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Published 3 years ago by baron778 with 3 Comments

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  • Maternitus
    +11

    I love the internet and the freedom it gives in choice, expression and diversity. But a nasty thing that big companies, like Facebook or Google, bring is that people are not really that motivated to change to a better standard and/or do not want to "learn all that new stuff". That's more of a real world problem: laziness. I have Signal installed a pretty decent while ago and although I advertise it with articles like this one, people are like "but what about my friends, they don't change. I stay with [fill in behemoth]". The only way to dothat is by brute force, as in: advertise it with the message "I quit everything from [fill in behemoth] and if you want to get in contact with me, [fill in free/private standard/application] is the way to go. Bye."

    That is a very destructive way, but also a good filter. At the end there's either no one left, or at least the people who see your point or people who really care (about you). Not the blindly clicked-on friends that you hardly know or even ever saw in real life. This makes the internet more of a place of coincidence again and it will give a more fair chance to, for instance, small entrepreneurs and artists. On big sites like Facebook, it is Facebook who decides if you will have customers or not, even with paid advertisements. Which I think is not a fair competition and it dilutes quality in a big sea of hobbyists and sets a way lower standard of quality. In real life that means you get passed by by people/clients who do not know quality and service anymore. I am all for breaking up big monopolists.

    • sashinator (edited 3 years ago)
      +7

      You can also install Signal and keep behemoth app

      it doesn’t have to be all or nothing in one sudden quantum leap

      install the alternative and use it with those who are using it

      When you are comfortable, start using the alternative app exclusively or, conversely, if uncomfortable, uninstall it and continue using behemoth app

      I don’t understand this dramatic ultimatum position people are imposing on themselves where they feel they cannot abandon loyalty to an app (be it made by a behemoth or otherwise)

      • Maternitus (edited 3 years ago)
        +8

        Most people do not even know the existence of the choices they have. You are right that one of the choices is to use all, which is fine by me. To each its' own. Loyalty is a big word when it is rammed down your throat as "this is the only thing everybody uses", but I get your point. :-) By deleting my Facebook-page, I tripled the amount of visitors to my site, which could be coincidence (which it is not), because people seem to see the idea behind that move: an algorithm didn't decide for them whether they see my work or not.

        I do not like half-baked versions of privacy, like saying Whatsapp is encrypted, while it still runs through Facebook-servers, while Facebook still seem to use all data for their own commercial goods. Encrypted maybe, but still used as tool for commercial purposes which are forced onto people.
        Loyalty like that comes with a price and I do not like to be part of that, which is a choice I am most liberate to take. Looking at my communications with potential clients, the real visitors to my site and the people that seem to see that choice as what it is: using freedom. My family, friends and clients are just as free to do with that choice what they want. Personally, I prefer that above hypocrisy and half-baked choices, but still see their choice as good, whatever it is, because it is theirs. :-)

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