Discord
Strong real-time product for communities, but your social graph and server history are deeply embedded—switching means rebuilding social capital elsewhere.
Lock-in Stage 2
Users are retained through switching costs, data, network effects, or ecosystem dependency.
Discord delivers real value to users (voice, roles, bots, free tiers). The lock-in is social and technical: communities, permissions, integrations, and habit. Nitro and experiments add extraction pressure, but the core story is still stage 2: hard to leave without losing the room.
More in Social
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LinkedIn
3 ExtractionThe default résumé graph for many industries, increasingly monetized via feed ads, recruiter tools, and upsells—users are the inventory.
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Mastodon (fediverse)
1 User surplusFederated microblogging with no single owner; rough edges, but user surplus and exit to other instances is real.
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Reddit
3 ExtractionMature platform shifting value toward advertisers, mods as unpaid labor, and product changes that prioritize engagement over quality.
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X (Twitter)
3 ExtractionAPI paywalls, algorithmic feeds, verification products, and ad load shift surplus toward the operator and advertisers—classic extraction on a still-central public square.
