It’s easy to throw Big Tech under the bus. Sure, we need to address severe issues with centralized systems, but overall, things are pretty great.

Let’s think about it.

If it weren’t for Big Tech:

• Many more of us would’nt be working remotely.
• We wouldn’t have meal or grocery delivery.
• Blockbuster would still be a premier visual entertainment option.
• We couldn’t search the hivemind of humanity instantaneously.
• Our phones would still have low IQs
• I could go on, and on, and on.

On the flip side

• The biggest tech companies have way too much power.
• Shady business behaviors abound.
• There are many big dilemmas created by Big Tech.
• And so on, and so on.

No doubt there are problems to address, but shitposting on the Internet never fixed anything.

I Want To Say Thank You

I’m thankful for the tools & connections tech companies have enabled for us. I’m grateful for the many benefits they have bestowed upon me as a human being. I’m more organized than ever, thanks to technology. I can buy what I need and have it delivered quickly. When I’m bored, I can fire up Netflix, Disney+, and a legion of other services to pass the time.

I have AMAZING longstanding friendships with people thanks to technology. I can video chat with my family in other states. At home, I learn new things every second of the day.

Do I want more meaningful connections online than Big Tech companies currently provide? Yes, but they too will fade, and that’s OK.

The truth is, Big Tech has changed us for the better. It’s easy for us humans to focus on the negative, but the positives almost always make up for it.

Solutions

Instead of complaining, let’s come up with solutions. Social platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok ooze with complaints. However, there are many groups of people that know how to solve problems.

I joined an ADHD group after I was diagnosed. Thanks to technology, I have direct access to an extensive network of people with real experience. This Social Media experience is a positive experience that’s rarely talked about in the media.

Let’s talk about more solutions; here are some alternatives to Big Tech tools.

Social Media Solutions

I still haven’t found a viable replacement for Big Tech for social media, but here are some alternatives.

Diaspora

In the past, I was hopeful that Diaspora would displace Facebook. It’s the right idea, but it needs more steam. It allows you to set up a pod and start social networking. Once you convince all your friends to join your load-balanced server, it’s on.

PanQuake

PanQuake is still in beta, and the team is attempting to thwart Big Tech’s social media dominance. I’m keenly interested to know how well a community-driven social media platform can operate. It will be interesting to see how their beta pans out. 🍳

Something New

I’m confident a new paradigm will emerge to displace Big Tech companies. It’s not a matter of if, but when. The tech industry has always eaten itself, and it will do it again. Eventually, we’ll all be working in tech companies. I, for one, welcome our new overlords.

After all, technology is as human as we are; it’s flawed, sometimes broken, and often frustrating. We have the power to look in the mirror and change what we see. So let’s get to it.

Cloud Solutions

Technologists love biting the snake’s tail. The tech industry is currently in a quick-biting loop when it comes to cloud providers.

Software containers are biting the serverless tail, and the serverless tail is biting everything else. That’s peachy; more options for everyone are welcome.

If you’re worried about a centralized cloud system, build a container solution you can deploy to any cloud, nobody is stopping you. There, your Big Tech problem is solved, and you can move on with your life.

Here are some fun tools that will help.

• Kubernetes, Docker, OpenStack

Conclusion

I hope we see more positive discourse in the news and on social media across all spectrums. Focusing on all negative all the time is an imbalanced approach to life. When we look at both sides of a situation, we find the middle where reason lives. In the middle, we can hear each other and solve problems together. That’s where I want to be, what about you?