The Cyberunions Podcast: Episode Two

By Walton Pantland On May 30, 2011 · 3 Comments · In Podcast

Welcome to the second episode of the Cyberunions Podcast.

A ‘strike’ against Skype.

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Show notes

As Skype disappears behind Microsoft’s walled garden, Free Software activists are working on alternatives

Microsoft buys Skype – what will we do?
Skype alternatives: Ekiga and Jabber/Jingle – Google Talk uses the Jingle protocol
GNU call

2:10 - Free and Open Source Software, free beer and free speech

In FOSS nothing is hidden from you
Microsoft is anti-union and opposed to workplace democracy, and their software is a bloated mess
We’ll keeping testing FOSS alternatives to Skype
Escaping the Microserf Gulag – starting out with Linux
Linux treats you like an adult – use is a learning experience

5:41 – Is Apple any better?

Better software – it’s Unix based
Apple also infantilises its uses
The app store has been a feature of Linux for years
Linux repositories – in the Linux ‘app store‘, everything is free
At least Apple mostly works
Apple controls your computing experience

8:22 First steps in Open Source – were to start

There’s help and support available
Linux has got a lot easier to use
Linux is now easier to install and configure than Windows
You can run it from a CD or USB to test it first
Ubuntu is the most popular, but we think Linux Mint is the best place for a new user to start -it’s easier to use and more reliable
For more advanced uses, we like Debian Testing or Linux Mint Debian Edition, which is Testing neatly packaged by the Mint team
Ubuntu netbook is great for netbooks

12:02 Social networks – Facebook

Using Facebook for union campaigns
Good thing about Facebook – everyone is there
Low barriers to access – people new to the online environment learn to use it quickly
Metcalfe’s Law
Problems: Privacy – Settings are complicated and change often. Facebook does not respect your privacy
We see more and more Facebook-related cases in white collar workplaces
Facebook leaks data
Facebook is a timesuck – it encourages discursive activity and dissipates activism
Do people actually turn up to your Facebook events?
Use with caution and have an exit strategy.
Keep your data on servers you control – build your own website
A Facebook purge could seriously undermine your campaign

21:45 Alternatives to Facebook

Some problems with twitter too – being forced to hand over user data
StatusNet is a growing option – running StatusNet on your own site would give you control of your data
OStatus is an open standard for social networks – if this is adopted, you’ll be able to communicate with people on other social networks without having to join them.
With Ostatus, you would be able to interact with friends on Facebook or Twitter from StatusNet or Diaspora
Diaspora – runs on autonomous pods. Try London Diaspora or Diasp.Org if you need an account. Different pods can communicate with each other. Still a bit of a lonely place, so join us.
Diaspora aspects are great
More on Diaspora next week
Decentralised networks are more secure and less likely to fail
We’re keeping an eye on Incliq, a new peer to peer social networking service
Thimbl is developed by the venture communists over at Telekommunisten

30:02 Bringing together two distinct communities with common interests – FOSS and unions

Union activists should contribute to the FOSS community
Many programmers and developers don’t like multinational corporations either, and support unions
We’d love to see a genuine networked and global Cyberunion for IT workers
The union movement is changing – young activists are getting involved in Wisconsin and London
Unions should support organisations like ORG and EFF
Open formats rather than proprietary ones like .doc