I don’t know about you, but I am really attached to my digital tools.
I was well-trained during my time as an internet marketer to find and use the best software and automations.
I was happily using Ontraport for my CRM, email marketing, payments and landing page creation; Google Workspace for my business emails; Linode for hosting; Google Drive and Amazon S3 for storage; Acuity for online scheduling; Fathom for analytics; Kapwing for video editing…
Until a handsome man called Olly showed up and flipped my digital life upside down. (Not only my digital life, but that’s a tale for another day.)
Olly originally hails from Germany – he prefers to call himself “European” or simply “human” –- a tech nerd, former ex-Google employee and IT security expert with very strong opinions about technology.
To say Olly has a love affair with technology would be like saying I have a “mild interest” in pole dancing and pondering the nature of reality. 😆
Olly is obsessed with building a healthy alternative to what he calls, “the Stockholm Syndrome-like digital abuse” that is the status quo.
An example to illustrate our data dilemma:
If you were to buy a computerized car today, who would you think owns the data generated by said car?
It seems reasonable to me that as the owner of the car, you also own the data it creates. But apparently, that isn’t so.
The car manufacturers claim ownership of your data, which gives them the right to collect and use that information however they see fit. At any point, someone with access to your data knows where you are, where you’ve been, and where you’re likely to be.
As a consumer, it seems you’re stuck playing by their rules. You can’t buy a car unless you agree with the terms giving them the rights to your data, even though they’re required by law to give you a choice.
This isn’t just happening with automobiles. The data hostage situation is at play with every object containing a computer chip and an internet connection (including toys with cameras), every app and every service — the manufacturer has access to your information.
See what Olly did to me? We’re already going down the rabbit hole.
My eyes have been opened to things about the state of the internet that frankly, I didn’t want to see.
Those creepy ads that follow you everywhere? You and I have been duped into helping third parties track our every move and target our interests in stalker-worthy detail.
Now, I love Olly, but normally I’d usually refuse to get riled up about these violations of personal freedom.
Except…
There’s something I can do about it. I don’t have to participate in the data privacy slave trade if I make some changes.
Olly helped me see the hidden impact of where my dollars are spent online, and how I’ve been naively supporting the sale of information about myself and the people I care about, my clients and friends.
Already, he’s saved me over $1,000 a year by sifting through my digital assets, replacing costly subscriptions with better alternatives, letting go of domains, and choosing a lower-priced hosting service and community platform.
But when it comes time to let go of my digital playthings, I still throw a tantrum like a two-year old robbed of her ice cream cone.
What do you mean I have to stop using Google Workspace and learn another email client?
The tiny friction caused by using a new tool to do something as ordinary as sending an email is excruciating!
Yet here I am, now freed from ¼ of my dependency on Google, throwing a fit about migrating to Thunderbird.
The interface isn’t intuitive. The font is too small. I don’t know how it works and most importantly, I don’t trust it.
Sometimes change comes hard, or more accurately, I make it hard by resisting it.
Give me a few days, or a week, and I’ll chill out.
One small step for Steph, one (leap?) towards greater digital sovereignty.
All this ranting has given me an idea…
If you’re curious about how to find online tools you actually feel good about using, Olly is currently offering Digital Freedom chats to show you what’s possible for your digital life.
But I have to warn you; it’s like taking the red pill. The internet will look radically different afterwards and you’ll probably want to leave the Matrix.
Still interested? Hit contact me and I’ll introduce you to Olly.
Yours in love and play,
Steph
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