’Denmark Switches.’ A national campaign to collectively move off Big Tech.
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@CiaraNi I love AntennaPod! It works on my old Samsung S5 phone that runs LineageOS.
@rhempel It is so good, isn't it. It has actually smart features, as in 'smart and helpful for the user'. I found it randomly after switching to F-Droid, one of several new-to-me apps I found that way.
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I'm enjoying the results of disenshittifying my digital life so much that I need a more celebratory word for it than 'disenshittifying'. So far, every solution I’ve switched to is better than the Big Tech one I left. Not ’better’ as in ’not enshittified’, but better designed. LibreOffice: does what I need and only does what I tell it to do. AntennaPod: much better features than Spotify. Tuta: functional and calm and 10 months later, I still haven’t received a single spam mail.
@CiaraNi I think words like 'liberating' work well. Or maybe 'glorifying' if you want to sound a bit grand. It's only the bad thing that needed a new word.
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I'm enjoying the results of disenshittifying my digital life so much that I need a more celebratory word for it than 'disenshittifying'. So far, every solution I’ve switched to is better than the Big Tech one I left. Not ’better’ as in ’not enshittified’, but better designed. LibreOffice: does what I need and only does what I tell it to do. AntennaPod: much better features than Spotify. Tuta: functional and calm and 10 months later, I still haven’t received a single spam mail.
@CiaraNi
Also on LibreOffice. I haven't yet replaced my Windows with a Linux & still have Android on my sparsely apped 7y-old Oppo, but Guggl, Metta, Amerzon, Appul are all deleted/uBlocked & I have never missed any of them. -
I've added a new 2026 Digital Resolution to my 'Denmark switches from Big Tech' goals.
I had already switched from Patreon to Steady. Thanks to @JohanEmpa for making that possible after he added Steady as a Mastodon.green payment option.
Now my Microsoft subscription is the only thing left on PayPal and I'm almost deMicrosofted. So I'll be cancelling, not renewing, that. So now I commit to deleting my PayPal account. Today. Inspired by @oldrup, who just did this.
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I stopped using Booking.com ages ago, tired of the spam and Big Corporateness of it. Now I only book directly with hotels. Every time, it's cheaper and the experience is better. If I need to contact a hotel, I communicate with a human. When I needed to make a date change not covered by the booking: 'no problem!' They changed it instantly for free. I'd forgotten how actual customer service used to be. I also forgot to actually delete my account. #DanmarkSkifter reminded me. I just deleted it.
@CiaraNi Once again reminded of one of the big booking sites getting a hotel's disability accommodations completely wrong. I had an itch so I called the hotel directly and they admitted Big Site got it wrong and cancelled without a fuss. Called a replacement hotel on the phone and they confirmed accommodations and booked us in a flash.
I hate doing things on the phone, but I'll make an exception for hotels.
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I stopped using Booking.com ages ago, tired of the spam and Big Corporateness of it. Now I only book directly with hotels. Every time, it's cheaper and the experience is better. If I need to contact a hotel, I communicate with a human. When I needed to make a date change not covered by the booking: 'no problem!' They changed it instantly for free. I'd forgotten how actual customer service used to be. I also forgot to actually delete my account. #DanmarkSkifter reminded me. I just deleted it.
This makes so much sense! I shall be following in your footsteps the next time we go away.
Stuff the Booking dot this, and Airb&b that! They make a pretence of being cheaper but often aren't and, if anything, are taking a large percentage away from the smaller hotels and B&Bs.
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@CiaraNi I think words like 'liberating' work well. Or maybe 'glorifying' if you want to sound a bit grand. It's only the bad thing that needed a new word.
"It's only the bad thing that needed a new word"
That's it! I was hoping for relief and liberation, which is what I'm getting. But I was so focused on escaping the Bad Thing that I didn't anticipate how much *better* the non-Big Tech replacement solutions would be. It doesn't feel as negative as 'disenshittifying', but more positive. As an end user, every alternative to Big Tech solution so far feels like an upgrade.
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I'm enjoying the results of disenshittifying my digital life so much that I need a more celebratory word for it than 'disenshittifying'. So far, every solution I’ve switched to is better than the Big Tech one I left. Not ’better’ as in ’not enshittified’, but better designed. LibreOffice: does what I need and only does what I tell it to do. AntennaPod: much better features than Spotify. Tuta: functional and calm and 10 months later, I still haven’t received a single spam mail.
@CiaraNi I think this migration to find tools to use, instead of being used by tools, gives me #DigitalAfterlife vibes. The existence of life after enshittification.
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@CiaraNi
Also on LibreOffice. I haven't yet replaced my Windows with a Linux & still have Android on my sparsely apped 7y-old Oppo, but Guggl, Metta, Amerzon, Appul are all deleted/uBlocked & I have never missed any of them.@Quantillion It's both liberating and a good learning experience, how little we miss programmes and solutions we once thought were everyday essentials.
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@CiaraNi Once again reminded of one of the big booking sites getting a hotel's disability accommodations completely wrong. I had an itch so I called the hotel directly and they admitted Big Site got it wrong and cancelled without a fuss. Called a replacement hotel on the phone and they confirmed accommodations and booked us in a flash.
I hate doing things on the phone, but I'll make an exception for hotels.
@troublewithwords This matches my experience. A quick phone call to an actual human at the actual hotel and it's sorted in a flash. It's good that you twigged something might be awry and were able to fix it beforehand.
