The social network for trade unionists - a LabourStart project.
Saving UnionBook by transforming it into a Social Network Union
I would like to invite and encourage Unionbook members to join in a debate on the potential of UnionBook as a Social Network Union.
As we see it with Facebook and other social networks 'weak ties' and loose networking brings fast decrease in initial excitement. Although there is a focus on unionists the same is may be happening to Unionbook. We should not let this happen!
Unionbook brings more than 3600 union people directly in contact to each other in a distributed way. This is actually happening first time in all labour and trade union history. We need to save and improve this possibility.
My suggestion is starting an urgent debate on this is very much a necessity. The other necessity is to think of functions for Unionbook that can create stronger ties among the members or better 'peer unionist' coming together on this platform.
These can be Skype discussion and exchange groups, production mapping study circles, multinational company networkings, etc. but it is important that it add something on the platform that takes UnionBook beyond being merely a 'meeting place' for unionists.
Transforming UnionBook into such an 'organised network' would enable UnionBook to foster in number and as a totality and increase the capacity of its peers as individuals.
The possible outcome can be a hyperempowered unionists and labour class movement, and this would lead to the most radical and wide spread social change our old and beatiful planet has ever experienced.
The discussion would ideally be carried on at the 2. LabourStart Global Solidairty Conference in Istanbul entiteld as "From Social Networks to Social Revolution" : http://www.labourstart.org/2011/
Tags: network, social, unionbook, unionism
Views: 26
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Philip Lillies on -
The problem with social networking tools is that they facilitate the organization of only two sorts of structures: dyads, which are one-on-one, and groups, which are many-to-many. What we need is a tool for organizing triads, which are one-on-two. According to Dave Logan et al., authors of "Tribal Leadership," triad are the natural building block of the social networks that are characteristic of fifth level consciousness, consciousness that focuses on the common good rather than on the individual.
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Permalink Reply by Orsan Senalp on -
Hi Philip, thanks for this too, it is really a good reference, even though it is told from a managerial perspective! I have just replied your other message with reference to dyad/triad concept. I agree with you that unions are most of the time rely on dyads, and actually networking tools provide the stage 5/networked tyad relationships imo. And if these networks adopt distributed networking mechanisms. and if they would really [hyper-]empower an ordinary rank and file worker to a level he can florish his power and represent himself and prove that he/she is really valuable, [instead of only being felt like valuable], that sort of social network tool would be the best. I think the youth and young stayed activists are already discovering this 5th stage from workers' perspective!
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Permalink Reply by Philip Lillies on
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There is a theory called "Spiral Dynamics" that I have very much studied. It says that you really can't get to the fifth level without going through the preceding four levels. In fact, it is your consciousness of the other four levels that allows you to operate at the fifth level. The most advanced young people, I think, might be capable of capturing glimmers of level four. They simply would not have gained the time or experience to advance beyond. Level four is not so bad. It is the level of teamwork and co-operation. To find out more about spiral dynamics, go here: http://www.spiraldynamics.org/
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