Tommi's Scribbles
Who needs Google?
- Published on 2022-01-08
In another post, I mention how I've never even considered using Google Services. In a world where everyone expects you have a gmail account, use Google to search, own Android devices, use Google Analytics, and spend hours on YouTube, this seems counterintuitive. However, apart from a few challenges, such as some appointment systems requiring the use of a Google account, I have not really encountered any challenges with my hate for Google.
Why I hate Google
Apart from Google being evil, I have a personal reason to dislike them. Back in the early 2000s, YouTube was just becoming a thing. I ended up creating a video on a topic I didn't find a video on, and it ended up being the top result for a search on the topic.
This meant, that in addition to the basic ads from my blog, I was getting a solid $1 a month in ad revenue. Now, this probably doesn't sound like much, but for a young kid doing part-time work and before "influencers" were a thing, it was a great thing.
But then, Google decided it wants to compete with Facebook, and launched their "Circle" service. In an attempt to make the struggling service a thing, Google started to demand YouTube needs to be used with your real name instead of some screen name. Since my online brand was under such a screen name, everytime YouTube asked me to change to my real name, I opted to select "not now".
This worked perfectly, until one day, instead of continuing as normal, the click resulted in an internal server error. One page navigation later, and poof - my account had switched to using my real name; and I had lost all my videos! As a faceless corporation, there was no real support to be had.
Why you don't really need Google
Considering all the "Google is evil" talk, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. I mean the new Pixel ad with "a phone that really knows you" makes you wonder how much data they actually collect. But you'd be surprised that apart from the occasional scheduling or Google Meet attendance hiccup, life without Google is actually pretty good.
DuckDuckGo provides far superior search results, and you can even watch YouTube search results if you really need a video from the results. Don't really see the need for that though, considering there are other sites for learning and a plethora of streaming services for entertainment.
For cloud services, you have the superior Azure and AWS to choose from. For devices, there's all the great Apple products. For some items you need to go Android, the manufacturers usually have their own app stores, or like with a TV, you can always plug in AppleTV and not use the TV OS at all.
For analytics, Matomo/Piwik is one alternative. Or you can roll your own solution, like I have on this site. And there are other competing options, such as Adobe's services (though Adobe isn't that great of a partner to pick either) if you are so inclined.
As far as browsers go, great options are Safari, Firefox, Vivaldi, or even the new Edge. Gone are the days when you need to download a new browser as soon as you first launch your new computer, and even further gone when you need to pick Chrome for "superior features". Seriously, the only superior thing Chrome has is user tracking.
Conclusion
There you have it. The long story and consequences of my hate for Google. While my view is biased, in reality most of the alternatives to Google services are equal or even better. And while being serious, I'm quite sure in the background some services I use probably use Google services in the background. Or openly in the foreground, such as some apps using Google Maps for their delivery tracking or such. Heck, I think even DuckDuckGo sources search results from Google.
Still, consciously choosing to not use Google products has not had any ill effects in my life. It might have even made it better.