The reason Facebook and Google remain dominant is because people continue to use the services. If people were to abandon them en masse, the effect would be huge. Even people who are well aware of You Tube censorship, and know better, continue to use it.
The business model is monetization of our attention *through* their lens. There’s no way around it: until a huge number of users walk away, the juggernaut remains.
We should also have no illusions about digital privacy. There is good evidence that Signal was seeded with intelligence money. It may be more secure than FB Messenger, but it almost certainly is compromised. Same goes for Proton—it is likely more secure than Gmail, but almost certainly, back doors and keys exist. Same for cloud storage There are providers that can help secure information from pedestrian hackers, but they shouldn’t be seen as hermetic at all.
It sucks, I know. But we have to dispel the illusions.
That is a true story. With both Facebook messenger and Google's youtube I also make the decision to use them due to speed and reliability of connection. This is a big deal where I live in Thailand: videos from Rumble, Bitchute, et al, take 3-5 times as long to play with buffering as the exact same video posted on YouTube. The result is that I often look for a youtube version and if there is one I play that. On substack I know how to embed youtube posts that play in the window but I do not know how to do that with any other site (and they don't take downloaded videos, just still photos).
The Skype problem with my husband was likewise solved with facebook messenger, which reliably goes through above 95% of the time. Calling his Thailand phone from Skype in America while he is at the bungalow still only goes through about 50% of the time. There's sometimes days where it doesn't want to work no matter how many times I try. But facebook messenger is far more reliable and like youtube seems to pick up a lot of the available signal so it is faster. If you are out of Internet service in Thailand dtac constantly has promotions for free youtube/ line/ facebook only deals. These are problems that might be overlooked in America but are pretty big deals across large swaths of the world, which is precisely how these behemoths have been able to continue to grow their global share...
Yeah, location can present issues, for sure. Could be related to your carrier referencing certain connections, but could also be sheer number of servers employed by big tech.
Have you tried using a VPN to connect from a different country? Might improve speed issues if non-YT is getting throttled.
As a Skype alternative, you might try looking into Jami (open source, encrypted), and see if that works in your location. https://jami.net/
The Amish. Perhaps they're Luddites. Perhaps they're falsely looking for salvation. But they've eluded big tech and vaccines. They are the remnant, that without a führer, flies humanity's tattered flag.
two factor authentication - prudent for email, substack, various accounts. Do not use google authenticator - usually seems like you *have to*. If using android phone, try 'andOTP' app instead, works same way.
Cloud storage - try Storj - a decentralised crypto based version, think of it as the antithesis to Microsoft onedrive or google docs. Gives plenty of free storage upon sign up. To buy Storj token, use Kraken exchange (https://www.kraken.com/en-us/sign-in):
Chat apps: Telegram is good but becoming a bit social-media esque. My friends and I prefer signal. Can download directly from site instead of playstore (if using android). Also has desktop version to link phone account and laptop. Can create groups, change settings so only contacts can add you, various privacy functions. Unlike Telegram, can have group video / audio calls:
regarding lineageos (open source descendant of Cyanogenmod, which stopped updating when admins went public business with OnePlus phones)
It's great. But when you get a new or used device intending to use Lineageos, or any other open sourced operating system, make sure the device you buy has an unlockable bootloader (no Verizon phones have one, for example,) and that it is already supported by the Lineageos project (or you'll be in for quite a learning curve to port the OS to your device.)
I've been porting kernels and OSs to unsupported phones since around 2011, it's fun and sometimes more challenging than one wants to deal with, but you really need a programming or porting background to be able to do it.
There's an article in The Free Press about deep fake porn. The AI fanatics have unleashed the Kracken. Some other writer here, I forget who, suggested bots will turn the internet to gray goo, as in flood the zone with fakery, so no one can function on it.
Might we have to fight fire with fire? Except that burns the whole mess down, yes?
Agree with Sage and have been writing for years about the World economic Forum and their relationships to Covid 19, vaccinations, population control, genetic engineering and biotechnology, international politics and all the rest. I have been marginalized and targeted. There are internet architects and coding specialists out there who would sell their own kids to win this war. This is THE war for our hearts and minds. They will quit at nothing. It is a war of raw intelligence and creativity against the same. With two diametrically opposing motivations on either side. May the best men and women win. May the children win.
So glad you have come over the the 'dark' side as it were. My credit union interface does not work with Protonmail, and some other things as well, though I have asked the credit union to address it, my requests seem to fall on deaf ears there. So I just go in person and do my banking that way, but am one shake of a sheeps tail from just going full cash now, not even checks. PM me at my name all one word at pm.me if you like, i think address books and perhaps pigeons will be our way forward!
ps nice docu about the pacific northwest peoples, well done, my morning lecture today....
The reason Facebook and Google remain dominant is because people continue to use the services. If people were to abandon them en masse, the effect would be huge. Even people who are well aware of You Tube censorship, and know better, continue to use it.
The business model is monetization of our attention *through* their lens. There’s no way around it: until a huge number of users walk away, the juggernaut remains.
