfolio"?
What threatens the viability of an advertising company? When viewers aren't viewing ads.
YouTube is not an investment for Google. YouTube is a liability. Huge amounts of upkeep, required staff on hand. FUCKIN LAWYERS. At best YouTube is a vehicle they control to increase ad revenue.
The real money maker? Selling your personal data to other advertising networks.
Now that Khan is in the FCC and Harris is likely to win the White House, and it might be possible we have a Blue House & Senate. With the cherry on top, the anti-trust suit.
That's right, the fuckin Google Mafia Monopoly!
They're hedging their bets on the next four to five years being terrible for them and are tying to get rid of as much weight as they can. Why? Because nobody uses Google to search for content on YouTube, and if they have to split YouTube off the main company, Alphabet, will lose so much fucking money the fed couldn't print it fast enough to bail their ass out of the overextended hole they are precariously straddled over.
Google will need to buy then what they get now for free. And you know who hates Alphabet more then their competition? YouTube.
YouTube will make Alphabet pay out the nose for any ad time, so it's easier to quietly write it off now and kill it later before it becomes a threat.