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Everything You Never Wanted to Know About What’s Wrong With Etsy
https://sydneyschuster.wordpress.com/2018/12/28/everything-you-never-wanted-to-know-about-whats-wrong-with-etsy/
This long blog post about Etsy's many dysfunctions is extremely detailed. Some of the hyperlinks don't work, presumably because they were taken offline, but everything I followed up on seems to check out. Despite the fact that we're operating on different scales, the author's experience as a seller on Etsy reflects my own, and her essay gave me a better understanding of why certain aspects of this experience have always felt so weird to me.
In essence, the trouble seems to be with the site's algorithms developing in counterproductive ways due to the deliberate meddling of the site's administrators and corporate leadership. The author makes a good point at the end of the essay when she asks why anyone would want to create such a hostile environment that doesn't seem to benefit anyone. Based on what we know about Facebook, I suspect that Etsy may be making its money as a tool for market research and algorithm development, not as a business front or hosting service. (And I can't help but wonder if the same isn't true for Tumblr, whose algorithms are similarly glitchy.)
Despite this, I continue to use Etsy, just as I continue to use Amazon and Twitter. I receive substantial tangible benefits from these services, and I also believe that it's not a meaningless act to engage with these sites in a way that attempts to make good on their utopian potential. At the same time, however, I think it's good to be aware of the flaws and broader implications of these systems, as well as to seek out and support alternatives. Unfortunately, that's easier said that done, as the alternatives are often worse.
https://sydneyschuster.wordpress.com/2018/12/28/everything-you-never-wanted-to-know-about-whats-wrong-with-etsy/
This long blog post about Etsy's many dysfunctions is extremely detailed. Some of the hyperlinks don't work, presumably because they were taken offline, but everything I followed up on seems to check out. Despite the fact that we're operating on different scales, the author's experience as a seller on Etsy reflects my own, and her essay gave me a better understanding of why certain aspects of this experience have always felt so weird to me.
In essence, the trouble seems to be with the site's algorithms developing in counterproductive ways due to the deliberate meddling of the site's administrators and corporate leadership. The author makes a good point at the end of the essay when she asks why anyone would want to create such a hostile environment that doesn't seem to benefit anyone. Based on what we know about Facebook, I suspect that Etsy may be making its money as a tool for market research and algorithm development, not as a business front or hosting service. (And I can't help but wonder if the same isn't true for Tumblr, whose algorithms are similarly glitchy.)
Despite this, I continue to use Etsy, just as I continue to use Amazon and Twitter. I receive substantial tangible benefits from these services, and I also believe that it's not a meaningless act to engage with these sites in a way that attempts to make good on their utopian potential. At the same time, however, I think it's good to be aware of the flaws and broader implications of these systems, as well as to seek out and support alternatives. Unfortunately, that's easier said that done, as the alternatives are often worse.
