On December 12 2027, it's already too late. The day before, the European Union Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) will have fully entered into force.

On December 11 2027, the Cyber Resilience Act is fully in force in the European Union member states and associated countries and territories.

I’ve been researching a new talk the last few weeks and along the way stumbled across a concept that’s been rattling around in my head. I am writing to share, because I find it a satisfying description for the tech flop era.

The idea is called “a market for lemons.” The phrase comes from a 1970 paper by George Akerlof that explains how information asymmetry between buyers and sellers can undermine a marketplace. Akerlof asks us to imagine ourselves buying a used car. Some cars on the lot are reliable, well-maintained gems. Others cars are lemons, the kinds of cars that can make it off the lot but are disasters waiting to happen. The sellers know which cars are which, but you, as a buyer, can’t tell the difference. That information asymmetry affects the average price in the market and eventually impacts the overall market dynamics.

The thinking goes like this: if a buyer can’t distinguish between good and bad, everything gets priced somewhere in the middle. If you’re selling junk, this is fantastic news—you’ll probably get paid more than your lemon is worth. If you’re selling a quality used car, this price is insultingly low. As a result, people with good cars leave the market to sell their stuff elsewhere, which pushes the overall quality and price down even further, until eventually all that’s left on the market are lemons.

I think we’re in the lemon stage of the internet.

do•doc (or dodoc) is a free and open-source documentation tool, initially designed for use in classrooms with children. It enables one to capture traces from an on-going experience for later reflections, reconstructions and creation of narratives. A physical device can be associated with the software to simplify usage, especially with young people. Two versions are available: the local app that can be installed for offline use, and the online webapp that can be accessed from any device connected to the Internet.