@nixCraft well you can still use stuff like Syncthing to mirror data across your personal devices. I keep a lot of my stuff in Joplin and then sync it with my phone, k8s cluster, and Synology. No 3rd-party cloud required.
Mastodon is the best way to keep up with what's happening.
Follow anyone across the fediverse and see it all in chronological order. No algorithms, ads, or clickbait in sight.