Co-op News. May 2021
The December edition of Co-op News: connecting, challenging and championing the global co-operative movement. This issue we look at the issue of democracy and member control – from the UK retail sector to US electric co-ops; it's a burning concern right now as questions are asked about the planned sale of insurance mutual LV= and the plan for a football Super League prompts talk of fan control. Plus coverage of the CFCFE Conference, the Global Youth Forum and continued campaigns by the movement on issues such as colleague safety and food justice.
The December edition of Co-op News: connecting, challenging and championing the global co-operative movement. This issue we look at the issue of democracy and member control – from the UK retail sector to US electric co-ops; it's a burning concern right now as questions are asked about the planned sale of insurance mutual LV= and the plan for a football Super League prompts talk of fan control. Plus coverage of the CFCFE Conference, the Global Youth Forum and continued campaigns by the movement on issues such as colleague safety and food justice.
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
DEMOCRACY # YOU.RE ON<br />
MUTE: A DEMOCRATIC<br />
ALTERNATIVE TO ZOOM<br />
REBECCA HARVEY<br />
When <strong>Co</strong>vid-19 hit in early 2020 and life was<br />
locked down, one company reaped untold benefits.<br />
Zoom, the video conferencing app founded<br />
in 2011 by Eric Yuan and launched in January<br />
2013, saw its p<strong>op</strong>ularity soar as working from<br />
home became a new normal for many. In June<br />
2020 Zoom reported making US $328m in revenue<br />
during its February-April quarter - nearly<br />
triple that of the same quarter in 2019 ($122m).<br />
Despite data, security and censorship issues<br />
- not to mention 'Zoom fatigue' - its easy interface<br />
and business orientation meant that Zoom<br />
soon came to dominate the global online market<br />
share, well ahead of Microsoft Teams, Skype<br />
and Google Meet. It currently ranks No. 1 in 44<br />
countries and has over 300 million daily meeting<br />
participants. 'To Zoom' is a new verb.<br />
But as the pandemic unfolded, a global coalition<br />
of co-<strong>op</strong>erators looked at devel<strong>op</strong>ing an<br />
ethical alternative. The result? The Online<br />
Meeting <strong>Co</strong><strong>op</strong>erative (Meet.co<strong>op</strong>).<br />
Meet.co<strong>op</strong> began as a collaboration between<br />
three tech co-<strong>op</strong>s in <strong>May</strong> 2020. It is set up using<br />
<strong>op</strong>en source software (BigBlueButton) and runs<br />
on co-<strong>op</strong>eratively owned hardware powered by<br />
renewable energy. It currently has 105 members<br />
across Eur<strong>op</strong>e, Asia and South America, including<br />
brands such as Friends of the Earth International<br />
and The Tor Project.<br />
"Meet.co<strong>op</strong> is a platform co-<strong>op</strong>, with two<br />
distinct classes of members: <strong>op</strong>erational<br />
members who contribute hours to run and grow<br />
the platform, and user members that subscribe<br />
to the services," says Melissa McNab, one of its<br />
40 I MAY <strong>2021</strong>
Change language