Hi everyone,

First off, I’m grateful to be part of a community that shares a (more or less) common vision. I’ve been supporting this movement since before the Orange Turd. To no ones surprise my commitment has only grown stronger over the past few years.

What I notice lately is that many discussions seemingly just celebrate alternative products (“Look, this alternative brand is EU‑based!”), which is great for awareness. However, I’m missing conversations about what we actually do beyond posting links and recommendations.

I’m not here to judge anyone’s level of involvement. Everyone follows their own moral compass. Rather, I’d love to hear about the concrete steps people are already taking (or considering).

Here is a sample of the sort of thing I would be interested in to hear about. Be careful to not spoof yourselves.
Political engagement
- Are you involved in any political activities that align with the BuyEuropean ideas?
- Do you back any European‑focused parties such as Volt? Outreach beyond the forum
- Have you discussed BuyEuropean ideas with friends, family, colleagues, or acquaintances who aren’t already in the community? Physical visibility
- Have you placed stickers, flyers, or other visual cues in public spaces (shops, campuses, workplaces) that promote “Buy European” or highlight non‑EU alternatives?
- The lack of such… basic visibility is one thing that surprises me the most where I live. Fediverse advocacy
- Do you recommend decentralized platforms (PieFed, Mastodon, PeerTube, etc.) to anyone as part of a broader “European‑first” digital strategy?
- I have friends moving off Meta etc., but it all seems… sporadic and unorganized. Without collective movement at colleges and campuses I don’t see how these things will ever actually grow.

Feel free to answer any (or none) of these questions, add your own experiences, or suggest additional ways we could make a larger impact.

I am sorry if this sounds direct and targeted. I think I just want to know if others are… doing stuff while I feel apathetic and powerless.

  • kaulquappus@feddit.orgEnglish
    1·
    7 days ago

    1. Vote with my money - only ever buy books outside of Amazon, which is easier here in Germany, as the price for domestic books is fixed. For other products I could do more; I try to be more aware about which brand is European and choose those if the price difference is not too crass (like recently buying USB chargers from Intenso despite the higher price point).

    2. I do talk with friends, family, colleagues about these topics. Now that I finally joined the Fediverse after years of “I’ll have to look into that”, I am asking around about that and already had some others look into it. I am positive some will join one of the platforms.

    3. However, I am not involved in any organized movements and I do not have stickers (which I would use if I had them) or flyers (which I probably would not carry around).

    As to your point

    • I have friends moving off Meta etc., but it all seems… sporadic and unorganized. Without collective movement at colleges and campuses I don’t see how these things will ever actually grow.

    … I am more optimistic about that. A lot of people are more or less consciously aware that the US-based data miners might not have our best interest in mind. Every one of us that migrates can do a lot in their own sphere of influence simply by telling people about it and encouraging them to maybe, for now, just add another platform, have a look around.

    E.g., it took some years, but more and more people in my circle use signal, and some of them exclusively. Why could it not be similar for feddit/lemmy, mastodon and pixelfed*. Hell, just tell them they might still get their preferred user name if they sign up now!

    * except for the atrocious loading times