Frank Chimero’s latest essay applies The Market for Lemons — a concept from the 1970s about information asymmetry in markets — to explain why so much of the internet feels broken right now. You can see this in action on Amazon these days with generic random letter brands like PCYTECH and HMIYA showing up everywhere. Sellers are putting more efforts into gaming the system than actually making a great product.

What makes the Market for Lemons concept so appealing (and what differentiates it in my mind from enshittification) is that everyone can be acting reasonably, pursuing their own interests, and things still get worse for everyone. No one has to be evil or stupid: the platform does what’s profitable, sellers do what works, buyers try to make smart decisions, and yet the whole system degrades into something nobody actually wants.

This pattern shows up everywhere and Frank’s essay really hits home for me when he applies the thought to the recruiting process. Companies have a hard time differentiating between great candidates and mediocre ones. And candidates have incomplete information about how the company works or what the product roadmap is. Gaming the system becomes essential, making the only reliable signals reputation and connections. Everything else is suspect even though most people aren’t operating from a position of malice.

Where do you see this pattern in your life?