A Portfolio of Platform Cooperativism, in Progress

Today, the power asymmetry between those who own the World Wide Web’s core platforms and the users who depend on them is more pronounced than ever. A decentralized digital economy is needed that is built on broad-based ownership and democratic governance. Platform Cooperativism could be an answer

Policies for Cooperative Ownership in the Digital Economy

The past decade gave rise to the so-called 'gig economy'—a cluster of service sector jobs contingent workers fulfill through digital platforms. Firms like Uber, TaskRabbit, and GrubHub established themselves as two-way intermediaries between workers and customers with the promise of revolutionizing work itself. While the gig economy has provided some convenience and savings to customers and flexibility to workers, the rise of the gig economy has also been disastrous. Using legal loopholes, well-funded lobbying efforts, and publicity campaigns, platform companies have eroded labor protections, worsened environmental conditions, and undermined public services. In contrast to the early, high-minded dreams of a 'sharing economy,' the gig economy is in effect defined by precarity and exploitation.On the one hand, these problems have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis. Gig workers were on the frontline of the emergency, delivering groceries, cleaning supplies, and preparing food. They were, however, also the workers who were most exposed to the economic dislocation of the pandemic.On the other hand, effective government response has caused a tightening labor market that leaves some platforms without a sufficient supply of cheap labor. The promise of tech companies was that they would become hegemonic service providers, and thus their losses would be justified with long-term profits. Many of these already unprofitable firms face a real danger of failure just as their aggressive expansion has weakened public infrastructure, leaving vital gaps in essential services.Our report provides a path forward at this critical juncture: the active promotion of platform cooperatives. Platform cooperatives are democratically-governed organizations owned by workers, customers, and other stakeholders. These entities match workers and customers and return a greater share of income to workers, increase worker protections, and build communities. Though still early in their development, platform cooperatives build on the proven business models of cooperatives to establish alternatives to the gig economy and its supporting digital infrastructure.Platform cooperatives are critical to creating a fairer economy and building back better from the pandemic. However, they require active government intervention to be able to compete with well-funded and established private platforms.This report suggests that governments on every level, from national to municipal, can take measures to empower platform cooperatives

Datu-kooperatibak pandemia sasoian

This is a translated article published in Public Seminar journal. To cite this present version: Scholz, T. & Calzada, I. (2021), Datu-kooperatibak pandemia sasoian, Tu Lankide. May 2021. DOI:10.13140/RG.2.2.32598.16967/1. To cite the previous version: Scholz, T. & Calzada, I. (2021), Data Cooperatives for Pandemic Times. Public Seminar journal. DOI:10.13140/RG.2.2.12320.51200/1

Co-operatives create worker power [Moderated Conversation]

This conversation will focus on the ways in which cooperatives create worker power in the US and Europe To cite this talk: Scholz, T., O’Brien, D., Spicer, J., Lurie, R., & Calzada, I. (2021), Can Co-operatives Build Worker Power? Platform Co-operativism Consortium RadFest, The New School. 6th April

Data cooperatives as catalysts for collaboration, data sharing, and the (trans)formation of the digital commons

Network effects, economies of scale, and lock-in-effects increasingly lead to a concentration of digital resources and capabilities, hindering the free and equitable development of digital entrepreneurship (SDG9), new skills, and jobs (SDG8), especially in small communities (SDG11) and their small and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”). To ensure the affordability and accessibility of technologies, promote digital entrepreneurship and community well-being (SDG3), and protect digital rights, we propose data cooperatives [1,2] as a vehicle for secure, trusted, and sovereign data exchange [3,4]. In post-pandemic times, community/SME-led cooperatives can play a vital role by ensuring that supply chains to support digital commons are uninterrupted, resilient, and decentralized [5]. Digital commons and data sovereignty provide communities with affordable and easy access to information and the ability to collectively negotiate data-related decisions. Moreover, cooperative commons (a) provide access to the infrastructure that underpins the modern economy, (b) preserve property rights, and (c) ensure that privatization and monopolization do not further erode self-determination, especially in a world increasingly mediated by AI. Thus, governance plays a significant role in accelerating communities’/SMEs’ digital transformation and addressing their challenges. Cooperatives thrive on digital governance and standards such as open trusted Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that increase the efficiency, technological capabilities, and capacities of participants and, most importantly, integrate, enable, and accelerate the digital transformation of SMEs in the overall process. This policy paper presents and discusses several transformative use cases for cooperative data governance. The use cases demonstrate how platform/data-cooperatives, and their novel value creation can be leveraged to take digital commons and value chains to a new level of collaboration while addressing the most pressing community issues. The proposed framework for a digital federated and sovereign reference architecture will create a blueprint for sustainable development both in the Global South and North

It's New Media: But is it Art Education?

There is a crisis in new media arts education. Education, like public broadcasting, should not be afraid of low ratings and small profits. The current crisis is starting to find widespread acknowledgment among new media educators from the United States, Germany, Finland and Australia and beyond. The unbearable lightness of topical orientation and the tension between vocational training and education are some of the core frictions. Navigating between Futurist narratives of progress and the technophobia often encountered in more traditional cultural theorists Scholz aims to show positive models for a future of pedagogy in new media arts

Market Ideology and the Myths of Web 2.0

This essay debunks the myths of the Web 2.0 brand and argues that the popularized phrase limits public media discourse and the imagination of a future World Wide Web

Approaches to technology in Australia

Interview with Trebor Scholz on situated media criticism, personalized education and the organized network model. Vocational imperative vs. responsible education transfer of "just-in-time knowledge" versus a broad education. How do we stretch a vision between the Futurist narratives of progress with all their techno-optimism and the technophobia often encountered in more traditional cultural theorists? What can we do about anti-intellectualism and boredom in the undergraduate classroom? Concrete examples of useful assignments and ways in which to teach theory or tech (ie. How could the role plays proposed by Augusto Boal's "Games for Actors and Non-actors" be applied to the teaching theatre?

Cooperativas de dados para tempos pandêmicos

Quando a COVID-19 atingiu populações em todo o mundo, ficou claro como as práticas de dados estão conectadas profundamente à democracia. Um relatório recente, por exemplo, encontrou uma “desigualdade de dados” destacando as divisórias no acesso, conhecimento e consciência das tecnologias digitais de saúde usadas na pandemia. As tão pesquisadas “desigualdades digitais” também são “desigualdades em relação aos dados”

Data cooperatives for pandemic times

To avoid ‘co-op whitewashing,’ data cooperatives must be shaped by those who need them most, rooted in cooperative principles and localized data