Every product you "buy" is now designed to fail without monthly payments.
They're not selling you things anymore - they're selling you the temporary right to use things you thought you owned.
Why everything is a SaaS now 🧵
They're not selling you things anymore - they're selling you the temporary right to use things you thought you owned.
Why everything is a SaaS now 🧵
Adobe didn't "innovate" with Creative Cloud. They executed the perfect heist.
Revenue jumped from $1.23B to $18.28B in a decade by turning $149 software into endless $60/month payments.
You now pay $7,200 over 10 years for what once cost $149.
Highway robbery disguised as "updates."
Revenue jumped from $1.23B to $18.28B in a decade by turning $149 software into endless $60/month payments.
You now pay $7,200 over 10 years for what once cost $149.
Highway robbery disguised as "updates."
BMW tried charging $20/month for heated seats in cars you already bought.
Tesla locks basic features behind paywalls.
John Deere makes farmers pay subscriptions to repair their own tractors during harvest season.
This isn't innovation - it's digital feudalism.
Tesla locks basic features behind paywalls.
John Deere makes farmers pay subscriptions to repair their own tractors during harvest season.
This isn't innovation - it's digital feudalism.
The math is devastating: Average American household spends $200/month on subscriptions.
That's $2,400/year. $24,000 per decade.
For access to things previous generations owned outright.
That's $2,400/year. $24,000 per decade.
For access to things previous generations owned outright.
Here's the conspiracy: "Software as a Service" was never about serving you better.
It was about guaranteed revenue streams.
Miss a payment? Lose everything.
Your work files, your entertainment, your car's heating - all held hostage until you pay up.
It was about guaranteed revenue streams.
Miss a payment? Lose everything.
Your work files, your entertainment, your car's heating - all held hostage until you pay up.
HP printers stop working if you cancel ink subscriptions - even with full cartridges.
Your $500 printer becomes a paperweight because you won't pay $5/month forever.
This isn't a business model. It's extortion with a corporate logo.
Your $500 printer becomes a paperweight because you won't pay $5/month forever.
This isn't a business model. It's extortion with a corporate logo.
The timing isn't coincidental.
Subscriptions exploded during economic uncertainty when businesses needed predictable revenue. COVID hit?
Lock customers into contracts they can't escape.
Inflation rises? Raise subscription prices instantly. You absorb all the risk.\
Subscriptions exploded during economic uncertainty when businesses needed predictable revenue. COVID hit?
Lock customers into contracts they can't escape.
Inflation rises? Raise subscription prices instantly. You absorb all the risk.\
"Subscription fatigue" is code for "people are waking up."
89% of businesses still push this model because it works - for them.
You're juggling 12+ subscriptions, forgetting half, paying for unused services.
The house always wins.
89% of businesses still push this model because it works - for them.
You're juggling 12+ subscriptions, forgetting half, paying for unused services.
The house always wins.
They weaponized psychology against you.
Free trials that auto-renew.
Cancellation processes requiring PhD-level navigation.
"Pause" options instead of real cancellation.
Dark patterns designed to keep you paying forever.
Free trials that auto-renew.
Cancellation processes requiring PhD-level navigation.
"Pause" options instead of real cancellation.
Dark patterns designed to keep you paying forever.
The real kicker? You're funding your own imprisonment.
Every subscription payment teaches AI how to extract more money from you.
They study your usage, predict your limits, optimize pricing to bleed you dry without triggering cancellation.
Every subscription payment teaches AI how to extract more money from you.
They study your usage, predict your limits, optimize pricing to bleed you dry without triggering cancellation.
Open source alternatives exist for almost everything.
Free software that matches paid subscriptions.
Buy-once hardware that works without monthly fees.
But corporations spend billions convincing you these don't exist or aren't "professional enough."
Free software that matches paid subscriptions.
Buy-once hardware that works without monthly fees.
But corporations spend billions convincing you these don't exist or aren't "professional enough."
This is modern serfdom. Medieval peasants paid lords for land use.
You pay corporations for software use, heated seats, and ink cartridges.
Same system, digital packaging.
You own nothing, pay forever, and they control everything.
You pay corporations for software use, heated seats, and ink cartridges.
Same system, digital packaging.
You own nothing, pay forever, and they control everything.
The endgame? Everything becomes a subscription.
Your doors unlock monthly.
Your stove heats for fees.
Your shoes track steps behind paywalls.
We're one generation away from paying subscription fees to breathe air in corporate-owned spaces.
Your doors unlock monthly.
Your stove heats for fees.
Your shoes track steps behind paywalls.
We're one generation away from paying subscription fees to breathe air in corporate-owned spaces.
I’m Shawn, a Generative AI Consultant passionate about building AI-driven solutions.
I write about AI, startups, and the future of work.
I write about AI, startups, and the future of work.
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