you’re not imagining it and it’s not because of the “connects” which is perhaps even a good idea.
I think the quantity and quality of clients has simply got got in half. remember at Q4 in 2023 is when Google’s HCU really starting destroying everyone… it took several months for people to realize it, but eventually many people shut down their niche sites (etc) and stopped hiring new freelancers… plus with all the AI stuff, it just made it worse imo
So I think it’s like:
1. half of websites got killed by HCU in 2023
2. many tech savvy people are using AI tools for some of their solutions now (code fixes, script writing, etc)
3. SquareSpace and Wix and Shopify keep growing more popular vs. self-hosting WordPress
4. Upwork has tried to show off to their investors with some stupid new AI tools that nobody really uses
I think this combination of things made 2024 horrible for Upwork.
And I don’t have much hop for 2025 based on what I’m seeing because none of these things will improve next year seems.