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De-googling, so far

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Re: De-googling, so far

#101

Post by yjftsjthsd-h »

stalfosknight wrote: post #85
Animats wrote: post #16

Why is this hard? Since I quit offering a Chrome plug-in, my last connection to a Google account is gone. I should cancel my Google account, if and when I find the password. I post videos on Hardlimit, which uses PeerTube. I don't care about "discovery"; they're to illustrate blog postings elsewhere. So all I need is hosting and playout, which Peertube does just fine. (Peertube handles playout by mooching bandwidth o…

It's not hard but many don't want to let go of YouTube or Gmail for some reason.

> for some reason

Because nobody else has a content library to rival YT. (Gmail I don't know; this should be relatively easy to switch.)

Re: De-googling, so far

#102

Post by throawayonthe »

guyzero wrote: post #94
sneak wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can’t pay YouTube to remove in-video ads that the video creators put in. For that you need SponsorBlock anyway, so might as well use a 3p client that supports blocking both kinds of ads, without giving money to Google to continue building ad surveillance software.

Do you walk out of a movie once someone drinks a Coke on screen? This seems like a level of ideological devotion that makes doing anything pretty difficult.

[dead]

Re: De-googling, so far

#103

Post by jasonriddle »

er0k wrote: post #86

Is there any good alternative to google voice? It's the only google service I haven't been able to replace yet.

I've been using Numberbarn.

I've been liking it so far, no issues to report. However, I've only been using it for two months now.

Also, similar to Google Voice, some businesses won't let you use a VOIP number for your phone number.

Re: De-googling, so far

#104

Post by least »

guyzero wrote: post #37
least wrote: post #5

The only thing irreplaceable for me is Youtube. Even if it's gotten worse as a platform over time, I still consume it more than any other type of video media and there are no good alternatives for much of the content that I enjoy watching.

I find it crazy that someone will say "I still consume it more than any other type of video media" but somehow just paying for it isn't an option. You can pay to make YT ads go away. And the payments go to the video creators (eventually).

I do pay for Youtube Premium precisely because it is something that I use basically every day. It's just kind of an opaque system where it's not really clear how much it is actually supporting video creators, how much of it is maintaining the service, and how much of it is lining Google's pockets.

I watch quite a bit of videos by creators with very lower viewership and sub counts and I suspect they're not seeing a penny.

Re: De-googling, so far

#105

Post by kelnos »

Animats wrote: post #16

Why is this hard? Since I quit offering a Chrome plug-in, my last connection to a Google account is gone. I should cancel my Google account, if and when I find the password. I post videos on Hardlimit, which uses PeerTube. I don't care about "discovery"; they're to illustrate blog postings elsewhere. So all I need is hosting and playout, which Peertube does just fine. (Peertube handles playout by mooching bandwidth o…

The "problem" is that other people have different needs and usage patterns than you do. Acting like your experience should be universal is a bit weird.

Re: De-googling, so far

#106

Post by gfourfour »

the_af wrote: post #73
gfourfour wrote: post #9

I “de-reddited” with HN.

HN is not a replacement for Reddit in general though. Reddit is a collection of forums/communities with wildly varying topics. HN is just one specific forum. Some of the worst behaviors that are common in many Reddit subs are discouraged here in HN, and for that I'm thankful. But the topics aren't the same, so one cannot replace the other in general .

A farmers market has a narrower selection than a supermarket, but you’d be healthier in the long run only shopping at the farmers market than going to the grocery store and being bombarded by processed garbage, even if you try to stick to the good aisles.

The problem with Reddit is that the worst of Reddit inevitably pollutes the best of Reddit. Better for your mental diet to avoid altogether.

Re: De-googling, so far

#107

Post by homefree »

guyzero wrote: post #37
least wrote: post #5

The only thing irreplaceable for me is Youtube. Even if it's gotten worse as a platform over time, I still consume it more than any other type of video media and there are no good alternatives for much of the content that I enjoy watching.

I find it crazy that someone will say "I still consume it more than any other type of video media" but somehow just paying for it isn't an option. You can pay to make YT ads go away. And the payments go to the video creators (eventually).

Maybe they do pay for it? It's not obvious they don't. (edit: they mention they do pay for it below)

I would have written a similar comment and I pay for Premium. I don't use any other Google service at this point, but I do have an account just for YouTube (I dig into the privacy settings to disable all the things I can).

It wasn't really that hard if you use Apple for almost everything and Fastmail for mail.

I use DuckDuckGo for search and occasional search again on Google, but that's becoming less relevant over time with LLMs (and generally reddit or youtube is the best place to search anyway for most things).

Re: De-googling, so far

#108

Post by AmpsterMan »

autoexec wrote: post #10
least wrote: post #5

The only thing irreplaceable for me is Youtube. Even if it's gotten worse as a platform over time, I still consume it more than any other type of video media and there are no good alternatives for much of the content that I enjoy watching.

The good news is that none of the content you care about is Google's. As soon as someone else provides a space for content creators to move to you can get rid of Youtube and never miss a single thing about it. Google has successfully pissed off enough youtubers that they're just waiting for the first chance to jump ship, just like we are as watchers. In the meantime, try to give as little as you can to Google. Use Ne…

Nebula is such a streaming service. From what I understand, they are a subscription based company that has a profit share incentive for it's creators. Consequently, the creators skew toward educational-esque content.

Re: De-googling, so far

#109

Post by toomuchtodo »

assimpleaspossi wrote: post #84
extr wrote: post #77

For me the point of de-googling is not to literally stop using every single Google service but to disengage enough that your entire online identity isn't tied to Google such that losing your account would be catastrophic. For example, I still have a gmail account I use for lots of random things, but critical bank/financial accounts go directly to a separate fastmail address (where I am confident I could get a human t…

What happens if fastmail goes belly up?

MX record change and you’re off to the races. Tangentially, I’d also be interested in putting an acquisition together to acquire FastMail if ever in financial peril, in order for it to persist as a going concern and arguably, a public good (like Let’s Encrypt).

Re: De-googling, so far

#110

Post by SadTrombone »

guyzero wrote: post #94
sneak wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can’t pay YouTube to remove in-video ads that the video creators put in. For that you need SponsorBlock anyway, so might as well use a 3p client that supports blocking both kinds of ads, without giving money to Google to continue building ad surveillance software.

Do you walk out of a movie once someone drinks a Coke on screen? This seems like a level of ideological devotion that makes doing anything pretty difficult.

Do you have any examples of a movie where someone spends a couple of minutes drinking Coke while talking about how delicious it is and why you should buy it?
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