I wrote an article suggesting external resources for finding alternative software and services to the most popular big tech options. Therein, I noted that my favorite resource is AlternativeTo. I have found numerous software and services that I use every day on AlternativeTo, although I also use some others which were not included on the platform. Strangely, it had not occurred to me to contribute to AlternativeTo before last week.

New Leaf Journal editor Nicholas A. Ferrell's profile card on AlternativeTo after joining
My profile as of July 7, 2021

On July 2, 2021, I made an account with AlternativeTo. I had three reasons for making an account:

  1. I am looking for places to raise awareness of The New Leaf Journal and my work.
  2. I use numerous apps that are not listed on AlternativeTo and thus have things to contribute to a valuable platform.
  3. Many of the apps I have to contribute are free and open source projects, and adding them to AlternativeTo is a good way to raise awareness of the hard work that goes into them.

After making my account, I made my first contribution – Koko Analytics. That is, as I have discussed, a privacy-friendly analytics plugin for WordPress that we use here at The New Leaf Journal. Koko Analytics was submitted to the administrators for review and approved one day later. My membership status was increased to that of “user.”

Since that first submission, I have enjoyed a meteoric rise at AlternativeTo. I have thus far submitted 12 apps to the platform, made 16 edits, liked 67 entries, and posted five short reviews.

No longer am I but a mere “user,” I am now a full-fledged “contributor,” able to submit new software and services without needing them to first be approved.

Nicholas A. Ferrell added 12 apps to AlternativeTo within 5 days of joining
From my profile on July 7, 2021

I was surprised to find that I am the top contributor to AlternativeTo during the last week.

Nicholas A Ferrell was the top contributor to AlternativeTo in the first week of July 2021

While I hope that some people find The New Leaf Journal through AlternativeTo, I enjoy contributing to a resource that I have found to be quite useful. If you are interested in finding new software and services, I recommend using AlternativeTo as a starting point. If you want to see what I am up to on the platform, you can save the link to my profile. At the moment, I am sticking to adding new applications and editing incorrect entries when I find them. However, I may post some lists on AlternativeTo in the future.