Why does the (semi) government still opt for digital dependency?
The shock of a vacancy Sometimes you read something that makes you laugh awkwardly. A vacancy at a large hospital, for example, where it is fun to look for a BI developer who helps...
Water Board Vechtstroom learns nothing from Hardenberg
Our local authorities as digital satellite statesThe Water Board Vechtstroom does exactly the same as the municipality of Hardenberg: transfer our local government systems and data to a foreign power. It's like being consciously...
Europe in digital chains: From naive control to shameless betrayal
Where the hell do I start? There's so much happening at the same time that I don't really know where to start. The European dream of freedom and transparency is about to collapse. While civilians...
How America turns Europe into a horny place with digital thumbscrews
The mask of European pride We like to walk around in Brussels and The Hague with our breasts ahead: “digital sovereignty, autonomy, independence.” Nice words for a conference, but in reality...
Digital Sovereignty is a Lie We'd Like to Keep Believing in
⁇ Everyone wants it, nobody dares to do it Digital autonomy. Every policy paper, party program and strategic government document talks about it. Ministers call it in interviews. Members of Parliament ask questions about it....
I always thought it was abstract – until I saw what we really lost
The awareness suddenly came. And I'm still sick of it. I was working on something technical. A currency analysis. An invoice in USD, a few exchange rate differences. Routine. Until I...
Big Tech and the new feudalism: we are declared digitally obsolete
⁇ Secret infrastructures, open wounds On August 6, NRC published an article that reads like a dystopian paragraph from 1984: Israel turns out to be systematically listening to Palestinian phone calls and beating...
Dodging Big Tech for 30 euros per month: That's how I built my own cloud empire.
Hills and valleys: I'll take you on my adventure to switch from Big Tech software to more reliable, European or open-source alternatives. I...
Freedom is a lie when only capital is free.
The illusion of freedom It sounds so good: Less government, more freedom. An old neoliberal mantra that is still eagerly repeated on drinks from real estate investors and in the LinkedIn posts...
Your Internet Service Provider Knows You're Watching Porn and Makes Money From It
Your browser does not lie, your DNS betrays you Most people think that the incognito mode in their browser protects them from viewers. But that is a persistent illusion. On the...
Melting walls and entrenched thought patterns
Complaining cellars, cooking kitchens I read this article this morning: ⁇ One in three Dutch people don't find home heat resistant enough (NU.nl) And as far as I'm concerned, that's the kind of head where...
Temu, tanks and disloyalty
Quiet for a moment, but not away It was quiet. Too quiet. Not because there was nothing to say, but because I had nothing to give. Personal storms, loss, frustration, mourning,...
A new triangle to think about...
Hills and valleys: I'll take you on my adventure to switch from Big Tech software to more reliable, European or open-source alternatives. I...
Only on Signal: on principles, pain and digital boundaries
Hills and valleys: I'll take you on my adventure to switch from Big Tech software to more reliable, European or open-source alternatives. I...
Building Europe Itself: From Key Figures to Key People
⁇ The urgency of today: Building Digital Sovereignty Thursday, June 5th, my alarm went off at 2:30. After only two hours of sleep, I got up, packed my suitcase, drank a...
Between storm and silence: Why I'm Hopeful Today
A particularly difficult season Sometimes it is as if life is piling up for a while. In recent months, my family and I have been confronted with no less than five personal dramas in...
Stopover to the future
As the train whizzes towards Arnhem, I let my gaze rest on the passing landscape. This journey is more than just a physical journey. It's a...
The Red Button: How the U.S. Banned an International Criminal Court Prosecutor from Accessing His Email
Digital sovereignty is no longer an abstract concept Imagine: You're an internationally respected lawyer, chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC), and suddenly you can't join your...
Digital Sovereignty: A New Course for Municipalities. Are you reading Hardenberg?
The recent news that forty Dutch municipalities are launching their own sovereign cloud environment is an encouraging sign of progress. This initiative, which stems from the Open Web concept, offers municipalities...
Digital sovereignty? Not in Hardenberg, apparently.
While Europe is looking at digital independence and more and more governments are reconsidering their trust in American tech giants, the municipality of Hardenberg is happily opting for a deeper...
From Latte to Leadership: My Day on the Nextcloud Enterprise Day in The Hague
Morning Silence and Outlook It's early. The city still breathes slowly awake while I drink my first latte of the day at Douwe Egberts in New Babylon. Outside is shimmering...
