YouTube disallowing adblockers, Reddit charging for API usage, Twitter blocking non-registered users. These events happen almost at the same time. Is this one of the effects of the tech bubble burst?
YouTube disallowing adblockers, Reddit charging for API usage, Twitter blocking non-registered users. These events happen almost at the same time. Is this one of the effects of the tech bubble burst?
In my view yes: at the juncture of higher interest rates, still-elevated costs, and the downstream impact of tighter monetary policy on demand starting to materialize, companies are feeling elevated pressure to maintain revenues and margins. While this manifests differently across the economy — e.g. shrinkflation in consumer goods, price hikes in travel/leisure — its impact tends to be less straightforward with tech companies given their relatively more complex monetization schemes. Perhaps broad adoption of AI provides the industry the tailwind it needs over the next couple of years without having to further sacrifice user experience.