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I stopped using Booking.com ages ago, tired of the spam and Big Corporateness of it. Now I only book directly with hotels. Every time, it's cheaper and the experience is better. If I need to contact a hotel, I communicate with a human. When I needed to make a date change not covered by the booking: 'no problem!' They changed it instantly for free. I'd forgotten how actual customer service used to be. I also forgot to actually delete my account. #DanmarkSkifter reminded me. I just deleted it.
@CiaraNi
When our family visited the UK last fall, I did the same thing. Almost every BnB gave us a discount for direct booking., and we got to deal directly with the owners.Here's a good way to turn the tables on those third party booking sites: reverse showrooming. Use the online resource to find the lodging you're interested in, then bypass them entirely with a direct contact on their own website or by email.
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This makes so much sense! I shall be following in your footsteps the next time we go away.
Stuff the Booking dot this, and Airb&b that! They make a pretence of being cheaper but often aren't and, if anything, are taking a large percentage away from the smaller hotels and B&Bs.
@grb090423 I haven't used AirBnb. Something about the concept put me off and I dislike the way it made life miserable & expensive for local people living in tourist-hotspot cities. But I know people who used to use it, then decided to stop, like me turning away from Booking.com. Their experience has been the same. They book directly with 'real' B&Bs or hotels now for the same price or cheaper and find it simpler to book. They say there's less faffing around and messaging than with AirBnb hosts.
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@CiaraNi I think this migration to find tools to use, instead of being used by tools, gives me #DigitalAfterlife vibes. The existence of life after enshittification.
'Tools to use, instead of being used by tools' - that's it! Life after enshittification is liberating and enjoyable. I have a slight qualm about the phrase DigitalAfterlife, because I associate that with enshittified digital products that exploit grieving people by selling them a digital version of a dead loved one.
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@grb090423 I haven't used AirBnb. Something about the concept put me off and I dislike the way it made life miserable & expensive for local people living in tourist-hotspot cities. But I know people who used to use it, then decided to stop, like me turning away from Booking.com. Their experience has been the same. They book directly with 'real' B&Bs or hotels now for the same price or cheaper and find it simpler to book. They say there's less faffing around and messaging than with AirBnb hosts.
It sounds so much better.
I know people who use both of those horrible sites we've mentioned and they are very much under the impression they're onto something good. I guess it's a matter of believing the hype.
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'Tools to use, instead of being used by tools' - that's it! Life after enshittification is liberating and enjoyable. I have a slight qualm about the phrase DigitalAfterlife, because I associate that with enshittified digital products that exploit grieving people by selling them a digital version of a dead loved one.
@CiaraNi maybe 'User Rebellion'. Your post is great food for thought. Semantics can make or break a defining a movement.
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@CiaraNi
When our family visited the UK last fall, I did the same thing. Almost every BnB gave us a discount for direct booking., and we got to deal directly with the owners.Here's a good way to turn the tables on those third party booking sites: reverse showrooming. Use the online resource to find the lodging you're interested in, then bypass them entirely with a direct contact on their own website or by email.
@donaldham This is exactly it. Every time, there's a discount, or a good offer like free breakfast, or something like that.
'Reverse showrooming.' I love this phrase and will be adopting it, please and thank you. I've done this too, browsing Amazon (back when its site search actually worked) or Booking.com websites to narrow choices down or check some details, then I'd buy the actual book at my local independent bookshop or book the accommodation directly with the hotel or B&B.
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I'm enjoying the results of disenshittifying my digital life so much that I need a more celebratory word for it than 'disenshittifying'. So far, every solution I’ve switched to is better than the Big Tech one I left. Not ’better’ as in ’not enshittified’, but better designed. LibreOffice: does what I need and only does what I tell it to do. AntennaPod: much better features than Spotify. Tuta: functional and calm and 10 months later, I still haven’t received a single spam mail.
@CiaraNi
Luddites got you covered..Going Full Lud.
Put a little Lud in your life. -
@CiaraNi maybe 'User Rebellion'. Your post is great food for thought. Semantics can make or break a defining a movement.
@Nead I like the energy of 'User Rebelliion'.
Good point about the role of semantics in a movement for change. I remember being un-fond of the word 'enshittification' when I first heard it. I thought it had a juvenile sound. Then after a while, I realised how perfect it was. It captures the mood, and it grabs attention, and it cuts to the chase about how badly things have been, well, enshittified. I can't even think of a way to describe the situation without that word any more.
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@Workshopshed It is certainly a digital detox, and I like the alliteration of that! I'm still reaching for something more positive. I've been so struck by the fact that the non-Big Tech solutions are actually better, as in 'better designed', that I want to turn the focus from 'I am giving something up' to 'I have gained something, I now use a Better Thing'. It's like an upgrade. I can't express it properly, I realise here - this is why I need a word for it!
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@donaldham This is exactly it. Every time, there's a discount, or a good offer like free breakfast, or something like that.
'Reverse showrooming.' I love this phrase and will be adopting it, please and thank you. I've done this too, browsing Amazon (back when its site search actually worked) or Booking.com websites to narrow choices down or check some details, then I'd buy the actual book at my local independent bookshop or book the accommodation directly with the hotel or B&B.
@CiaraNi
From 2001-2011 I was an emerging tech consultant for Fortune 500 companies. A huge concern then was showrooming.That's the practice of going to a physical presence retailer, say Best Buy, to inspect a TV, then buy it online from Amazon.
It's very satisfying to turn the tables on big tech.
