BIG TECH RUNS ON ENTROPY
Tracking the intentional decay of the platforms you depend on.
Destroyed journalism industry via 'Pivot to Video' metrics fraud. Internal docs prove Instagram harms teen mental health. Organic reach for businesses cut to zero.
SYSTEM STATUS
9 DEGRADED / 3 OPTIMIZED
THE TRAP
Subsidized Growth
Uber burned $32B in VC money subsidizing rides. The goal wasn't cheap transport. It was to bankrupt taxis and create a captive market.
"First they are good to users; then they abuse users to serve business customers; finally, they abuse business customers."
— Cory Doctorow
STRUCTURAL DEFENSES
STEAM
Valve has no shareholders to please. No quarterly earnings calls. They are not legally obligated to cannibalize their user base for short-term growth. They prove the best way to compete with piracy is simply offering a better service.
ELEMENT
Matrix works like email. No single company owns the network. If a provider turns bad, users can switch servers without losing history or contacts. Because the protocol is open, enclosure and lock-in are mathematically impossible.
GRAPHENEOS
The code is public and audited. No profit motive to hoard data. When the French government demanded backdoors, GrapheneOS refused and blacklisted the country rather than compromise user sovereignty.
HOW TO AVOID GETTING TRAPPED
DEMAND DATA PORTABILITY
Before committing to any platform, check if you can export your data in standard formats (CSV, JSON, Markdown). If the platform makes it difficult or impossible to leave with your content, that's a red flag.
FAVOR OPEN STANDARDS
Email works because it's an open protocol. Gmail talks to Outlook. Your messaging apps should work the same way. Platforms built on open protocols (Matrix, ActivityPub) can't trap you because competition is always one click away.
SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE MODELS
If you're not paying for the product, someone else is. Subscription services align incentives: they profit when you're satisfied enough to renew. Ad-supported platforms profit when you're engaged, which often means angry or addicted.
SELF-HOST WHAT MATTERS
Critical infrastructure should be under your control. Host your website on a VPS, not Wix. Use Nextcloud instead of Google Drive. 'The cloud' is just someone else's computer, and they can change the terms whenever they want.
WATCH FOR WARNING SIGNS
Platform decay follows patterns. When a company goes public (IPO), expect quality to drop within 18 months. When 'premium tiers' multiply and features are removed, extraction has begun.