[liberationtech] Can we solve global surveillance issue with technology at all?

[M. Fioretti]

On Sat, Nov 09, 2013 18:20:33 PM +0000, adrelanos wrote:

> I am not sure we can fix the problem ("global surveillance system")
> with technology at all. Sure, personally I am a big fan of more
> usable and safer tools to communicate. They make us
> technology/privacy enthusiasts happy.
> 
> Do ordinary citizen care about e-mail anymore anyway?
> 
> I would assume, that most citizen communication nowadays is done by
> Facebook, SMS, WhatsApp. Roughly in that order. Who cares about e-mail,

only 92% of adult internet users, according to this study, which is
only 2 years old:

http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Search-and-email.aspx

or, at least for business purposes 2 months ago, only 92% again:

http://www.kcom.com/connected-thinking/communications-news/email-still-most-popular-way-of-contacting-businesses-survey-reveals/801629974

> My hypothesis is: If there was a perfectly usable and perfectly safe
> alternative to Facebook, the majority would still continue to use
> Facebook

maybe, but that would matter only if those who do NOT want to stay on
Facebook had NO other way than keeping facebook.com open all the time
to know what their "facebook-only" friends or relatives are doing.

But it is possible to read Facebook notifications from *outside*
Facebook. So you can do all your email, blogging, whatever
etc... outside Facebook, and still know when Uncle Fred posts a
picture of your last family barbecue.  In other words, there is no
need for the migration/liberation from Facebook to be a 100%
instantaneous switch-off.

Marco