Toolbox Reset! · Get out of the Big Tech

Into the MAGMA (when a Big Tech gets down or becomes evil...)

#googledown (2020)

Twitter : #googledown until:2020-12-15 since:2020-12-14 lang:en

I went to Google to ask how to solve an error... But Google was itself down from an error

User stories

@RugbyBarrister Listening to stories of Google customers (who have gone full Google mode at home with the home app) unable to turn on/off their lights today.

Panicking...

@cykwek77 @googlecloud Your links do not work. Is there any number that I can call or any live chat that I can reach for assistance?

Joking...

@Cleobatta Here's a theory: Google was down on purpose as a social experiment to motivate the visibility of its value and impact. They're measuring our future willingness to pay for their services.

Thinking...

@pzwsk Google is an infrastructure (web) relying on another infra (internet) relying on another infra (electricity) and all those infra are there because we have the power to move things (oil). You are excited about #googledown? You are going to enjoy #peakoil ...

#facebookdown (2021)

Facebook's Apps Went Down. The World Saw How Much It Runs on Them.

In Mexico, politicians were cut off from their constituents.
In Turkey and Kenya, shopkeepers couldn't sell their wares.
And in Colombia, a nonprofit organization that uses WhatsApp to connect victims of gender-based violence to lifesaving services found its work impaired.

#youtubeads (2022)

Youtube ads frequency increase

Youtube ads frequency increase (post on Twitter)

YouTube tests users' tolerance for ads

YouTube is trying to figure out exactly how many ads its users will tolerate before heading elsewhere. Some social media users in recent weeks have complained about seeing eight or even 10 consecutive unskippable pre-roll ads; before a video begins, YouTube typically will display two pre-roll ads. (Goldman, 2022)

#chatgpt (2023)

Why does Microsoft bought ChatGPT ?

Microsoft did not technically "buy" ChatGPT, but it has made a significant investment in OpenAI and integrated ChatGPT and other OpenAI technologies into its ecosystem.
Here's a breakdown of the motivations behind Microsoft's deep partnership with OpenAI and its incorporation of ChatGPT:
1. Strategic Integration into Microsoft Products By incorporating ChatGPT into its suite of products, Microsoft enhances the user experience and boosts productivity.
[...]

ChatGPT (2024)

#musk (2024)

Why the Guardian is no longer posting on X

We wanted to let readers know that we will no longer post on any official Guardian editorial accounts on the social media site X (formerly Twitter). We think that the benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives and that resources could be better used promoting our journalism elsewhere.

theguardian.com (Wed 13 Nov 2024)

Elon Musk admits to restricting access to external links on X

Simply write the description in the main message and put the link in the reply. This avoids lazy links.

next.ink

Centralization, decentralization, recentralization, redecentralization (of the Internet)

Centralization

The Great Library of Alexandria was one of the largest libraries in the world (Egypt, 248 BC). What problem of centralization does it highlight?

Nineteenth-century artistic rendering of the Library of Alexandria

The Mundaneum aimed to index all the world's knowledge in a single place (Belgium, 1920). What is the problem with centralizing indexing?

Before the Internet (in the 60's and 70's) the first networks where local networks built around big central computers. Another problem with centralizaton of access to information?

IBM Mainframe computer 7090 (NASA, 1962)

Decentralization (Internet)

Centralization is bad (hippies and soldiers agreed on that)

Internet is based on decentralized communication

Anyone can be part of the Internet

1969 : Invention of packet fragmentation and routing (Arpanet).

1971 : A new social media without central authority (mail)

1990 : Hello Web (http://info.cern.ch)

Berners-Lee Tim. 1989. Information Management: A Proposal. https://www.w3.org/History/1989/proposal.html.

Nowadays...

Voir en plein écran

Submarine network cables

Recentralization (GAFAM)

“The web is already decentralized,” Mr. Berners-Lee said. “The problem is the dominance of one search engine, one big social network, one Twitter for microblogging. We don't have a technology problem, we have a social problem.” (Hardy, 2016)

Web traffic in the world (2015)

Web relief (map of the 50 top websites according to Alexa, 2015)

Web links in the world (2018)

Internet traffic in the world (2022)

Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon & Netflix : 57% of Internet traffic (Sandvine, 2022)

Internet traffic origin in France (2022)

Decomposition of traffic in France (Arcep, 2022)

Most visited web sites (2023)

Most Visited Websites In The World (Similarweb, 2023)

Users of social media (2023)

Number of active users by social media in millions (Statista, 2023)

Big Tech infrastructure

Number of submarine telecommunications cable projects in which the tech giants are involved (2024)

Big Tech money

GAFAM income in billions of dollars between 2008 and 2018

Redecentralization (Degoogleify Internet)

Exemple : Framasoft

The web giants centralize our digital lives in exchange for their services.
The Free Software community offers alternative ethical services.
The Framasoft network intends to prove it by hosting them.

Framasoft Services (2024)

Let's collectivize and convivialize Internet

How to (get out of the MAGMA)

Adopt a Kitten

Fondamental : The CHATONS is the Collective of Hosters Alternative, Transparent, Open, Neutral and Solidarity

Free, ethical and decentralised online services

Exemple :

Exemple :

Complément :

chatons.org

Everyday tools

Nextcloud

Framaspace, cloud tools for French solidarity associations

Méthode : Pads

Etherpad · https://pad.picasoft.net/
Hedgedoc · https://md.picasoft.net/

Complément :

Emancip'asso, a link between non-profit organizations and ethical digital technology

Internal communication

Exemple : Mail

Complément :

Exemple : Video conference

BigBlueButton @ Pâquerette (bbb.paquerette.eu)

Complément :

wiki.chatons.org

Méthode : Chat

Mattermost @ Picasoft (team.picasoft.net)

Element/Matrix @ Deuxfleurs (riot.deuxfleurs.fr)

Complément :

wiki.chatons.org

External communication

Fediverse

Exemple :

Framapiaf, an instance of Mastodon by Framasoft

Aperi.tube, a private instance of Peertube managed by individuals

Mobilizon.picasoft.net, an instance of Mobilizon by Picasoft

Picablog, an instance of Plume by Picasoft

All around the word

Organizations providing free services at European level

Complément : Rise Up

Riseup provides online communication tools for people and groups working on liberatory social change. We are a project to create democratic alternatives and practice self-determination by controlling our own secure means of communications.

https://riseup.net/en/security/resources/radical-servers

Confidentiality

Do you know Tor ?

Simple actions

Firefox (mozilla.org)
Duckduckgo (duckduckgo.com ou ddg.co)
Signal (signal.org)

Complément : More confidentiality

Switch to Linux
Use a mail client (Thunderbird)
Use encrypted services
Limit apps on smartphones and tablets

Conclusion

Framasoft against the GAFAM (campaign 2023)