Users fled mega-platforms for private niche spaces as core sites decayed

Evidence

Where the internet once promised to be an entrepreneurial playground, it now resembled a suburban strip mall full of bait-and-switch operations. The deterioration of core sites pushed users into smaller, more private online groups. This balkanization of internet content gave rise to what Kickstarter cofounder Yancey Strickler dubbed the “dark forest” era, when “people turn away from big, open mega-platforms in favor of more private or niche digital spaces, from nonpublic Slack channels to invite-only WeChat groups or special-interest podcasts.” — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 714

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the ‘dark forest’ era as a named shift toward private digital enclaves.
• XREF: Connects to the omnivore monoculture thesis — this fragmentation is the reverse of universal-platform culture.