Economic strike effort: Quit these tech services
Source: Mashable Tech
Marketing professor Scott Galloway says the primary way to get President Donald J. Trump’s attention is by influencing the market.
If you don’t like Trump’s deployment of immigration authorities to Minneapolis or the killings of Americans observing the agents’ actions, find a way to change the economic calculus for him, Galloway advises.
That’s why Galloway—popular podcast host and author—recently launched a month‑long economic‑strike campaign called Resist and Unsubscribe. The initiative invites people to cancel tech subscriptions and services they may enjoy for work, convenience, or entertainment.
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Galloway says the campaign has reached nearly a million people via its website, and related content has been viewed more than 18 million times on social media.
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Galloway identifies these and other tech companies as having “outsized influence over the national economy and our president.”
Example: Amazon spent tens of millions of dollars making and promoting Melania, a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump. Critics have likened the move to a “bribe” and “propaganda”. Amazon says it produced the film because it believed customers would “love” it.
Source: CNN
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Mashable asked Galloway to share:
- His reasoning for the strike.
- Which services he personally canceled.
- What he’s doing with the time reclaimed from the tech products he used before the strike.
Mashable: Why is canceling subscriptions specifically important if someone wants to protest what you describe as “the Trump administration’s assault on our nation’s values”?
Galloway:
- The Trump administration doesn’t respond to outrage; it responds to economics.
- When the President has walked back plans (e.g., annexing Greenland or raising tariffs), it’s always been because the bond market or stock market fell.
- Subscription cancellations are currently the easiest lever to move the market.
The Magnificent 7—the seven largest tech stocks—account for roughly 35 % of the S&P 500. Targeting these Big‑Tech companies can create an outsized impact on the markets, which in turn can influence the President’s policy decisions.
Mashable
Question:
The tech‑based subscriptions you encourage people to cancel have become central to how people entertain themselves, shop, and work. If someone is balking at the list and the prospect of giving up, say Apple Music or ChatGPT (or both), how do you frame the stakes for them?
Galloway:
By all means, I’m not asking anyone to give up something that’s central to their life or work. What I will say: if you head over to our website and read the list of companies we’re targeting, you’ll almost certainly find a subscription that you can go without for a short period of time. Like me, you’ll also probably discover that you’ve been paying for two Spotify accounts and an Amazon Health account that you didn’t know existed.
At the very least, it’s a good excuse to audit what you’re paying for.
Mashable: You’ve canceled Amazon Prime, Uber, Apple TV+, and Amazon One. Have you subscribed to other services to make up the difference, like a competing retailer‑delivery program or ride‑hailing app? What have you learned from canceling these subscriptions?
Galloway: Personally, I’m trying to reclaim my time as much as possible from technology and use it to do things that make me truly happy — connecting with friends, spending time with family, shopping locally and in‑person.
Below are a few alternatives I’ve found useful:
- Entertainment: Stream films and documentaries for free through Kanopy (access with a library card).
- Ride‑hailing: If you’re switching from Uber, Lyft is still a corporate service but a much smaller player in most markets.
- Shopping: Supporting local businesses and buying in‑person is a great way to replace Amazon’s convenience while keeping money in the community.
Mashable – Question
If someone cancels a service, such as LinkedIn or Apple Fitness+, but their membership is still good for a period of time, is it OK to continue using it?
Is it the cancellation that really counts, or the combination of terminating the subscription and ceasing to use the service?
Galloway – Response
As a guy with economic security, I’m not going to tell anyone what they should or shouldn’t cancel. I just want to make it easy to take action.
- Maybe you unsubscribe from a few things, pause others, and realize you don’t need half of what you’re paying for.
- What I’m really trying to highlight is something we all forget: in a capitalist society, the most radical thing you can do is stop participating.
Whether that’s canceling the subscription or simply stopping usage, the point is opting out.
Mashable: Should a customer tell a company that they’re canceling because of the company’s support for the president’s administration and policies?
Answer
Yes. Companies track cancellation reasons, and if enough customers cite political concerns, that data can influence decision‑making. Be explicit about why you’re leaving—whether through the cancellation form, a follow‑up email, or by sharing publicly (e.g., on Instagram) using a template.
Mashable: What’s the most memorable or profound feedback you’ve received from someone who participated in this campaign?
It’s been amazing seeing the outpouring of support for Resist and Unsubscribe.
I’ve received thousands of emails in which people tell me what they’ve unsubscribed from.
The collective response has been profound.
Above all, it’s given me hope.
It’s easy to lose that right now — but this has shown me that there’s still a lot of good people out there who care about America and are willing to make personal sacrifices to create change.