Email is the great equalizer of Internet communication. Anyone can send one to anyone else. Nobody owns email. Sure, there are different services and apps, but fundamentally, it's an open form of communication. If you have your own domain, you can pick it up and move it to another service provider at any time. You're not locked in. The only lock in is the address, which if so inclined, can be under your control.

Compare that to the myriad of platforms that lock you in—you can only message other users on the same service. You're subject to their rules. You can't pick up and move somewhere else while maintaining the same identity.

But free platforms have a stranglehold on people because they don't cost anything. These platforms provide enough utility that people give up their freedom of choice and movement because they can send messages and meme GIFs for free. 

I urge anyone reading this to consider what you're giving up by using a closed communication platform instead of an open standard that would require you to plonk down some money.