A European façade on American foundations
New commitments, old dependencies On 30 April, Microsoft published a comprehensive statement entitled ‘Our European Cloud Principles and Commitments’ (source: https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2025/04/30/european-digital-commitments/). In it, the company promises, among other things, data centers...
⁇ Time for Action: Europe, now or never
An ethical digital future begins today The letter from seven Dutch technology companies to the House of Representatives, shared via post on LinkedIN, is no ordinary lobby letter. It's a manifesto. Sendent,...
The Tower of Babel gets an update (without Google).
⁇ A Translation Without Loss: Why This European Service Is So Special What if you could have a multilingual website without data-hungry tech giants or sky-high costs?If you manage a website...
A little self-deprecating
⁇ From Digital Detox to Data Dizziness "Are you busy or are you just pretending?" someone asked me the other day as I sighed and held my coffee and at the same time a whiteboard, laptop, phone...
A data guy, smile and a rubber ducky
What does a data engineer do at the Webwinkel Vakdagen? Webwinkel Vakdagen? As a Data-Pro? Yep. Where there is e-commerce, there is data. And where there is data, there I am. This event in the...
“You need to call 1200” – A tragicomedy in multiple companies
Chapter 1 – The fall of the smartphone My beautiful phone is broken. The inner screen doesn't work anymore. Don't panic: I have a warranty and a Business Extra package from KPN....
The Keyword Parade
CTRL+F and the Devaluation of a Life Course What if your entire career is ultimately reduced to a keyword bingo? That you're not judged by who you are or...
Why can't I just say no?
Hills and valleys: my Journey away from Big Tech I take you on my adventure to switch from Big Tech software to more reliable, European or open-source alternatives...
Nextcloud's breakthrough: The tipping point is now
⁇ Nextcloud's breakthrough: The tipping point is now "We are on the verge of a digital revolution. Nextcloud is no longer a niche – it is the future.” The latest...
Morally bankrupt
Once upon a time, the United States was the land of promise, bravado, and Bruce Springsteen. A place that we as Europeans watched with awe – the country where...
Microsoft stranglehold: municipalities in the tang
The municipalities see various risks in the dependence on Microsoft It is outright scandalous that our Dutch municipalities have chained themselves to the whims of an American mega company like Microsoft...
Nextcloud: From Puzzle Pieces to a Oiled Machine
Hills and valleys: my Journey away from Big Tech I take you on my adventure to switch from Big Tech software to more reliable, European or open-source alternatives...
The DBA, Nextcloud and a Piano Man Act – How My Day Derailed
Busy, Busy, Busy At the moment I am busy with everything: the DBA law, finding an assignment, rolling out Nextcloud within SMEs, and of course EduNEX, our on-site...
Fun in Hengelo
Today my day started in the studio of Mireille Droste, a great photographer with a keen eye for detail. At my side was Marlene,...
Call: SMEs from M365 to Nextcloud – who can help?
⁇ Immediately I offer my services for companies that want to make the switch! ⁇ What motivates me is the desire to actively contribute to a Europe...
No, you can't make it any easier!
We can't make it more fun, but we can make it easier. No, you can't make it any easier. Please find another marketing agency. This is the statement that I now have with certainty...
My trip to Nextcloud: A new direction in times of change
The famous dot on the horizon has been found! In a world that is changing rapidly, I have decided to take a new course. My moral compass and practical considerations...
Agendas are moving towards European alternatives. That will fill your time.
Hills and valleys: My journey away from Big Tech I take you on my adventure to switch from Big Tech software to more reliable, European or open-source alternatives...
My digital move
Hills and valleys: I'll take you on my adventure to switch from Big Tech software to more reliable, European or open-source alternatives. I...
The tax authorities: We can't make it any easier, and without Windows and Acrobat Reader, it won't be any more fun.
Hills and valleys: My journey away from Big Tech I take you on my adventure to switch from Big Tech software to more reliable, European or open-source alternatives...
Markdown has changed my way of writing
Markdown has completely changed my way of writing and thinking about text formatting. It forces me to think simply and directly about the content and structure of my texts....
On the way to a new direction in my career
After years of being active in the world of Microsoft software, I am at a crossroads in my career. I am ready for a new challenge and want to...
English (UK)