The Rot-Com Bubble

Well, I disagree with the author on the cause. I think it's pretty simple, which is usually an indicator that an idea is not correct, but in this case I think it is.

Instead of delivering what the user wants, the entire industry has moved to making decisions on behalf of the user. This is across the board with the whole industry, from UI design changes, restricting choices deliberately, changing UX flows and expecting the user to just live with it, even what posts they can and cannot see on the internet. The mindset went from "deliver what the user wants" to "deliver what the user 'needs'", with the implication that we know what they need better than them, and the undertone that they'll take it and like it because they need us more than we need them.

And so you get degrading infrastructure, services and products. I believe it really is that simple.