Where open meets co-op
*In this article I use the term ‘progressive movement’ to mean all the people and organisations that are working, or would like to work, on creating a world in which people and planet come before profit. If the term does not sit comfortably with you please substitute ‘solidarity economy’ or whatever term you prefer that encapsulates the widest possible breadth of … [Read more...]
The exploitation of temporary, freelance and out-sourced workers is a serious issue. As companies get bigger and more powerful, and operate through platforms which distance them from their stakeholders it is getting easier for them to abuse their workers. This abuse manifests in a number of ways but one which is very close to our hearts is the way that full time workers … [Read more...]
The OPEN 2019 Community Gathering will feature a selection of lightning talks explaining ideas and solutions that support the development of the collaborative, regenerative economy. Join us to tackle the calling question: How can we support each other to take more effective action to catalyse the collaborative, regenerative economy? Secure your place at OPEN 2019 … [Read more...]
Watch the videos from OPEN 2017 - The two day conference on Platform Co-ops, organised by The Open Co-op on the 16 - 17 February 2017. We will be uploading more videos to this page as they are ready so check back again soon... OPEN 2017 - Introduction Oliver Sylvester-Bradley introduces the OPEN 2017 - Platform Co-ops conference, highlighting global temperature rise and … [Read more...]
Douglas Rushkoff is a writer, documentarian, and lecturer whose work focuses on human autonomy in a digital age. He is the author of fifteen bestselling books on media, technology, and society, including Program or Be Programmed, Present Shock, and most recently Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus. He recently authored a chapter of the new book on Platform Co-ops Ours to Hack and … [Read more...]
In 2015, Nathan co-organised “Platform Cooperativism,” a pioneering conference in New York, which kick started a wave of global discussion about online democratic platforms. He recently co-edited the book, Ours to Hack and to Own: The Rise of Platform Cooperativism, a New Vision for the Future of Work and a Fairer Internet. In the run up to the Open 2017 - Platform Co-ops … [Read more...]
Platform co-ops, and the burgeoning movement behind them, are big news. For the first time since the inception of the internet a consensus is forming around a new model of economics and governance. At The Open Co-op we have been working on this concept since 2004 and continue to advocate that the internet provides the ultimate tool to help reorganise society and facilitate the … [Read more...]
NOTE: when I first re-launched this blog is was because people like @edmayo1 and @mbauwens had started to talk about 'Open Co-ops'. Now even more people are getting in on the game, it's fantastic! Also, big thanks are due to the wonderful peeps at @GuerrillaTrans for turning the pdf report into html which I could easily copy/ paste from the@Commons_Trans site for re-posting … [Read more...]
this article originally appeared on the P2P Foundation Michel Bauwens: “The cooperative movement and cooperative enterprises are in the midst of a revival, even as some of their long-standing entities are failing. This revival is part of an ebb and flow of cooperativism, that is strongly linked to the ebb and flow of the mainstream capitalist economy. After systemic crisis such … [Read more...]
this article originally appeared in Stir Magazine illustration by Daksheeta Pattni In 2002 I described United Diversity as “a member owned and stakeholder governed network of mutual advantage.” In truth, it was aspirational. At the time, the flexible off-the-shelf legal structures and open source tools needed to make such a network a reality simply didn’t exist. Now they do. … [Read more...]