Years ago, I decided that I would take a different path. I wanted to have more security and privacy, living close to nature. I was living in a small apartment in a big city, 2 blocks from the beach. Every day I could swim in the ocean or walk on the beach. I paid a single bill for rent, water, energy, and internet. I lived close to the center. But I wasn't happy. I wanted more freedom. It was a long journey. Long story short. Now I live here, on a farm too far from anything. I live far from the center. But it wasn't easy. Today, I don't pay rent or water, but I still pay for energy and internet. I built my own house; it wasn't easy because it was my first time. The well was a big investment. I had to call a truck with a machine to dig until to find water. But today, I have water. At the time, I did a lot of research on solar energy and decided to wait because the investment needed would be more than I could afford. And the internet... Well, there's no way around it, at least so far. It is necessary to purchase the equipment and pay monthly. The internet here is via satellite because there are no other viable options. Today, the internet is centered on large companies that provide free services to the public. But you may find that you don't want to be in that center. So, 2 things will be needed. First, investment on your part. It will be more expensive than it is today. Second, Entrepreneurship is needed. It is necessary ideas and products that enable this transition. I will give 2 examples. Example 1: Everyone needs water. Water is necessary for life. When I moved to where I live today, I needed water. A source that I could trust that I knew wouldn't run dry and that had clean water that I could drink. I had to make a big investment. I called a guy who made a huge investment, he bought a truck and put a huge machine in the back. And this machine is capable of digging as much as necessary. And I dug a well, and now I have water. Example 2: Everyone needs the cloud. The cloud is necessary for work nowadays. But to have a reliable cloud you need to pay for it or build your own. To mount a server it is necessary to buy hard drives, a computer, configure the accounts... In both cases, whether paying for a cloud or creating your own, an investment is required. And above all, entrepreneurship was necessary. Someone had come up with the idea before and invested in the project. And also that other people see the importance of this and that they also invest, so that eventually this becomes a viable solution. In other words, the 2 things are: Investment is required on the part of the individual, and viable ways of establishing the same processes. What about decentralized internet? What I see is a flow of individuals moving away from the center. An example is Mastodon. Everyone talks about Twitter. Twitter is providing a free service to the public. You may not want this, and you can create a Mastodon account. But remember that someone else is maintaining a server for you. So if you can, it is important to contribute to the server payment once in a while or create your instance. Mastodon is not Twitter. It is a technology that enables the same process but requires some investment from interested people. There is an entrepreneur who invested in an idea and created a new way to achieve similar results. And you are the person who can pay for a server, maintain your instance, and distance yourself from the center. Everyone talks about Google, but Google is providing a free service to the public. You might not like that and may want to pay to have an email. There are entrepreneurs creating ways to offer the same services. You can move away from the center. But it is necessary to be willing to invest and support these products. Big Tech companies found a way to offer services "for free" to the public. Maybe some people are satisfied with that relationship and don't want to change. Is it possible to live without using Big Tech services? There is no short answer. But I believe that in the same way living in the countryside has its advantages. Maybe you think differently and prefer to be away from the center. If you want freedom, security, and privacy, it's possible and worth the investment.
