4 ms·

European-alternatives.eu Experiencing Massive Traffic Increase Since January

87 points by pentacent_hq 2y ago

pentacent_hq 2y ago
YTD, they have already seen 1.1M unique visitors, compared to just 0.3M in all of 2024. They’ve also opened up their analytics data here: https://plausible.io/european-alternatives.eu https://plausible.io/european-alternatives.eu
- basemi 2y ago
  Thanks for the link Noteworthy percentage of Firefox users.
ethan_smith 2y ago
What's telling from their analytics is that this isn't just a knee-jerk reaction - the engagement metrics show people seriously evaluating options rather than panic-clicking (spending almost 3 minutes on the website). I'm particularly curious which sectors are seeing the most interest - cloud services? Productivity tools? Communication platforms? That data could help prioritize where European companies should focus innovation efforts.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- mytailorisrich 2y ago
  It is somewhat of a knee-jerk reaction. That said, European governments and media have been serving a relentless propaganda. It started with the invasion of Ukraine but has recently taken an even more sinister turn. This sort of thing does work and does change public opinion.
  - jamesblonde 2y ago
    It's not propaganda if it is true.
    - mytailorisrich 2y ago
      You believe that what you believe is true (you have to by definition). But is it? What is truth? That's the whole point of propaganda in shaping public opinion. It can also be very subtle because what you are told may be "true" but may not be the whole truth and may not give a comprehensive account of all the facts at play. I think that's broadly what separates propaganda in Western countries (where outright lies are difficult to sustain) vs propaganda in dictatorships. In Europe the reactions to apparent changes in US policy are overblown, the "Russian threat" is overblown. Both are for a reason. But it seems that people have been so "prepared" that governments can announce doubling defence budgets (with what money?), conscription, the EU stepping into defence and almost no-one blinks.
      - 2000UltraDeluxe 2y ago
        Which part of it is overblown? The loss of trust in US being a stable enough partner to trust them, or the outrage regarding US bullying tactics in international politics? Threatening to invade your allies has consequences, and the damage has already been done. Edit: spelling
      - motorest 2y ago
        > You believe that what you believe is true (you have to by definition). But is it? What is truth? That's the whole point of propaganda in shaping public opinion. I don't know what you think your point is. Back in the real world, having dependencies on services provided by the US became a serious risk. De-risking is what every single decent project manager does. Only a moron drops by a discussion on risks and argues that a risk scenario doesn't matter because of propaganda.
      - cloverich 2y ago
        > the reactions to apparent changes in US policy are overblown A friendly country seeing its upper hand, and deciding to leverage it to squeeze your economy... what is overblown about being wildly concerned about that exactly? Its coming on top of an inflation driven affordability crisis, and many people are already at their limits. Having prices further increase is a really big deal for many people. > the "Russian threat" is overblown. Country with one of largest nuclear arsenals in world building up military, supressing dissent, invading neighbors - none of these statements are twisting facts. Even if you didn't know Putin's aims, it would be extremely concerning.
  - sMarsIntruder 2y ago
    this thing that a comment slightly not aligned gets downvoted, must stop
    - earthnail 2y ago
      I’d argue it is downvoted because it contradicts many people’s perception of the truth - including mine. I say perception because we don’t have all the information - and never will - in complex cases like global politics. However, given the limited information we all have at hand, there are more and less reasonable conclusions to draw, and the downvoted comment is in many people’s eyes drawing unreasonable conclusions.
      - mytailorisrich 2y ago
        Well if what has happened over the years and accelerated since Trump was elected does not raise red flags in curious and inquisitive minds then nothing will... My take is that at least part of what is going on is to overblow risks (especially the risk of a Russian "invasion") to make the public accept a future proposal to create an EU army, which in turn means a further critical transfer of power to the EU. Let's see how the next 12 months play out.
fooker 2y ago
Does Russian count as ‘European’ alternative? The Russian web shows an interesting alternate universe where western copyright is not a thing. If the war leads to the downfall of Russia, I worry that the last vestiges of the ‘free’ internet that helps billions of people in third world countries access content will be gone forever. It’s already partially the case with a good fraction of servers in Ukraine gone.
- gigatexal 2y ago
  What? Nobody is asking for the “downfall” of Russia. Just that Putin stops trying to rebuilt the USSR geographically and killing Ukrainians. If war does break out and Russia or many countries including Russia is destroyed that’d be horrible. There’s so much more to do in the world in 2025 so much more we could do as a species but as a species we seem hellbent on killing ourselves.
  - fooker 2y ago
    > Nobody is asking for the “downfall” of Russia. It's one of the likely outcomes of the war unless someone with a decent amount of influence in Russia takes Putin down.
  - mytailorisrich 2y ago
    Note how this is personified in the official propaganda and media. This is not "Russia", this is "Putin". This is a typical tactic to deny that whatever actions Russia has been taken reflect deeper interests and (Russian) public opinion but is instead only the result of a "mad man".
    - fooker 2y ago
      My university had a number of Russian grad students, they were all lowkey supportive of the war.
    - gigatexal 2y ago
      Anecdata sure … but I know some Russians that left Russia because of the war and unfortunately I know some that support it, too. Buuuuut to say that Russia === Putin and they’re the same in that his war is their war is insane. IIF they had real open elections and still went to war then I’d say you have a point. But they don’t. It’s very much a war he is doing not that they want.
guptaneil 2y ago
This is just shifting your eggs from one basket into another. Yes, the current basket is on fire but we should assume any basket can be lit on fire just as easily. I’d love to see somebody nail the UX of distributed compute in your home that you own. A box I can buy that is similar UX to managing a SaaS account after plugging it into my router, with automatic management, updates, encrypted backup across cloud providers, and an App Store for services I can install on this appliance that gives self-hosted apps a means to monetize. Then scale that foundation up to business needs and really profit. These ideas have existed before but IMO nobody nailed the UX and most people didn’t believe we’d light our own basket on fire for fun back then, so the market wasn’t there.
- motorest 2y ago
  > This is just shifting your eggs from one basket into another. Yes, the current basket is on fire but we should assume any basket can be lit on fire just as easily. I don't think so. That's like complaining about the decision to change a flat tire because all other tires can blow up just as easily. Can you present a single objective argument that rejects the idea of de-risking your choice of cloud provider?
- LiKao 2y ago
  I wouldn't just call this "shifting your eggs from one basket into another". One of the baskets is on fire, because people decided to light it on fire. So we are also telling these people, that we are really not willing to accept this. This is a clear message to those who have not yet lighted their baskets on fire not to make the same mistake, because we can and will find enough other baskets. Looking at the current stock market this does send a strong message. Peter Thiel, Curtis Yarvin and the likes want to create a system where democracy is replaced by consumer spending decisions, because they are narcissistic enough to believe they will be the ones on to after their proposed system change. Telling them clearly: "No you won't be on top after this" is an absolutely important message to send.
oblio 2y ago
Americans are largely unaware about what's happening in the rest of the world. Reelecting Trump means very few countries will trust the US anymore. Electing him once, ok, a fluke. Twice? The system is rotten and unstable. I'm fairly sure Ukraine, Canada, Panama, Denmark and the EU as a whole, they're all turning from US allies to indiferent at best. People are actively looking for non US products where they can. Trump, like Putin, will probably be remembered as the gravedigger for his country.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
warabe 2y ago
Can I find a non-US HN like news forum where I can find interesting news or comments aboout technologies?

