• Home
  • About
    • OPEN 2020
    • OPEN 2019
    • OPEN 2018
    • OPEN 2017
  • Blog
  • Collaborate
  • Contact

The Open Co-op

Where open meets co-op

  • CATEGORIES:
  • Open
  • Co-operative
  • Commons
  • Inspiring Projects
  • Legal Structures
  • Software
  • Audio
  • Video

An introduction to Platform co-ops

December 2, 2016 By Oliver Sylvester-Bradley 1 Comment

Just like traditional co-ops, platform co-ops are organisations that are owned and managed by their members. While traditional co-ops are normally based around a physical community of members, platform co-ops live online and are normally populated by online communities of members.

The word ‘platform’ is often used to describe an internet service which brings together suppliers and consumers in an online marketplace. But platforms don’t necessarily provide traditional ‘products’; they often facilitate the trade of services, like taxis or temporary accommodation. Most people have heard of Uber and Airbnb, whose platforms have disrupted the minicab and short-term lettings industries while generating enormous profits for their shareholders. Unlike platform co-ops, these giants of the internet era are most accurately described as ‘platform monopolies’ and are specifically designed to extract as much value from their members as possible. They represent capitalism at its ‘best’.

Uber, and more recently Deliveroo, have come under attack for not paying their workers fairly. The way they are structured, owned and governed is directly opposed to the the principles of the International Co-operative Alliance. These ‘platform monopolies’ place profit above planet and are not afraid to use their considerable power to undermine workers’ rights.

Platform co-ops, on the other hand, are specifically designed to address the issues of workers rights and the extraction of value by making their members owners of the platforms and giving them democratic control. In the traditional offline co-op world, this is not new at all but in the online world, dominated by Silicon Valley startups in search of multi-million dollar IPOs, the idea of democratic member control is radical.

Platform co-ops provide a viable alternative to the standard internet model based on monopoly and extraction. They represent a new model of ownership designed to facilitate the transition to a collaborative, sustainable economy, which is starting to pick up steam.

There are now several examples of successful platform co-ops whose owner members are busy trading physical goods (Fairmondo is an ethical co-operative alternative to Amazon), stock photography and many other products and services. Platform co-ops are even championed in Jeremy Corbyn’s Digital Democracy Manifesto, in which he promises to “foster the co-operative ownership of digital platforms”.

It’s an exciting time for this new movement, which seeks to bring the age-old principles and values of the co-op movement into the ever expanding digital economy. But, as with all movements which oppose the status quo, advocates of co-operative platforms need as much help as they can get to spread the message and encourage other organisations to join in, to help drive the transition forward.

With this aim in mind, The Open Co-op organised a two day conference, in 2017, a further event in 2018, and continue to promote the platform co-op concept. Our events aim to bring together the co-operative community and people from the world of open source and internet development to cross-pollinate ideas and activities to kick-start the collaborative economy.

To stay up to date with the latest news about platform cooperatives and the new collaborative sustainable economy follow @open_coop and join the mailing list (form in the right hand column).

Filed Under: Co-operative, Open, OPEN 2019 Tagged With: Platform Co-ops

Trackbacks

  1. OPEN 2019 Community Gathering – Decentralised Collaboration | P2P Foundation says:
    May 30, 2019 at 12:55 pm

    […] years, we’ve promoted platform co-ops in a traditional conference format. This year we’re doing things differently and will be […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Books

Ours to Hack and Own: The Rise of Platform Cooperativism
UK orders only: Discount price: £10 + £3 P&P

Processing ...


Sharing Cities – Activating the Urban Commons
UK orders only: Discount price: £15 + £3 P&P

Processing ...

Sign up for occasional News

Recent Posts

  • If you value your privacy you should stop using Gmail November 16, 2021
  • A new model for grant funding – to finance the collaborative Commons June 16, 2021
  • The self-reinforcing nature of cooperation and ethical business June 11, 2021
  • Resonate is creating a Co-operative Privacy and Trust system for digital dignity across communities October 23, 2020
  • Decent Gov Now October 15, 2020
  • OPEN 2020: Networked Commons Initiatives July 17, 2020
  • Bristol Pay – a possible future for local currencies July 10, 2020
  • VIDEO: OPEN 2020 – Governance in collaborative projects July 9, 2020
  • Video: OPEN 2020 – Mutual credit deep dive July 3, 2020
  • VIDEO: OPEN 2020 – Cooperation will win June 29, 2020
  • VIDEO: OPEN 2020 – Mr Gee June 29, 2020
  • VIDEO: OPEN 2020 – Universal Basic Everything June 29, 2020
  • VIDEO: OPEN 2020 – Coordination in decentralised networks June 22, 2020
  • VIDEO: OPEN 2020 – Tools of collaboration June 20, 2020
  • VIDEO: OPEN 2020 – Introducing mutual credit June 20, 2020

Tags

Currency Data DecentGov Democracy Dmytri Kleiner Dynamic Equity Enspiral Grunt Fund John Restakis Loomio Michel Bauwens Mike Moyer Multistakeholder Mutual Credit OPEN 2017 Open Co-ops Open Value Networks P2P Foundation Platform Co-ops Resonate Slicing Pie Stir

Contact The Open Co-op

Privacy policy

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Open source email

Copyright © 2022 · Magazine Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in