A few interesting nuggets

In researching material for recent post (here) I found a few interesting nuggets. Firstly was hearing another tip to read the book by Cory Doctorow on internet 'enshittification' (commenter "hureharehure" in McBain, 2025; Skopic, 2025).  I tend to use only three platforms regularly now: I follow a number of makers on YouTube; I post to LinkedIn, and have a very minor storefront on BlueSky. Twitter, FB, Insta etc all feel too skewed (Wylie, 2019) and full of that 'enshittification' which Cory Doctorow appears to explores in his book (Skopic, 2025). So that is a definite reading list inclusion, and I have put in a request for the title at the library.

Secondly, the enshittification of the interweb is making me think more seriously about reading Sarah Wynn-Williamson's book on Facebook. I was reluctant, because her time at FB was so long ago, but I am now thinking that I should read it. Shaping forces, and all that. I have also put in a library request for this one as well (but there is a LONG waiting list!).

And thirdly, commenter hureharehure also helpfully suggested that if readers were unable to "read some of those links directly [we...] will likely be able to find archived versions with a site like https://archive.ph/" (McBain, 2025). Wow! The Archive.Today site was I had not previously heard of, so I have banked that very helpful suggestion... and already used it several times to great effect to read articles which are behind paywalls. 

I will do some book reviews once I have read and digested the books :-)

Sam

References:

Archive.Today. (2026). Webpage Capture and Article Finder. https://archive.ph/

McBain, S. (2025, October 18). Are we living in a golden age of stupidity?. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/18/are-we-living-in-a-golden-age-of-stupidity-technology

Skopic, A. (2025, August 22). Why the Internet is Turning to Shit. Current Affairs. https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/why-the-internet-is-turning-to-shit

Wylie, C. (2019). Mindf* ck: Inside Cambridge Analytica’s plot to break the world. Profile Books.

Wynn-Williams, S. (2025). Careless People: A cautionary tale of power, greed, and lost idealism. Flatiron Books.