Participation Presentation Mitchell VSO 091009

Hello
2002…..…..2004………….…..2006……...…..2007……..… 2008...... 2009...

Network, community web design and facilitation; event design and facilitation
http://www.edmitchell.co.uk VSO Technology Taster Session 8th October 2009

Transition Network

“To support community‐led responses to peak oil and climate change, 
building resilience and happiness”. 

http://www.transitiontowns.org : Web Co-ordinator

Transition Network

inspire
encourage
connect
support
train


Transition tech stuff: conceptual
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Theme

Theme

Theme
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Theme

Themes shared in common
across all levels of the
movement

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Transition tech stuff; web layers


What am I talking about?
Participation and mass movements seem to be all the rage right
now.
In this current climate of uncertainty, with proof of concept from
the early campaigning NGOs, it seems that everyone is keen on
having their voices heard; and the internet is the place to
amplify those messages.
From central government harnessing the networked power of
the internet to support their campaigning to tiny anarchic groups
aiming to make their voices heard, it seems that everyone is
into it.
Ed will look at some of the social, technical and organisational
themes related to this and provide a few case studies for
discussion and further analysis.

Ah yes, the issues...

“People live in binary code and never get to three”
(Youngblood Brass Band)


Social

• The perfect storm: climate change, global recession, anti-
corporate, endless scandals and collapse of trust (MPs
expenses, Iraq cabinet meeting FOI requests ignored)

• Activism sweeps into mainstream fashion after years of
NGO and/or fringe activism

• Rational meets emotional: ʻouterʼ transition (every campaign
now) but is that ʻinner transitionʼ?

• Local/global - participation easier but meaningfull-er?
• Information: Indymedia and the rise of alternative journalism
• Attention - how much do we have? how many movements can
we concentrate on? How many social networks are we part
of?


Tim Chatterton

"I have some views on the ability
to 'participate' in mass movements
- spent lots of time in direct action
circles of people who argue very
strongly against mass protest
events as being useful for anything
except potential cover for small
scale direct action."


Organisational

• Bottom up and top down
• Organisation design for local/global
• Technology: (the myth of) costs down, reach inﬁnite etc.
• Web gurus telling traditional organisations they must share
the values of the web

• Growing co-operative development going on around the
world (from scratch)

• Recession! Money! Less of it and more expectations!
• Resource issues of how to organise for participation vs
transactional model of past


David Wilcox

"the empowering nature of social
media etc is blurring the distinction
between:
•volunteering (offer you time to us
within our terms)
•participation (contribute within our
framework)
•unorganised activism (we'll try and
do what we want to do)"


Technical

• Fashion: internet and software developments: from:
• broadcast
• publishing
• consultation
• surveys, comments and forums
• engagement
• social networking
• empowerment
• collaborative goal achievement
• aggregation and distributed sharing
• Open source: both in technology and social organisation
• Technology driving expectations for openness
• Open data movement growing (.paf, government group)


Dan McQuillan

“... bloggy tweety aggregation is all
well and good but if you want to get
stuff to stick in the real world you
need established structures.
"Perhaps going back into existing
silos is the price to be paid for
moving from vision to execution".
That's the bit that makes me smile
- the idea the the government, or
any large incumbent institution,
represent the best hope for
executing anything ﬂies in the face
of experience, especially when it
comes to anything that involves
tech...”

http://www.internetartizans.co.uk/politics1government2

Web values as the new must have?

http://twitter.com/jkhoey/status/4686542260


How flexible are we?


Case Studies


Case Study
Title:
Ice cream eating

Organisation type:

Flashmob

Description:

Belarus youth
Text messages
Ice Cream
Arrests

ref: Clay Shirky


Case Study
Title:
Climate camp

Organisation type:

Bottom up pressure group

Description:

Activist network
Open technology use: texts,
twitter, radio etc.
Regular meetings
‘Democratic’ model
Growing internationally


Case Study
Title:
Avaaz

Organisation type:

International political
pressure group

Description:

‘Web movement’
Campaign focus
Email based pressure
Growing internationally


Case Study
Title:
Cola life

Organisation type:

Bottom up lobbying group

Description:

One man’s passion
Practical action to alleviate
suffering
Growing group engagement
Continuous corporate
lobbying
Partnership with corporation


Case Study
Title:
My Conservatives

Organisation type:

Political party

Description:

Campaign tool
Goals focused
Messages prominent
Participation
Little social networking
(buddy lists, status updates)


One Climate
Title:
One climate
(and 10:10!)

Organisation type:

Action network

Description:

behaviour change network
aggregator


Case study
Title:
Mondragon

Organisation type:

Co-operative movement

Description:

Integrated co-ops
All businesses
Permaculture focus

http://www.mcc.es/ing/quienessomos/modelo/index.html


Is the revolution happening on Wall Street?

“... The one-person-one-vote worker co-operatives in the United States
are the most democratic, advanced and ideal. But they number at about
500 maximum, maybe 1,000. These co-ops are on the cutting edge of the
democratization process and where the learning will be taking place for
the rest of the movements. People are experimenting with full democracy
and full equality...”

http://www.alternet.org/rights/143102/the_economic_revolution_is_already_happening_--_it%27s_just_not_on_wall_st._?
page=entire


Is the revolution happening on Wall Street?

“... The one-person-one-vote worker co-operatives in the United States
are the most democratic, advanced and ideal. But they number at about
500 maximum, maybe 1,000. These co-ops are on the cutting edge of the
democratization process and where the learning will be taking place for
the rest of the movements. People are experimenting with full democracy
and full equality...”

“... Mondragon has over 100,000 workers in a very complicated group of
100 or more integrated co-ops. They pay back loans to a central fund and
then build more co-ops in an integrated fashion. In 90 percent of them, the
ratios of pay from top to bottom are 4 to 1. In others, it's 9 to 1. Compare
that with American corporations, which are 200 or 300 to 1...”

http://www.alternet.org/rights/143102/the_economic_revolution_is_already_happening_--_it%27s_just_not_on_wall_st._?
page=entire


Err.. yeah... so...?

• Perfect storm for social change
• perfect for greenwashing too
• Supportive technical infrastructure
• gradual federalisation of web
• Adoption and enhancement of old models with new
• pah! Mega corps cannot change
• Bottom up will meet top down
• power is well settled, thank you very much
• Expectations: realistic?
• this is not new; ideological battles have come before
• Participation as a social need
• seen much in Burma/Afghanistan/Indonesia/Nigeria recently?


Thank you

And thanks to:
David Wilcox
Oliver Bradley
Steve Bridger
Tim Chatterton
Carl Haggerty
for their ideas


Participation Presentation Mitchell VSO 091009

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