Goodbye, Facebook. You're Next, Youtube.

This morning, I made a decision that would be life-altering to many people: I began the process of deleting - not deactivating - my Facebook account. This will not cause a huge change in my lifestyle. I only have ( or had) four Facebook friends, which is double the number I have had during most of the time I have used Facebook. I have mostly used it as a place to aggregate my favorite news sources. I stuck with the Zuckerberg Cartel as they constantly frustrated me by changing which stories would frequently appear in my feed. I could always find the stories if I really wanted to. However, recent revelations about the insecurity of user data, and the fact that Facebook plays favorites regarding who gets the data, is the last straw for me. I don't want anyone having access to my supposedly-secure data, but why is it suddenly a huge problem for Zuck that data was obtained by a group friendly to the current presidential administration? Why was it not similarly problematic for him when data was obtained by the past administration? I can no longer in good conscience support someone who hates me, my preferred lifestyle, and my political and religious affiliations.

Next on my list is Youtube. I have never posted a video. That's just not my thing. However, like nearly everyone else in the civilized world, I frequently view videos. Sometimes, it's just for fun and entertainment, but most of the time it is an effort to gain information on one of the topics that I consider to be important in my life. Youtube has made obvious steps toward silencing anyone whose political views are inconsistent with theirs, and this week, took aim at content related to firearms. Therefore, if I view another Youtube video, it will be an accident, or because there is content which I deem to be extremely important for me which I am unsuccessful in finding elsewhere.

Now, that leaves me with a question. If there are others who, like me, want to ditch Facebook and Youtube, what will take the place of these services? I like Steemit and Dtube, but are they ready for primetime? I have only been a member a couple of months, but there appear to be some issues that might dissuade average potential users from taking advantage of the valuable service. The first for me is the signup process. Rather than getting an account immediately in this impatient world, it took me about 10 days - long enough for me to question whether or not Steemit is legitimate or a scam. It finally came through, and I have enjoyed using it, but the first impression was anything but favorable. I thought maybe my experience was an anomaly, but the same thing happened when my wife set up an account.

I believe the time and conditions are conducive for a large scale departure from Facebook and Youtube. Will Steemit be able to take advantage of these conditions and attract a more mainstream crowd?