Organizing Theory
“Don’t go back into your cave of despair.” How to turn movement moments into movement power.
Want some policy ideas for how to bring fresh food into underserved communities? Union of Concerned Scientists has a toolkit for that.
Sharing, Solidarity & Sustainability
Relay Rides is the other thing you can do with your car to monetize it when you’re not quite willing to become a chauffeur…
“…if our reason for supporting different modes of sharing is a desire to create a more equitable and sustainable economic system, we need to significantly broaden our understanding of what constitutes a sharing economy.”
“The idea that having a good job means being an employee of a particular company is a legacy of a period that stretched from about 1880 to 1980.” So says The Economist, writing about the sharing economy and the rise of the freelancer.
How Spanish groups are organizing collectively, including to provide trade education in communities.
Reputation, reputation, reputation
Pew on the future of privacy. “The current arms race of privacy between individuals who want it and governments who wish to eliminate it will continue unabated.”
From Partners
In These Times is revisiting Working by Studs Terkel, in its 40th year, with updated essays about work today. Here’s the Gravedigger.
Geeking Out
If you’re going to make a robot, it really ought to be a shark robot, right?
Welp. NASA emailed a wrench to the space station. H/t to reader Hannah Sassaman for this gem.
What happens when your bot breaks the law? Jeez, can’t I get my kids through high school before I have to worry about stuff like this?
What’s Going on in the Workforce?
In the “jobs so boring, it’s a good thing they made a robot for it” category? Testing car buttons.
On the other hand, do you really want fries with that? McDonald’s is introducing touchscreen ordering, to serve their next Xbillionth customer.
I continue to be convinced that artists and other content creators are going to be the people to figure out how this new economy works. Here’s Erik Arneson, talking about his success in giving away stories online, in order to build his distribution list.