Building User-Centric Systems to Avoid Incentive Decay

Creating systems where users can shape their own experience and easily switch platforms without losing connections fosters positive incentives for companies, deterring the decline into extraction-focused strategies. Companies often start idealistically but the ability to lock-in users can lead to a 'shitification curve,' where user experience deteriorates as companies extract more value. Allowing users to have agency and freedom incentivizes companies to maintain user-first approaches and avoid degradation over time.