Google Reader was the beginning for me
When Google shut down Reader it became obvious that the way forward was to lean heavily towards software and on-line resources that were't controlled by big, greedy corporations like Facebook and Google. Linux instead of Windows. LibreOffice instead of Office. And hosting my own web sites and email instead of Gmail and Wordpress.com.
Over the last decade it has become abundantly obvious that none of these mega-corporations give a sweet god-damn about the end users. They just want to monetize everything and everyone to the maximum amount possible. That's why using their products has turned into a massive steeplechase race with multi-factor identification, massive amounts of data collection, and with "upgrades" that remove much-loved features to the benefit of the people making the profits off of you.
The Internet in its early days was a simpler, easier, faster thing. Heck, I can even remember the long-lost days when a search on Google actually turned up what you needed, not dozens of advertisements, and spam pages of no value. Yes, in the early days the Internet wasn't endlessly annoying, cluttered, and often dishonest.
Despite being an early adopter, and despite having worked "under the hood" to understand how it goes together, I'm finding that more and more I move away from the Internet to tools that don't waste my time, don't demand multiple passwords, and don't insult my intelligence.
My paper datebook is better than Google calendar. My printed books are better than the Kindle. My bank answers phone calls instead of directing me to a phone bank in Malaysia. And shopping at the local hardware store is better, and easier than spending an hour on Amazon trying to find what I need.
Really the history of the Internet will be one of one great idea after another that eventually become crap when the people who started it managed to bury users with crap and un-needed features, and turned a lovely tool into an annoyance. Whether it's Google, or Facebook, or Twitter, or Slack, the pattern is always the same. Until these corporations learn that sometimes the best next step is to sit on your hands and just let the thing function we'll just be heading for the next big disaster.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
