Is shareholder model the root problem? Are platform cooperatives one of the key solutions?

[NSaikiwiki]

@LeoSammallahti

the largely user-governed Wikimedia is an example of a massive online platform that is not shareholder owned. It has also not engaged in the unethical practices that we Humane Tech folks are so concerned about.

I wish this were true about WikiMedia and MediaWiki software, but unfortunately it has many problems and in some ways these problems are worse than the other platforms. While I love collaborative platforms, and I too once believed in the shining light of Wikipedia, I think it will only disappoint many people if we use them as an example.

@LeoSammallahti

I do not wish to make this post seem like promotion of my own projects, so I’m not gonna mention by name the two platform cooperatives I’m involved in, but I will give few concrete examples of how they differ in practice.

• I’m working for a cooperative that is about to launch an app that will allow anyone to invest in cooperatives around the world. It fixes the two problems mentioned above by enabling cooperatives to issue investor and founder shares. These two type of shares give a dividend of the profits, but no voting rights. The members have full and democratic ownership, but they can accept investment from anyone across the world and reward the founders. Our goal is to offer start-ups an alternative to venture capital, and enable democratic user-ownership of online platforms.
• I’m involved in an online discussion and link-sharing platform cooperative that allows users to become a member-owners, with every owner (including us founders) owning one share. Users democratically propose and approve new features. The platform only advertises other coops that seek investment in the coop mentioned above. There is no targeted advertisement. Instead, users will vote each week what coop they find, and the coop receives exposure according to how many votes it receives from the users.

I for one would love to learn more about this? where are you located?

[LeoSammallahti]

“I wish this were true about WikiMedia and MediaWiki software, but unfortunately it has many problems and in some ways these problems are worse than the other platforms. While I love collaborative platforms, and I too once believed in the shining light of Wikipedia, I think it will only disappoint many people if we use them as an example.”

I’m sure Wikipedia is far from perfect, but considering the problems that Humanetech, as far as I understand, seeks to tackle (the privacy intrusive individual targeting and behavioral manipulation seeking to maximise our finite attention), Wikipedia is not causing these sort of problems.

Hi sorry I had missed your reply! I’m based in the UK/Finland. Open for a call if you’re interested.