The Best Big Tech Replacements of 2021
Big Tech spies on you. Big Tech manipulates you. Big Tech treats you like a product instead of like a human being.
Let's face it... Big Tech sucks.
What follows are my current recommendations -- as for June, 2021 -- for replacing some of the most prominent Big Tech services and software platforms.
Note: I know there are others. These are the ones I recommend. And I recommend each for their own, individual reasons. Feel free to disagree with my list. That's your freedom.
YouTube Replacement
There are a few "YouTube Alternative" video sharing platforms out there. Some have good qualities. But only one of them hits all the right marks for me: Odysee.
Odysee is built on top of the LBRY network. And LBRY, itself, is a blockchain-y, Crypto-y, uncensor-y platform for sharing all sorts of content. Videos, blogs, images, and the like.
I publish nearly all of my content to Odysee (and, hence, LBRY) and it works like a charm. Lots of open source. Doesn't treat users like cattle. Can't go wrong.
GMail Replacement
Lots of email services out there. The one I have enjoyed using the most is, without question, Kolab Now.
It's a paid email service. Doesn't advertise to you or sell your data. Built on open source parts. Easy to back up and self-host (if you should want to).
I find paying a small fee for a high quality email service that doesn't spy on me to be well worth it.
Google Search Replacement
My current favorite search engine is Startpage. With DuckDuckGo right behind it.
But I'm also hearing great things about the upcoming Brave Search. Once that gets out of Beta I'm eager to see how well it'll work for me as my primary search engine.
Twitter / Facebook Replacement
Sure, you can replace Facebook or Twitter with an open, federated system like Mastodon (and "The Fediverse" )... but... why? It's almost as bad. Worse in some ways.
I say nuke the entire idea of a network like Twitter from orbit. We, as humans, were not meant to communicate with 5 Million strangers -- with 99.9999% not knowing or caring who you are -- at all times. It just doesn't work.
If you need a social network -- and there's nothing wrong with that -- I recommend smaller, focused groups. Locals-based social networks are the way to go.
Patreon Replacement
Patreon has some funky policies. And they've censored some people in seriously uncool ways. But the core idea is a good one: subscribe to and support independent creators. Podcasts, authors, artists, developers. This is good stuff! If only Patreon weren't so stinkin' yucky.
Locals. Locals is the way to go here, too. Lots of community options, no crazy censorship.
Dropbox / Google Drive Replacement
Dropbox. Google Drive. Microsoft One Driveinator (or whatever it's called). And there's Apple's thing. Used to be called iDrive (part of their .Mac / iTools suite).
Anyway, all of them are owned by Big Tech and have funky policies.
If you have data to store, you deserve to have control over that data. Keep away prying eyes... and make you responsible for, well, your own stuff.
Nextcloud -- preferably self-hosted -- is the way to go. Though there are some great Nextcloud hosting options out there as well. While those don't give you as much control as self-hosting... they're also a lot easier. And, honestly, are wildly more powerful and private than the Big Tech online storage options.
Microsoft Office Replacement
Don't use Microsoft Office. I used to work on Microsoft Office. And, let me tell ya, it's not what it used to be.
Need spreadsheets and presentation tools? The answer is simple.
LibreOffice. Just use LibreOffice.
Windows / MacOS Replacement
Looking to replace Windows or macOS? If you'd asked me two years ago, I would have said "Use Linux."
Nowadays? In 2021? There are some concerns there.
But Linux is still a better way to go. Regardless of which Linux distribution you choose. Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, PCLinuxOS... all great.
I replaced all of those! Now what?
Rejoice! Pat yourself on the back! You are now quite a bit more private, your data quite a bit more secure. There are now less companies treating you like cattle. Your humanity, at least partially, restored!
But aren't there more problematic Big Tech services and whatnot?
You bet! Tons of 'em!
But, think of it like this...
You don't need to eat 100% healthy for every meal... in order to get the benefits of eating a few veggies at dinner.
