Free Software for the Free World
This title might be big and also a bit ambiguous. Probably most of you know, but free software often means free to see the source code, share modify; ie. do as you will, as long as you make sure others continue to have the same freedoms you've enjoyed. A phrase "free as in freedom" is often used to clarify this type of "free," as opposed to "free as in beer," which is also a nice free.
But as we have learned, the likes of Google, FB and others, for years offered us "free as in beer" in the sense that we were allowed to use their platform, their technology, their software without paying for it. During all that time, they were enticing us in while they were collecting the information we shared, such as photos, locations, comments, likes, links. Over time, this data then become complete enough to start making inferences about us. People that post links to basketball games are probably more likely to buy Nikes. Our data, in essence, the digital traits that represented aspects of who we are, which we thought we were only sharing with the people we wanted to share, were being leveraged to build an advertising empire.
If the story ended here, it wouldn't be great, but it wouldn't be too different from how things have been for a while. However, because the software, the platform, the technology is not free, but rather is a well guarded secret, they began tweaking the software. The business model is such that the more information they have from us, and the more time we spend on their platform, the more people will pay to advertise on the platform. So they began tweaking the software, using all their data to analyze our habits, figure out what features make us click more, share more. The term "Attention Economy" has but created to describe this process. Surveillance Capitalism is another.
I believe for most people this information I have just described is not new. Most of us are also aware there is a problem, a certain degree of imbalance in the relationship between our devices, the technology, the software, our time and even the control over our behavior.
To some, the connection to free software may be a bit less clear, but I believe free software is part of the key to redefining our relationship with the software and technology we use.
Like many people, I have been using a wide range of software and platforms for years (decades). I was once a strong advocate of free software, however with the advent of mobile platforms I began letting my guard down. I now consider this a naïve miscalculation. Over the last several months, I have been on a slow but steady pathway to transition away from proprietary and data hungry platforms, and attempting to return to a relationship with my software and devices which feels more holistic, respectful of my data, and not trying to manipulate me to make me the product to profit off of.
Some have suggested that I attempt to document and share this process. I hope this will help keep me motivated and on track. If this can also be of interest to others to consider their own relationship with the software they use, I will be all the more humbled.