When I saw this tweet I decided I wanted to make a site to show people at least a couple of options for using services not directly attached to Google/Alphabet. It's surprisingly difficult! I study and write about data ethics and algorithmic justice and tbh I'm not even sure where to start.
I mean, that's not entirely true. I've started here. So in some sense, that was exactly the opposite of the truth.
But I actually can't fill in all this data on my own. Or if I tried, it would be bad. If you can help, I would super appreciate it. Take a look at the issues page and pick a service that you know - you probably know more services than you think! - and just offer a few answers to the questions in the issue/thread.
Even notes like "here are the things google's service offers that I would need in an alternative" are helpful. You're not suggesting an alternative, sure, but it helps focus the conversation on meaningfully effective replacements, rather than alternatives that are kinda crummy.
Like, to give an example: there are lots of email service providers. Many of them are bad: confusing user interfaces, crummy mobile applications, inadequate features, slow updates, and more. But if nobody says those things, then there's no reason to know that it really matters that one feature or another is good enough for someone looking to switch away from Google but not ready or able to give up that feature.
So whether you have a comprehensive list of sources critiquing a particular Google service, or a list of compelling alternatives, or even a list of features the Google option offers that you need in some hypothetical alternative service - I would really appreciate your input!
K I think that's it. If you have questions, @ me here, or contact me.