Some people might find jogging 10 miles in the morning “refreshing.” My body’s not currently equipped for this lengthy exercise regimen, so I would describe this activity as “arduous.” Some people find working as a server at a national chain family restuarant as “exciting” with all the tables filled up with customers and all the food prepared in the kitchen zooming out to hungry patrons. This is not my strong suit in life, thus I would describe waiting tables at a place like this as “chaotic.”
I describe finding ways to avoid a big tech company’s website, yet getting access to their content, as “challenging.” I hope you will find what I’m about to share as “helpful” or “interesting,” not “insurmountable” or “vomit-inducing.”
Alterna-Google
Instead of visiting Google’s search webpage, I set my web browser’s default search engine to DuckDuckGo. I get results to my search queries without submitting any personal information to the DDG people. They don’t collect or share “Popular K-pop bands” when I want to find out about this phenomenon. Startpage is another worthy search site; it provides Google search results without giving Google your originating information.
Instead of using Gmail, I use ProtonMail for any email account usage.
Instead of using Google Calendar, I use ProtonMail’s calendar.
Instead of using Google Drive to store my files online, I use ProtonMail’s Drive which features end-to-end encrypted cloud storage…available only to paid accounts at the time of this newsletter.
Instead of Google Docs, I use Crypt.ee. It is a private and encrypted cloud resource for composing documents and storing photos. They’ll give you 100 MB to try things out for free, but I paid about $40/year for 10 GB of storage. I like their clean writing webspace. I don’t see a lot of “Here’s a new feature we’re interrupting your focus to tell you about” pop-ups when I’m writing. It helps me focus more.
Alterna-Tube
Ah Youtube, the data collecting, ad intruding beast of the internet. By now, you probably aren’t shocked to read that I never like visiting Youtube’s website to watch videos. Instead I use Invidio.us to simply watch the video, ad-free and distraction-free. The technology Invidio.us uses to play Youtube videos without sending Google (who owns Youtube) any personal telemetry is not always 100% up and functional 24/7. There are a number of instances around the world that you can visit to search for a YouTube video and watch without all the typical distracting experience.
Alterna-Music
I have decreased my reliance on streaming any song, any album, or any playlist from Spotify and Apple Music. I know what songs I like. I have them on .mp3 files. I transferred my favorite music to my non-iPhone-or-stock-Android phone and am using the VLC app to play my local jukebox o’ tunes.
I’m okay with not receiving recommendations on what my friends are currently listening to, or what songs an algorithm thinks I might enjoy listening to based on my recent listening history. When I want to listen to Adele, by cracky, I want to listen to Adele!
Alterna-Reddit
I’m not an active participant on Reddit. I’m more of a lurker, just browsing what’s being discussed and not blessing people with my commentsns. Instead of giving the folks at Reddit.com my browser information, I go to Libredd.it to visit areas of information I’m interested in.
Alterna-Twitter
I haven’t deleted my Twitter account, but I’ve put an indefinite moratorium on my engagement on its website. If there is activity from a user that I wish to check out, I visit Nitter.net. Amazingly clean interface, and I can adjust the site settings to prevent accessing those big tech companies.
Alterna-WhatsFaceGram
I’m one of eight people left in the world who does not have a Facebook account or a WhatsApp account. I still have an Instagram account, but I don’t update it. I don’t want to delete it and have someone take my username and use it for nefarious purposes to offend any followers I may have left.
I don’t have an alternative for Facebook, nor WhatsApp. There is an alternative way to view Instagram called Bibliogram, where you can view a user’s profile and posts, but its default site is not 24/7 reliable. There are other instances of Bibliogram to visit, such as https://biblio.alefvanoon.xyz, but your experience may vary depending on its uptime status.
Alterna-Message
The big tech companies have spent billions of dollars creating extensive website to provide you content whenever you want, six-hour worldwide interruptions notwithstanding. The trade-off for mostly-reliable websites is that you are giving them your usage data along with other technical information we may not be aware of. As we approach 2022, this is not a trade I’m willing to make. I’ve adopted patience with taking a couple more steps to acquire the content I want from another location. And I have increased resilience in finding other solutions online when what worked before….doesn’t. It’s part of the ethos I believe in as an online Greyman.