87 points by pentacent_hq 2y ago

YTD, they have already seen 1.1M unique visitors, compared to just 0.3M in all of 2024. They’ve also opened up their analytics data here: https://plausible.io/european-alternatives.eu https://plausible.io/european-alternatives.eu

basemi 2y ago
Thanks for the link Noteworthy percentage of Firefox users.

ethan_smith 2y ago

What's telling from their analytics is that this isn't just a knee-jerk reaction - the engagement metrics show people seriously evaluating options rather than panic-clicking (spending almost 3 minutes on the website). I'm particularly curious which sectors are seeing the most interest - cloud services? Productivity tools? Communication platforms? That data could help prioritize where European companies should focus innovation efforts.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
mytailorisrich 2y ago
It is somewhat of a knee-jerk reaction. That said, European governments and media have been serving a relentless propaganda. It started with the invasion of Ukraine but has recently taken an even more sinister turn. This sort of thing does work and does change public opinion.
- jamesblonde 2y ago
  It's not propaganda if it is true.
  - mytailorisrich 2y ago
    You believe that what you believe is true (you have to by definition). But is it? What is truth? That's the whole point of propaganda in shaping public opinion. It can also be very subtle because what you are told may be "true" but may not be the whole truth and may not give a comprehensive account of all the facts at play. I think that's broadly what separates propaganda in Western countries (where outright lies are difficult to sustain) vs propaganda in dictatorships. In Europe the reactions to apparent changes in US policy are overblown, the "Russian threat" is overblown. Both are for a reason. But it seems that people have been so "prepared" that governments can announce doubling defence budgets (with what money?), conscription, the EU stepping into defence and almost no-one blinks.
    - 2000UltraDeluxe 2y ago
      Which part of it is overblown? The loss of trust in US being a stable enough partner to trust them, or the outrage regarding US bullying tactics in international politics? Threatening to invade your allies has consequences, and the damage has already been done. Edit: spelling
    - motorest 2y ago
      > You believe that what you believe is true (you have to by definition). But is it? What is truth? That's the whole point of propaganda in shaping public opinion. I don't know what you think your point is. Back in the real world, having dependencies on services provided by the US became a serious risk. De-risking is what every single decent project manager does. Only a moron drops by a discussion on risks and argues that a risk scenario doesn't matter because of propaganda.
    - cloverich 2y ago
      > the reactions to apparent changes in US policy are overblown A friendly country seeing its upper hand, and deciding to leverage it to squeeze your economy... what is overblown about being wildly concerned about that exactly? Its coming on top of an inflation driven affordability crisis, and many people are already at their limits. Having prices further increase is a really big deal for many people. > the "Russian threat" is overblown. Country with one of largest nuclear arsenals in world building up military, supressing dissent, invading neighbors - none of these statements are twisting facts. Even if you didn't know Putin's aims, it would be extremely concerning.
- sMarsIntruder 2y ago
  this thing that a comment slightly not aligned gets downvoted, must stop
  - earthnail 2y ago
    I’d argue it is downvoted because it contradicts many people’s perception of the truth - including mine. I say perception because we don’t have all the information - and never will - in complex cases like global politics. However, given the limited information we all have at hand, there are more and less reasonable conclusions to draw, and the downvoted comment is in many people’s eyes drawing unreasonable conclusions.
    - mytailorisrich 2y ago
      Well if what has happened over the years and accelerated since Trump was elected does not raise red flags in curious and inquisitive minds then nothing will... My take is that at least part of what is going on is to overblow risks (especially the risk of a Russian "invasion") to make the public accept a future proposal to create an EU army, which in turn means a further critical transfer of power to the EU. Let's see how the next 12 months play out.

