A Coming out party for the real sharing economy

"Platform Cooperativism: The Internet, Ownership, and Democracy" Brings Together Business Leaders Working Toward a More Just and Democratic Sharing Economy

Saturday, Nov. 13 and 14 at The New School in New York City

WHAT:

The New School presents Platform Cooperativism: The Internet Ownership and Democracy--a coming-out party for the cooperative Internet, built of platforms owned and governed by the people who rely on them--on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13 and 14.

Convened by Trebor Scholz, Associate Professor of Culture and Media Studies at The New School, and Nathan Schneider, Visiting Assistant Professor of Media Studies at University of Colorado Boulder, the two-day conference will feature discussion sessions, screenings, monologues, legal hacks, workshops, and dialogues, as well as a showcase of projects under the purview of celebrity judges.

"The emergence of labor companies such as Uber, Airbnb and TaskRabbit has heralded what many companies and consumers have dubbed “the on-demand economy”—a trending business concept that allows people to share everything from cars and apartments to toys and time.

But for all the goods and services that these companies allow us to share with one another, “ownership and governance are not on offer,” Scholz and Schneider write in a recent article in Fast Co. Exist.

“This is what the democratic promise of the Internet has come to: a democracy of access, of ‘collaborative consumption,’ but not of control, real accountability, or ownership,” they add.

However, a countermovement—what Scholz has dubbed "platform cooperativism"—is underway: a shift toward a true sharing economy, one in which people co-own and co-govern the platforms they contribute to and rely on.

MAJOR EVENTS:

“Owning Is the New Sharing," Friday, November 13, 6 p.m. -- A showcase of cooperative platforms in development, including Loconomics, a TaskRabbit-like gig market owned by its workers, and Stocksy, a stock-photo site owned by photographers. “Celebrity judges” include Yochai Benkler (Harvard), Scott Heiferman (Meetup.com), Sara Horowitz (the Freelancers Union), Paul D. Miller (DJ Spooky) and Minerva Tantoco (NYC’s Chief Technology Officer). The evening will be introduced by City Council Member Maria del Carmen Arroyo and Janelle Orsi of the Sustainable Economies Law Center in Oakland.

“How Digital Media Finally Enables Distributed Enterprise," Saturday, November 14, 6 p.m. -- A lecture by Douglas Rushkoff, author of Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now, and dozen other bestselling books on media, technology and culture. He wrote the graphic novels Testament and A.D.D., and made the television documentaries "Generation Like," "Merchants of Cool," "The Persuaders" and "Digital Nation."

WHEN:

Friday, Nov. 13, 8 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 14, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

WHERE:

The New School’s John L. Tishman Auditorium, University Center, 63 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003


TICKETS: The events are free, but members of the media must rsvp with Scott Gargan at [email protected] or 212.229.5667 x 3794.

Founded in 1919, The New School was born out of principles of academic freedom, tolerance, and experimentation. Committed to social engagement, The New School today remains in the vanguard of innovation in higher education, with more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students challenging the status quo in design and the social sciences, liberal arts, management, the arts, and media. The New School welcomes thousands of adult learners annually for continuing education courses and calendar of lectures, screenings, readings, and concerts. Through its online learning portals, research institutes, and international partnerships, The New School maintains a global presence. Learn more at www.newschool.edu.

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79 Fifth Avenue
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PRESS RELEASE

Media Contact:

Scott Gargan, The New School
212-229-5667 x 3794
[email protected]



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