It was a term coined to describe the step-by-step process modern tech platforms go through:
- be good, get customers, grow
- get large enough to corner market, concentrate on profits
- get large enough to move to politicise their approach, drive out competition through aggressive tactics, and lock in consumers
- drive more profit through dark patterns and ensure nobody wins but the stakeholders
It’s specifically that, and there wasn’t a word that described that process previously, as it’s only something that’s possible in a modern, “web scale” worldwide platform.
Zip2@feddit.uk 14 hours ago
Maybe I’m just thinking the crudeness of the term is downplaying the seriousness somewhat.
I’ll award virtual internet points that you can redeem for absolutely nothing to anyone who can come up with a better term.
kureta@lemmy.ml 14 hours ago
To late. it is a widely used term with a very specific meaning now. that’s language for you. not just modern language. all of language.
Zip2@feddit.uk 14 hours ago
Yeah, you’re right. If I’d have spoken up earlier then people would have listened!
kureta@lemmy.ml 14 hours ago
I feel your pain. I am not a native english speaker but I see lots of comparable words come up in my language. I believe they are wrong but I know many “wrong” examples that were wrong a century ago but they are part of the daily language now.
General_Effort@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
Maybe you could call it recoupment but it doesn’t have quite the same ring. It’s not quite the same thing, either.
You could also talk about coercive monopolies but that doesn’t mean exactly the same thing.