Pluralistic: Big Tech's "attention rents" (03 Nov 2023)

Today's links

Big Tech's "attention rents": Enshittification comes out of the barrel of an algorithm.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Pluralistic: Podcasting "Microincentives and Enshittification" (24 Oct 2023)

Today's links

Podcasting "Microincentives and Enshittification": They’ve run out of lands to conquer and they’re taking it out on you.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018, 2022
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Pluralistic: Bill Willingham puts his graphic novel series "Fables" into the public domain (15 Sept 2023)

Today's links

Bill Willingham puts his graphic novel series "Fables" into the public domain: A magnificent table flip (but the devil is in the details).
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018, 2022
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Pluralistic: Saturday linkdump, part the sixth (09 Sept 2023)

Today's links

Saturday linkdump, part the sixth: The new digital disorder.
This day in history: 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018, 2022
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Pluralistic: At long last, a meaningful step to protect Americans' privacy (16 August 2023)

Today's links

At long last, a meaningful step to protect Americans' privacy: The CFPB rejects the learned helplessness of generations of regulators.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018, 2022
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Pluralistic: Private equity plunderers want to buy Simon & Schuster (08 August 2023)

Today's links

Private equity plunderers want to buy Simon & Schuster: From the same parasites that infected your hospital's emergency room and sucked Toys R Us dry.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2008, 2013, 2018
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Pluralistic: Forcing your computer to rat you out (02 August 2023)

Today's links

Forcing your computer to rat you out: Self determination starts with the right to decide who can know which facts about you.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018, 2022
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Microincentives and Enshittification

How the Curse of Bigness wrecked Google Search.

A clip from a Jenga ad showing a dad knocking over the Jenga tower.

It’s hard to convey just how revolutionary Google Search was when it debuted in 1998. It blew rivals — from AskJeeves and Altavista to Yahoo — out of the water. It was so good, it was almost spooky, surfacing the best of the web with just a few clicks.

Today, Google owns the search market, controlling more than 90 percent of searches. Its worth hovers in the trillion-dollar range, and it employs some 180,000 people in offices all over the world. Almost every online journey we take starts with a Google search.

And here’s the thing: Google Search suuuuucks.

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Pluralistic: Saving the news from Big Tech with end-to-end social media (13 June 2023)

Today's links

Saving the news from Big Tech with end-to-end social media: The final installment in my EFF series on saving the news.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2013, 2018, 2022
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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Pluralistic: To save the news, ban surveillance ads (31 May 2023)

Today's links

To save the news, ban surveillance ads: No publisher will ever beat ad-tech at spying, but no tech company will ever understand a publisher's content better than they do.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018, 2022
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

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