"The themes of 'Yassification' and 'Enshittification'"

Purchasing products is a reality of our lives; and the associated branding is becoming increasingly omnipresent.

In this episode, Carlyn and Elaine examine how companies use product branding to appeal to customers like them by looking at two emerging terms: “yassificiation” and “enshittification”, which both describe the relationship between an actual product and how they present to a potential consumer.

At a time of increasing economic unsurety and instability, Carlyn and Elaine sit down to talk about these themes and how they shape their own habits.

Further Reading:

• What Does ‘Yassification’ Mean? A Brief History Of The Queer Term (Refinery29)

• What Does It Mean to 'Yassify' Anything? (The New York Times)

• YASSification Is The Biggest Trend Sweeping The Internet (HighSnobiety)

• Your stuff is actually worse now (Vox)

• The ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok (Wired)

• There’s a reason why it feels like the internet has gone bad (MSN)

• Millennial Rebrand Syndrome (Blog Post, Blackbird Spyplane)

• Why does everything look infantilized? (Blog Post, Maryah)

Theme Music: “Banjo Beat” - Will Records