Don’t Be a Slave to Platforms // Digital Minimalism 09
Platforms are Everywhere
NBC is starting their own streaming service and taking Netflix’s most streamed show The Office with them. Google has started a videogaming platform. I’m writing from a Barnes & Noble, but I buy books through Amazon. And this weekend Uber and Lyft will flood the streets of your city.
Platforms mediate your experience of a product, whether or not they provide it. For centuries, many things in life have been mediated by religious and government structures. Obviously, a business full of talented people, such as Google, can mediate your experiences with greater style and efficiency than a wasteful, bureaucratic government. The trouble is that businesses mediate our lives without the same accountability that a government faces.
Businesses will continue to try to claim more territory in platform-centric industries. Your experience will become more fractured, with more usernames, logins, passwords, and apps to keep track of.
Liberate yourself from platforms with the four practices below. This article was inspired by Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport.
Practices
1. Walk Don’t Uber
Last night, a friend wanted to get Lime scooters for both of us to cruise around the streets of Los Angeles. I’d never taken a Lime and she was very excited to show off the product. Her brother actually worked at Lime. From our corner of a busy intersection she logged in, scanned the QR code, and fired up one electric scooter. The trouble was that the app only allowed her to rent one scooter, even though a dozen were lined up in front of us.
Here’s the thing about platforms, you don’t own anything on a platform. It is all tightly controlled. The price can jump in an instant and the rules can change with a quick software update. If we owned scooters, no platform could tell us how many to take.
To retain some control over your life, resist the temptation to rely on the platforms. In the end, there will be nothing to rely on. Train yourself to walk to your friend’s place, even when an Uber would be convenient. If you want to use something regularly, such as a scooter, buy it. Don’t count on the platform to take care of you.
If you work through a platform, such as driving for Uber, recognize that you are in a very different position than a traditional employee. For example, YouTubers get excited about receiving their first YouTube “paycheck,” without realizing that it is not a paycheck at all. YouTube can demonetize you on an algorithmic whim. Your tax paperwork from YouTube is not an employee’s W-2, it’s more like the paperwork given to a contractor. The best analogy for a creator’s relationship to YouTube is that of a band at a bar. The bar makes all the money on cover charges, food, drink, and tips. At the end of the night, the bar pays the band a percentage cut or a flat fee. The band is not an employee of the bar. The band does not collect a “paycheck” from the bar.
Whatever side of the platform you are on, understand that the platform is in control, not you.
2. Go A La Carte
I borrow this idea from I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi. In his book, Ramit suggests that most of us could benefit from dropping some platform subscriptions and making our purchases a la carte instead. For example, if you have a gym membership, but you rarely go to the gym, cancel your membership. If you do decide to work out, then you can pay for a one-day pass a la carte.
In some cases, such as the person with a daily gym habit, it is more cost effective to maintain a month-to-month subscription. The point to the a la carte method is not maximum financial efficiency, but liberation. You may save a few dollars by using Netflix instead of streaming movies a la carte, but Netflix is using everything in its power to create sticky content and recommendation engines that will keep you on the platform for several hours a day. Is your time worth more than a few bucks?
3. Pay, Don’t be the Product
If you use a product on the internet for free you are the product. Your data is being harvested for machine learning engines to develop valuable data sets, bombard you with persuasive advertisements, and fill your feed with sticky content.
Pay for media without advertisements. You will be able to pay more attention to the media and create a trend toward paid media and away from the attention economy.
A side note on free stuff: think before getting cheap stuff too. For example, inexpensive genetic testing, such as 23andMe and ancestry profiles are just platforms. When you send your DNA to these companies, you are the product. Your genetic information is recorded and there is no perfect cybersecurity system that can guarantee your privacy. The implications for private companies using or not protecting your genetic information are hard to fathom.
4. Use Money
Many companies, especially fast food chains, have developed their own payment platforms. This is not the same as using money. It’s more like using a gift certificate.
Keep your wallet out of the hands of these businesses. No fast food company that fills its products with high fructose corn syrup actually cares about your wellbeing.
For more, check out my previous articles summarizing Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. And remember, Medium is a platform too.