We should also have no illusions about digital privacy. There is good evidence that Signal was seeded with intelligence money. It may be more secure than FB Messenger, but it almost certainly is compromised. Same goes for Proton—it is likely more secure than Gmail, but almost certainly, back doors and keys exist. Same for cloud storage There are providers that can help secure information from pedestrian hackers, but they shouldn’t be seen as hermetic at all.
It sucks, I know. But we have to dispel the illusions.
That is a true story. With both Facebook messenger and Google's youtube I also make the decision to use them due to speed and reliability of connection. This is a big deal where I live in Thailand: videos from Rumble, Bitchute, et al, take 3-5 times as long to play with buffering as the exact same video posted on YouTube. The result is that I often look for a youtube version and if there is one I play that. On substack I know how to embed youtube posts that play in the window but I do not know how to do that with any other site (and they don't take downloaded videos, just still photos).
The Skype problem with my husband was likewise solved with facebook messenger, which reliably goes through above 95% of the time. Calling his Thailand phone from Skype in America while he is at the bungalow still only goes through about 50% of the time. There's sometimes days where it doesn't want to work no matter how many times I try. But facebook messenger is far more reliable and like youtube seems to pick up a lot of the available signal so it is faster. If you are out of Internet service in Thailand dtac constantly has promotions for free youtube/ line/ facebook only deals. These are problems that might be overlooked in America but are pretty big deals across large swaths of the world, which is precisely how these behemoths have been able to continue to grow their global share...
Yeah, location can present issues, for sure. Could be related to your carrier referencing certain connections, but could also be sheer number of servers employed by big tech.
Have you tried using a VPN to connect from a different country? Might improve speed issues if non-YT is getting throttled.
As a Skype alternative, you might try looking into Jami (open source, encrypted), and see if that works in your location. https://jami.net/
The Amish. Perhaps they're Luddites. Perhaps they're falsely looking for salvation. But they've eluded big tech and vaccines. They are the remnant, that without a führer, flies humanity's tattered flag.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0M68U5KKgs Amish, Mennonites, Hutterites and Quakers
Albert Jay Nock's "Isaah's Job" (1937). Here's Michael Curran's "The Remnant" (2005) — https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2005/01/the_remnant.html
Good alternatives - various utilities.
two factor authentication - prudent for email, substack, various accounts. Do not use google authenticator - usually seems like you *have to*. If using android phone, try 'andOTP' app instead, works same way.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.shadowice.flocke.andotp&hl=en_US&gl=US
Or buy a physical Yubi key:
https://www.yubico.com/
Cloud storage - try Storj - a decentralised crypto based version, think of it as the antithesis to Microsoft onedrive or google docs. Gives plenty of free storage upon sign up. To buy Storj token, use Kraken exchange (https://www.kraken.com/en-us/sign-in):
https://eu1.storj.io/login
Use open source encryption software to encrypt a USB drive or even your entire laptop by moving the mouse rapidly. Easy to use:
https://www.veracrypt.fr/code/VeraCrypt/
Try an alternate operating system on android phone to 'de-google':
https://lineageos.org/
Chat apps: Telegram is good but becoming a bit social-media esque. My friends and I prefer signal. Can download directly from site instead of playstore (if using android). Also has desktop version to link phone account and laptop. Can create groups, change settings so only contacts can add you, various privacy functions. Unlike Telegram, can have group video / audio calls:
https://signal.org/
Hope these links help :-)
regarding lineageos (open source descendant of Cyanogenmod, which stopped updating when admins went public business with OnePlus phones)
It's great. But when you get a new or used device intending to use Lineageos, or any other open sourced operating system, make sure the device you buy has an unlockable bootloader (no Verizon phones have one, for example,) and that it is already supported by the Lineageos project (or you'll be in for quite a learning curve to port the OS to your device.)
I've been porting kernels and OSs to unsupported phones since around 2011, it's fun and sometimes more challenging than one wants to deal with, but you really need a programming or porting background to be able to do it.
There's an article in The Free Press about deep fake porn. The AI fanatics have unleashed the Kracken. Some other writer here, I forget who, suggested bots will turn the internet to gray goo, as in flood the zone with fakery, so no one can function on it.
Might we have to fight fire with fire? Except that burns the whole mess down, yes?
Agree with Sage and have been writing for years about the World economic Forum and their relationships to Covid 19, vaccinations, population control, genetic engineering and biotechnology, international politics and all the rest. I have been marginalized and targeted. There are internet architects and coding specialists out there who would sell their own kids to win this war. This is THE war for our hearts and minds. They will quit at nothing. It is a war of raw intelligence and creativity against the same. With two diametrically opposing motivations on either side. May the best men and women win. May the children win.
So glad you have come over the the 'dark' side as it were. My credit union interface does not work with Protonmail, and some other things as well, though I have asked the credit union to address it, my requests seem to fall on deaf ears there. So I just go in person and do my banking that way, but am one shake of a sheeps tail from just going full cash now, not even checks. PM me at my name all one word at pm.me if you like, i think address books and perhaps pigeons will be our way forward!
ps nice docu about the pacific northwest peoples, well done, my morning lecture today....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It4AiOLrQhs