Itch-scratching Free Code projects are like desire paths in the software space;

https://news.wisc.edu/desire-paths-the-unofficial-footpaths-that-frustrate-captivate-campus-planners/

Until software freedom movements can build a robust solidarity economy about 'paving the desire paths' - with responsive UX design, easy hosting options, etc - Free Code projects will continue to be unpaid prototyping for proprietary software companies. In many cases (eg iOS/BSB, Android/Linux) using our own work under pushover licenses against us!

#SoftwareFreedom #PlatformCooperatives

Desire paths: the unofficial footpaths that frustrate, captivate campus planners

Follow the sidewalk and you use the environment as the planners and designers intended. Cut through a plot of grass and you form what architects, design theorists, artists, philosophers and writers call a “desire path." Read on to learn about why these paths exist, what they can teach us, and why it's so hard to get rid of them.

News
They Hijacked Our Tech—Here’s How We Fight Back | Ricardo Ferrer Rivero | TEDxMünchen

YouTube

"It means platforms need to talk to one another, understand how each other’s technologies work, and find ways for actors who are not always used to collaborating to actually figure things out together. As you mentioned, the music industry and music distribution world often follow a startup ethos: get money, get users, grow big. This is the pattern we’d like to break from."

Louis-Louise Kay (#MOWUKIS), #Mirlo, 2025

https://diyconspiracy.net/mirlo-interview/

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#PlatformCooperatives

Mirlo: The Bandcamp Alternative Building Federative & Decentralized Tools for Music Distribution

The music industry doesn’t work for artists or listeners, and Mirlo is aiming to federate and decentralize online music sharing as we know it.

DIY Conspiracy
Ενώ η ΕΕ κυνηγά κέρδη, οι εργάτες χτίζουν platform cooperatives. 72 ποδηλατιστές στην CoopCycle. Το Fairbnb δίνει τα κέρδη στις κοινότητες. Ανοιχτή τεχνολογία, δημοκρατικός έλεγχος. Αυτή είναι η λύση. #PlatformCooperatives #SolidarityEconomy #DigitalCommons #Workers #AlternativeFutures
Ενώ η ΕΕ κυνηγά κέρδη, οι εργάτες χτίζουν platform cooperatives. 72 ποδηλατιστές στην CoopCycle. Το Fairbnb δίνει τα κέρδη στις κοινότητες. Ανοιχτή τεχνολογία, δημοκρατικός έλεγχος. Αυτή είναι η λύση. #PlatformCooperatives #SolidarityEconomy #DigitalCommons #Workers #AlternativeFutures

@hosford42
> businesses could be owned by the communities themselves, as with the fediverse vs corporate-run social media

💯%. I presume you're familiar with the Platform Cooperative Consortium, as this is exactly their mission. But I'll share a link to their case study collection for anyone who isn't;

https://directory.platform.coop/

EDIT: PCC website working now, link fixed.

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#PlatformCooperatives #PCC

Welcome – Platform Co-op Directory

Proud to showcase the early impacts of Cooperativa Digital funded by @digitalgoodnet, which delivered a 7-month co-design transformation for NGOs in Brazil: BRL12.5k income & creation of 5 jobs

https://imagination.lancaster.ac.uk/update/from-research-to-real-world-change-the-impact-story-of-cooperativa-digital/

#ResearchImpact #CoDesign #PlatformCooperatives

My paper “Rethinking ‘Inherently Political Technologies’ Through Platform Cooperatives” is now out in Philosophy & Technology.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13347-025-00946-w

Using the case of #platformcooperatives, I revisit a key weakness in Langdon Winner’s seminal work on the politics of technology. I update and expand his notion of “inherently political technologies” and introduce what I call “inherently political radical technologies.”

Give it a read — it’s #openaccess

Rethinking ‘Inherently Political Technologies’ Through Platform Cooperatives - Philosophy & Technology

In his seminal work on the politics of technology, Langdon Winner introduces the notion of “inherently political technologies.” Technologies ar

SpringerLink

"The government can also make electricity more affordable by supporting not-for-profit power companies. Another good move would be to help more households to install rooftop solar by providing access to long-term low-interest finance."

#KimberleyOSullivan, Senior Research Fellow, University of Otago

https://theconversation.com/almost-a-third-of-nz-households-face-energy-hardship-reform-has-to-go-beyond-cheaper-off-peak-power-259140

#energy #electricity #renewables #RooftopSolar #PlatformCooperatives

Almost a third of NZ households face energy hardship – reform has to go beyond cheaper off-peak power

A fifth of New Zealanders surveyed said they struggled to pay their power bills in the past year, forcing them to choose between electricity and other essentials.

The Conversation

We need this, but for co-ops, and as a platfom co-op itself;

https://www.getpin.xyz/

#cooperatives #PlatformCooperatives

PIN - The Easiest Way To Launch An Investment Club