Stage 3: Ripping you off · Social

Strong real-time product for communities, but your social graph and server history are deeply embedded—switching means rebuilding social capital elsewhere.

Photo sharing turned short-video storefront: Reels, ads, and shopping crowd out the people you follow, while Meta's AI and ad systems mine every interaction.

The default résumé graph for many industries, increasingly monetized via feed ads, recruiter tools, and upsells—users are the inventory.

Mature platform shifting value toward advertisers, mods as unpaid labor, and product changes that prioritize engagement over quality.

The most effective attention machine yet: a recommendation feed that pays off for viewers while ads, TikTok Shop, and creator payout swings shift value to the platform.