fooker 2y ago

Does Russian count as ‘European’ alternative? The Russian web shows an interesting alternate universe where western copyright is not a thing. If the war leads to the downfall of Russia, I worry that the last vestiges of the ‘free’ internet that helps billions of people in third world countries access content will be gone forever. It’s already partially the case with a good fraction of servers in Ukraine gone.

gigatexal 2y ago
What? Nobody is asking for the “downfall” of Russia. Just that Putin stops trying to rebuilt the USSR geographically and killing Ukrainians. If war does break out and Russia or many countries including Russia is destroyed that’d be horrible. There’s so much more to do in the world in 2025 so much more we could do as a species but as a species we seem hellbent on killing ourselves.
- fooker 2y ago
  > Nobody is asking for the “downfall” of Russia. It's one of the likely outcomes of the war unless someone with a decent amount of influence in Russia takes Putin down.
- mytailorisrich 2y ago
  Note how this is personified in the official propaganda and media. This is not "Russia", this is "Putin". This is a typical tactic to deny that whatever actions Russia has been taken reflect deeper interests and (Russian) public opinion but is instead only the result of a "mad man".
  - fooker 2y ago
    My university had a number of Russian grad students, they were all lowkey supportive of the war.
  - gigatexal 2y ago
    Anecdata sure … but I know some Russians that left Russia because of the war and unfortunately I know some that support it, too. Buuuuut to say that Russia === Putin and they’re the same in that his war is their war is insane. IIF they had real open elections and still went to war then I’d say you have a point. But they don’t. It’s very much a war he is doing not that they want.

guptaneil 2y ago

This is just shifting your eggs from one basket into another. Yes, the current basket is on fire but we should assume any basket can be lit on fire just as easily. I’d love to see somebody nail the UX of distributed compute in your home that you own. A box I can buy that is similar UX to managing a SaaS account after plugging it into my router, with automatic management, updates, encrypted backup across cloud providers, and an App Store for services I can install on this appliance that gives self-hosted apps a means to monetize. Then scale that foundation up to business needs and really profit. These ideas have existed before but IMO nobody nailed the UX and most people didn’t believe we’d light our own basket on fire for fun back then, so the market wasn’t there.

motorest 2y ago
> This is just shifting your eggs from one basket into another. Yes, the current basket is on fire but we should assume any basket can be lit on fire just as easily. I don't think so. That's like complaining about the decision to change a flat tire because all other tires can blow up just as easily. Can you present a single objective argument that rejects the idea of de-risking your choice of cloud provider?
LiKao 2y ago
I wouldn't just call this "shifting your eggs from one basket into another". One of the baskets is on fire, because people decided to light it on fire. So we are also telling these people, that we are really not willing to accept this. This is a clear message to those who have not yet lighted their baskets on fire not to make the same mistake, because we can and will find enough other baskets. Looking at the current stock market this does send a strong message. Peter Thiel, Curtis Yarvin and the likes want to create a system where democracy is replaced by consumer spending decisions, because they are narcissistic enough to believe they will be the ones on to after their proposed system change. Telling them clearly: "No you won't be on top after this" is an absolutely important message to send.

oblio 2y ago

Americans are largely unaware about what's happening in the rest of the world. Reelecting Trump means very few countries will trust the US anymore. Electing him once, ok, a fluke. Twice? The system is rotten and unstable. I'm fairly sure Ukraine, Canada, Panama, Denmark and the EU as a whole, they're all turning from US allies to indiferent at best. People are actively looking for non US products where they can. Trump, like Putin, will probably be remembered as the gravedigger for his country.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

warabe 2y ago

Can I find a non-US HN like news forum where I can find interesting news or comments aboout technologies?