For many of us, the events of the past few months have finally shone a light on the dangers of the personal data economy. It was never just about privacy. It was about the harvesting of human interactions to fuel something bigger. Massive corporations with imperial-style power. Founders turned CEO's turned oligarchs. Political power over what people in a democracy see, hear, and believe in their hearts to be true.

More recently, we've also seen that the apotheosis of what we once called Web 2.0--the "social web"-- was about building something bigger, that threatens our jobs, our care, our connection, our humanity: generative A.I. Systems that impress us with parlour tricks but are otherwise being sold, business-to-business, to cut employees and restore profits where efficiencies cannot otherwise be found.

Now more than ever, it's time to fight back. I invite you to take the challenge to cleanse your digital footprint, and embrace an online life according to different principles.

I promise, I'll be with you every step of the way!

https://www.optoutproject.net/get-social-again/#mcetoc_1ihbp6n76744

Day One: Getting Set Up
Day Two: Better Browsing
Day Three: Your Data Roadmap
Day Four: Secure Your Email
Day Five: Masking Email Addresses
Day Six: Leave Gmail (or another insecure provider)
Day Seven: Settle In
Day Eight: Contacts and Calendars
Day Nine: Secure Messaging
Day Ten: Leave Social Media
Day Eleven: Get Social Again
Day Twelve: Password Protection
Day Thirteen: Shop Securely
Day Fourteen: Replace your Accounts
Day Fifteen: Trash Unwanted Accounts
Day Sixteen: Get a VPN
Day Seventeen: Control your Collaborations
Day Eighteen: Personal Photos
Day Nineteen: Adios, Alexa!
Day Twenty: Fix your Phone
Day Twenty-One: Look Forward