The discussion about the current state of the Internet and the concentration of power in the hands of a few large corporations resonates deeply. The Internet was initially envisioned as a decentralized and open platform for collaboration and information sharing, but over time, it seems to have shifted towards a more controlled and centralized landscape.
Kickstarting a book to end enshittification, because Amazon will not carry it
171–180 of 182 posts
Re: Kickstarting a book to end enshittification, because Amazon will not carry it
#172Earlier quoted context omitted.
How about Brandon Sanderson's criticism of Audible? [1] > If you want details, the current industry standard for a digital product is to pay the creator 70% on a sale. It’s what Steam pays your average creator for a game sale, it’s what Amazon pays on ebooks, it’s what Apple pays for apps downloaded. (And they’re getting heat for taking as much as they are. Rightly so.) > Audible pays 40%. Almost half. For a frame of…
Sorry, I just don't understand the complaint, if you don't like audiable, then don't do business with them? You can sell your book yourself directly.
Sorry, I don't understand your complaint. If you don't want to hear Cory Doctorow's complaints about Audible, then don't read his blog.
Re: Kickstarting a book to end enshittification, because Amazon will not carry it
#173because Amazon will not carry it This is a lie. Further, it is a lie designed to outrage the reader and drive engagement. It is enshittification. "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster." Saying Amazon won't carry your book is like saying the App Store won't carry your app...because you refuse to participate in a walled-garden software ecosystem.
What's wrong with blaming App Store for refusing my app for me refusing to participate in a walled garden?
Blaming them is fine. They're bad, and Amazon is bad. That doesn't mean they won't carry your app.
Re: Kickstarting a book to end enshittification, because Amazon will not carry it
#174Earlier quoted context omitted.
My problem isn't just with the royalty rates, it's making the default rate so low and using it as leverage to push authors into exclusivity contracts. Imagine if Apple started telling companies "You have to pay us a 60% cut, unless you agree to not have an Android app in which case we'll do 30% instead." You could argue that Apple is entitled to make that arrangement because they essentially created the mobile app so…
But is your worry for the authors, for other platforms, or for customers? I'm very sympathetic to all of these concerns, at large. However, as things are done, many authors will make the most money by agreeing to this contract, and customers get the cheapest option there. The only people actually getting hurt, right now, are the other platforms. To paint this in any other way is not at all honest. And that is the par…
>But is your worry for the authors, for other platforms, or for customers?
All of the above.
Don't take this as a slam, but given your responses in this thread, it's probably a good idea to get a primer about how anticompetitive practices work.
Re: Kickstarting a book to end enshittification, because Amazon will not carry it
#175Earlier quoted context omitted.
What prevents the existence of such an ecosystem? What are the main obstructions? The most obvious ones I can think of are the data centers and necessary protocols but those are easily solvable problems with enough cash. The other obstruction I can think of is that consumers don't actually want these stores and protocols because they're perfectly happy with the services that big tech delivers. Convenience seems to be…
> What prevents the existence of such an ecosystem? What are the main obstructions? You're ignoring the elephant in the room, which is anti-trust is dead, and the tech companies running the show are too damn big. If you start a competitor to audible, it can use its leverage with both AWS and Amazon and squeeze you until you're dead, and then continue on with its monopoly.
only if you take on VC. if it cost almost nothing to maintain and there is no pressure for ROI I think it can be done. also, the young, who mostly have no money will flock to cheap options and then it's a waiting game was they grow up.
Re: Kickstarting a book to end enshittification, because Amazon will not carry it
#176Re: Kickstarting a book to end enshittification, because Amazon will not carry it
#177Re: Kickstarting a book to end enshittification, because Amazon will not carry it
#178Earlier quoted context omitted.
Presumably he left for a reason.
It is weird that a platform that he was a big part of and that supposedly supports his values, has apparently turned into they used to oppose. But I've got to admit I stopped reading BoingBoing a couple of years ago.
I think its the classic “you become what you fight” thing. They got disillusioned and frustrated fighting agains all of the evils from disillusioned and frustrated people.
Re: Kickstarting a book to end enshittification, because Amazon will not carry it
#179Re: Kickstarting a book to end enshittification, because Amazon will not carry it
#180Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can only assume that Audible’s weak DRM will be replaced as soon as they deem the audiobook market sufficiently captured.
Really strong DRM on audio files is pretty silly because it's so easy to workaround, if you've got an audio signal going to speakers you can capture/record it no problem.
That's true, but they could definitely make it more difficult than it is today.