The Great Switch
We’re heavily dependent on US-based big tech firms. I have been mindful of this for a while, but until the new political regime came into being in 2024/2025, I wasn’t too concerned about this.
Now I am mindful and taking practical steps to choose European, open source, or non-US providers for all my work, play and personal tech requirements. It’s a journey. I document it here, and I list European and other alternatives to US apps, online services and more below.
My journey/steps (newsletter-bloggy style notes)
The Great Switch: Finding Non-US Alternatives to Online Password Managers like LastPass (European and Non-US Alternatives)
The Great Switch: Finding Non-US Alternatives to Online Password Managers like LastPass (European and Non-US VOIP Alternatives)I'm back with another instalment of suggestions for how to move away from US-based tech companies and towards European companies, open-source...
The Great Switch: Switching Your Skype Incoming Number to a European or Non-US VOIP Provider (European and Non-US VOIP Alternatives)
European and other non-US alternatives to Skype Incoming Number. For people who aren’t happy about US politics, who want to put their money where their mouth is, and who want more digital resilience in uncertain times.
The Great Switch: Switching Appointment Booking Tools (European and non-US Calendly Alternatives)
The Great Switch: Switching Appointment Booking Tools (European and non-US Calendly Alternatives)And after a short, unexpected break, I'm back with a new edition of The Great Switch, where I explore how ordinary people, including freelancers and small business owners...
The Great Switch: Switching Cloud Storage Providers (European & non-US Dropbox Alternatives)
The Great Switch: Switching Cloud Storage Providers (European & non-US Dropbox Alternatives)This is the first in a regular series (weekly-ish) in which I explore how to make The Great Switch from the US-based, technology behemoths to alternatives that are either...
The Great Switch: Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is
The Great Switch: putting my money where my mouth isHow frustrated are you with the current state of the U.S.? (Which part, you ask? Take your pick.) Personally, I'm frustrated, irritated, and dismayed in equal measure. I've recently been reflecting on just how much I...
Directory: European and other alternatives to commercial US tech services, apps and online tools.
Our Monthly Monday Meetup is our regular format. We also have quarterly-ish reading salons, and a Cooks & Books gathering. We occasionally organise casual summer gatherings and an annual end-of-year event.
Monthly book club reads:
A Monday meetup where you’re invited to read the book of the month and join us to talk about it. Usually runs from September-June (summer break: July & August).
Upcoming in 2025 + 2026
2025
September 2025:
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
October 2025:
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
November 2025:
The Ancients by John Larison
The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt
2026
** EN title | DE title
January 2026
The Bell in the Lake | Die Glocke im See
Lars Mytting (Fiction)
Entangled Life | Verwobenes Leben
Merlin Sheldrake (Non-fiction)
February 2026
A Different Kind of Power | A Different Kind of Power
Jacinda Ardern (Non-fiction)
The Wall | Die Wand
Marlen Haushofer (Speculative Fiction, Classic, Austrian)
March 2026
Stone Blind | Stone Blind
Natalie Haynes (Fiction)
The Secret Lives of Color | Die Welt der Farben
Kassia St. Clair (Non-fiction)
April 2026
The Shadow of the Wind | Der Schatten des Windes
Carlos Ruiz Zafón (Fiction)
Other Minds | Der Krake, das Meer und die tiefen Ursprünge des Bewusstseins
Peter Godfrey-Smith (Non-fiction)
May 2026
The Vegetarian | Die Vegetarierin
Han Kang (Fiction)
Talking to Strangers | Die Kunst, nicht aneinander vorbeizureden
Malcolm Gladwell (Non-fiction)
June 2026
You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters | Immer auf Sendung, nie auf Empfang
Kate Murphy (Non-fiction)
Shogun | Shogun
James Clavell (Fiction)
September 2026
An African History of Africa | Eine afrikanische Geschichte Afrikas
Zeinab Badawi (Non-fiction)
The Taste of Apple Seeds | Der Geschmack von Apfelkernen
Katharina Hagena (Fiction)
October 2026
The Slaughterman’s Daughter | Fannys Rache
Yaniv Iczkovits (Non-fiction)
The Leopard | Der Leopard
Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (Fiction, Classic)
November 2026
Binti | Binti
Nnedi Okorafor (Fiction Afro-Sci-Fi/Fantasy)
Culture: The Story of Us, From Cave Art to K-Pop | Kultur: Eine neue Geschichte der Welt
Martin Puchner (Non-fiction)
Past books
Jan 2025:
Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman
February 2025:
The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin
The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
March 2025:
Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet by Hannah Ritchie
The Shining by Stephen King
April 2025:
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Seasonal reading salons:
Every quarter-ish (sometimes every 3 months, sometimes every 4 months), we have a broad theme and a few recommended titles to get you started. You’re welcome to read any titles that fall into that theme (any genre) over the coming months. We’ll meet for a free-style book discussion, where anything goes, as long as you can link it briefly to the theme.
Past seasonal salons
Summer 2025: The Summer of Self-Help
Cooks & Books (Without Borders!)
A new, experimental format. We choose a cook book (or a book that has recipes – it might be a memoir, a novel, or an historical book), and cook a selection of recipes from the book. We come together to try the food, to talk and to simply enjoy being in the company of fellow readers. Expand your horizons and try some new food, too!
Past seasonal salons
Summer 2025: The Summer of Self-Help
Sign up for updates
If you’d like me to send you occasional updates about what I am switching and how it’s going, feel free to sign up. I can’t promise regularity but I can promise no spam!
More information
This is a little project run by me, Suzanne Whitby, a foresight practitioner, facilitator, communicator and storyteller, to switch from supporting all the tech organisations in the U.S. in light of the 2025 political muck-up (my view) across the pond.
We need more ethical tech organisations in the world. We need more European and other non-U.S. options to ensure that we are resilience if the U.S. shuts its doors.
To do that, we need to support non-U.S. providers now, so that the alternatives exist should we need them.
And who knows? Perhaps this is a great opportunity to embrace new and better ways of doing things that contribute to hopeful, sustainable futures.
