An individual switching is certainly ineffective, but if the switch affects other people in their household, especially children, then they will grow up knowing that there’s a better alternative out there and potentially bring that to their workplace, especially in smaller companies. And it doesn’t have to be a complete replacement at the workplace to start with either; it could be the adoption of a standard that doesn’t require the use of big tech products, where people can use open products that support the open format.
This line of thinking is why big tech has a strong interest in putting their products into schools, as it shapes the expectations of schoolchildren of what tools are available.
An individual switching is certainly ineffective, but if the switch affects other people in their household, especially children, then they will grow up knowing that there’s a better alternative out there and potentially bring that to their workplace, especially in smaller companies. And it doesn’t have to be a complete replacement at the workplace to start with either; it could be the adoption of a standard that doesn’t require the use of big tech products, where people can use open products that support the open format.
This line of thinking is why big tech has a strong interest in putting their products into schools, as it shapes the expectations of schoolchildren of what tools are available.