I hope you’re having a great Summer!
I took 2 weeks off in July and feel all the better for it. Honestly, I was a little worried about being away from PJWD headquarters for that long, but can confirm the world did not end and I plan to have a summer break every year going forward.
All the random ideas and plans for PJWD that have been buried in the back of my mind have had chance to float back to the surface, and now I have the energy to crack on with them.
I figure a lot of you might also be taking it easy in August too, so as a change, this month’s newsletter features a round-up of my favourite articles on digital wellbeing, sustainability and privacy.
As always, if you have any questions or comments about this month’s newsletter drop me a message 🙂
Digital Sustainability
It’s not just our physical activities – like driving a car or buying things wrapped in plastic – that have an impact on the environment, but also our online activities. This is a topic I’ve covered a few times on the blog, both inspired by my own learnings and things I advise clients on.
- How environmentally friendly is your website? – Our digital carbon footprint is an obvious consideration, but it is difficult to quantify the impact of intangible digital products. Just how much energy does it take to run a website, and how can we reduce our impact on the environment?
- Reducing your digital carbon footprint – Practical tips to make your digital life more eco-friendly, including spring cleaning your online accounts and making your website more efficient.
- The weird nostalgic romance of deleting old emails – Clearing out your old emails is a great way to reduce your digital carbon footprint. Get ready for a trip down memory lane!
Digital Wellbeing
Out of all the things I write about, the topic of digital wellbeing has really struck a chord with people. At a time when all our devices encourage us to be more reliant on them, I started practising digital minimalism this year. The effects of this have been profound, and I shared my learnings on the blog.
- Digital Minimalism: The Digital Declutter – Part one of my experience exploring Professor Cal Newport’s philosophy of Digital Minimalism: using less technology with more purpose and none of the distractions.
- New adventures with an old phone – Everyone can do with a digital detox from time to time! Thoughts on why I’ve been going back to basics with a ‘dumb phone’ on evenings and weekends.
- My Social Dilemma – Join me as I don my tinfoil hat and watch The Social Dilemma, the terrifying documentary about the impact social media is having on society.
Digital Privacy
There are a couple of sides to digital privacy for me. On one hand, it’s about me taking steps to protect my own privacy, and on the other hand, it’s about making sure my website and newsletter protect the privacy of you, my audience. Here are a few articles I’ve written on the topic.
- Fathom Analytics vs Google Analytics – My thoughts on switching to using Fathom; a simple, privacy-focussed website analytics software that is an ethical alternative to Google Analytics.
- Protecting your online privacy – Liberate your digital self with some small changes to make your online life a little more private. This post includes my recommendations for privacy-focussed alternatives for web browsers, email, search, analytics and more!
- 7 ways your website might be abusing your customers personal data – How big tech companies stopped data mining and started handing out shovels instead.