The Learning Curve from Cut Off the Spigot

In this episode of The Learning Curve, I spoke with Daniel Bingham, the founder of Communities. Communities is a new social media platform, similar to Facebook, for building and organizing community. Daniel is building it into a multi-stakeholder co-op model, where users and employees will have a voice in platform decisions. We discuss:What Communities is, why Daniel started it, and what he hopes to build with itWhat the Fediverse is and Mastodon vs. BlueskyLimitations of the Fediverse & BlueskyCheck out my Social Media Alternatives article for more information on Bluesky, their AT Protocol, and Blacksky, Skylight Social (platforms built off of Bluesky’s AT Protocol)Why starting a Tech Co-Op from scratch is hardHow tech funding typically works (I learned a lot!)Building out the Democratic Economy through co-ops Through our conversation you can hear the huge amount of thought, dedication and work Daniel has put in to create a co-op social media platform, despite being on "legendary mode" to start a tech co-op.  Communities LinksWebsiteiOS App LinkAndroid App LinkWays to Donate & ContributeContact DanielLinks to Items DiscussedFacebook & Instagram Content Moderator Abuses in Africa and around the world: Kenyan sub-contractors working for Meta suing for better labor protections, April 2025Institution for Human Rights and Business article on Meta’s worldwide labor abuses, June 2025Sama, Meta’s contractor, lays off 1,000 staff in Kenya, April 202699% Invisible podcast episode on NYC 311 SystemREI Union & BoycottAndor: Nemik’s ManifestoEnshittification Wikipedia Overview, the book Enshittification by Cory DoctorowFor more information about co-op structures across the economy, check out Episode 1 with Matthew Epperson (Video, Audio). 

Listen to THE FIRST EPISODE of The Learning Curve!I spoke with Matthew Epperson, a solidarity economy practitioner, educator, and community organizer by passion and by training, on shared ownership structures.We discuss shared-ownership models like Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP), worker and consumer co-ops, different company examples, how employee ownership works with unions, and what is giving us hope in the shared ownership space.Join Matthew on Zoom April 29th at 2 pm EST for the Boston Impact Initiative's Advancing Regenerative Capital (ARC) fellowship showcase! He'll be presenting for the Hive Mind Community Investment Cooperative, a multistakeholder cooperative permanently affordable housing fund focused on housing historically marginalized folks in the Deep South.Resources & Ways to ConnectMatthew Epperson’s LinkedInEmployee Ownership Centers by stateLocal Co-Op Development Centers affiliated with CooperationWorks!I also recommend searching for “co-op development center [your city/town]” to find those unaffiliated with CooperationWorks!US Federation of Worker Cooperatives: Co-op directory to find ones near youCo-Op Development & Work Resources: job-finding, professional development, training and education, and connection among the co-op and solidarity economy sector.Union Toolkit for Cooperative Solutions: report from CUNY (City University of NY) School of Labor & Urban Studies on strategies used by labor unions to support shared ownership like co-ops and employee-owned businesses.  Links to Items Discussed:Companies: MondragonResonate: Note, Resonate seems to be defunct/not accepting new members, but Subvert is a similar music streaming co-op. FairBnB (Website seems to be down temporarily)Driver’s Cooperative (NYC) New Era Windows CooperativeSouth Mountain CompanyApis & Heritage Capital Partners EB PREC (East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative)Walmart & other major national chains’ employees requiring government assistance. More info on REI, Patagonia. Room & BoardBob’s Red Mill Correction: Joann’s Fabrics articleMedia:The Take documentary“From Founder to Future” by John Abrams Margaret Mead Quote: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."Notes on ProductionThis is my first time making a podcast, let alone a video version! I produced and edited it myself, so if there are some minor audio issues I apologize. I am learning, and while there are always ways to improve I'm really excited with how this first episode turned out.I also made the theme song myself! I hope you like it, it's the first piece of music I've published and I'm quite proud of it too :)Feedback: I'd love to hear from you on the episode content - was it helpful, clear, or felt like something was missing? (Please be nice - I'm aware that I say "um" too often, I'm working on it for the next one!)