Like many other privacy-minded geeks, I've been trying to lessen my
public footprint and use of big-provider emails. I've had my own
mail server for many years - In the US I ran my own server from a
decent business-class connection with static IPs, but that all went
away when we moved to Canada. So I migrated my mail server to
Ramnode, where it has been ever since. But for a time during the
move, when things were uncertain, I relied more heavily on
gmail/yahoo mail. Now that we're settled, I've stopped use of both
of them entirely and moved everything back to my own email server
again. I don't consider using SDF email in this context, since I
don't want to associate my real name with my SDF account.

I've never used any of the big social networks, and never will. So
that is not an issue. Probably my biggest annoyance right now is my
Android phone. I recently switched to alternative apps for email and
calendaring (k9 mail and simple calendar), but the OS is still
heavily tied to google. And certain things are hard to let go of,
like google maps. I'm going to keep poking around for alternatives,
though.

Still, even 10 years ago if you told me that almost everyone would
be walking around with portable audio/video/internet snooping
devices, and paying for the privilege of doing so, I'd have said you
were crazy. I'd love to see a sea change in thinking where users are
paid for the privilege of being used as products. Realistically,
this should apply to cable TV, internet, cell phone service, and
customer loyalty cards. Any time my personal data is being collected
and sold to advertisers, I should get a cut.

More insidious is where there are no alternatives, or where even
those who take efforts to maintain a veneer of privacy are foiled by
the long tentacles of companies like google. An amazing number of
companies, public institutions, and personal domains use google MX
records. A simple example - many public schools use google apps for
email. Should I be discussing my daughter's difficulties in school
by email with the school guidance counselor? Unfortunately we have
arrived at a point in history where privacy is no longer considered,
outside of a few, tightly regulated domains (like medical
records). Utility and convenience are king, privacy be damned.