03 Jan 2026
I’ve been a fan of Cory Doctorow ever since listening to his award-winning novella The Man Who Sold the Moon in a “Best of” Sci-Fi collection about a decade ago.
Last year, I listened to the Enshittification audiobook and it really resonated with me.
First outta the gate: I realize that Doctorow’s book represents the culmination of what I am aspiring to do with this blog and my scattered brain (see Thinking Aloud): he made and collected keen observations, noted trends and follow-on effects over time, analyzed his findings and reached a conclusion, then crafted a compelling argument both for his thesis and his ideas on how to fix it.
Disparate ideas bumped around in his head and he shaped a new constellation in his night sky out of those collisions. Enshittification is his way of sharing his sky map.
His point is so obviously apparent that you think, “Why hasn’t anyone else brought this up before?!” (Plus, who doesn’t like the word enshittification? As a wannabe writer and a lover of language, I wish I’d thought of it.)
But on an even deeper level, the book reawakened my desire to protect my own creative output more fiercely. Whether simply as a pawn to the greater cultural influences of the 21st century, or for more deep-seated personal reasons1, I have always been a bit weak-kneed when it comes to championing my own work.
Somehow, through Doctorow’s discussion of interoperability, I was able to recontextulize my own creatie output. To recognize that I shouldn’t just be giving away the products of my insight, experience, and creative instincts and then shrugging my shoulders when they get repurposed, pruned, or outright reworked.
So, in addition to all my other resolutions for 2026 (I’ve got a bumper crop this year!), I’m going to try and be kinder to my maker self, honor the things I come up with — even in their early, imperfect draft stages — and endeavor to document and revisit them rather than chucking them aside as soon as new project grabs my attention.
This represents a significant change for me, so the results remain to be seen. I’m hoping to document any projects I actually do accomplish on my sluv website.
For now, here’s hoping that I can cobble together some worthwhile2 artistic expressions in 2026, and if you are a maker/DIYer/creator then I extend that wish to you, as well. Cheers!
“You get whatever accomplishment you are willing to declare.”
Georgia O’Keeffe