Author Archive: leischa
UnionBook: Use it or lose it
UnionBook is the social network for trade unionists. It has been around for some time, but hasn’t really achieved critical mass. It currently has around 4,000 members, and unless it reaches 5,000 by September, it will be shut down. So what’s the point of a niche, union-focused social network in an already […]
Continue readingUsing Facebook for union organising and campaigns
If you’re using Facebook for your organising, you need an exit strategy. For a lot of unions, online organising starts and ends with Facebook. Many union communicators are fairly uncritical of Facebook, and seem to think it’s important to get people to ‘like’ your union’s Facebook page. Clearly Facebook is important, because many of your […]
Continue readingFrom Luddism 2.0 to Cyberunions
It’s time for unions to embrace the information age and develop an online, global, networked social movement unionism.
Continue readingOpen source trade unions
Is Open Source organising the way forward for trade unions? Some people seem to think so, but are we even sure what it means? Trade unions in the West have been in decline since the late 1970s. This is because the capitalist crisis of the early 70s was caused in part by a powerful labour […]
Continue readingCase study: Unite Scottish organisers and technology
In organising we need to be a wee bit off the wall because it works. – Finance sector seconded rep, Female, 31-40 There are a number of different organising models within the trade union movement. The Unite model sees organising as a specialist function that is ‘strategic,sectoral and global’, and was inspired by the ‘Justice […]
Continue readingWikileaks, crypto-anarchy and the politics of information freedom
The fact that hackers have been drawn to libertarianism is largely due to the absolute failure of the left to understand where the class line runs through the information wars.
Continue reading2010 in review
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health: The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever. Crunchy numbers A helper monkey made this abstract painting, inspired by your stats. A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog […]
Continue readingWorship the Glitch
It’s a feature, not a bug If you’ve watched an ad for fibre optic broadband or the latest iPhone, you’d be forgiven for thinking that by parting with a (fairly substantial) splodge of wonga, you’ll soon be immersed in a brave new techno-utopia. In reality, the experience is rarely as seamless as it is meant to be. […]
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