The P2P Foundation was recently featured in the Argentinian newspaper Página 12 in a report about P2P following the closing of Megaupload. Franco Iacomella explained how P2P is not just abut file sharing in the article whach can be read here (in Spanish)
Date archives "March 2012"
Moving from Primordial Debt to Primordial Gratitude
Charles Eisenstein has penned an in-depth review of David Graeber’s seminal book on the history of debt, which I recommend you read in full at Shareable. One passage struck me in particular, where Charles introduces ‘primordial gratitude’, as a contrast to the Primordial Debt Theory which is presented in Graeber’s book. (also recommended is the… Continue reading
Coop’s stories in the Year of Cooperatives
From Marcelo Vieta: Most of you also know that 2012 is the UN’s International Year of Cooperatives. As one of the many celebrations around the world to commemorate this year of the cooperative, EURICSE, in collaboration with the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), is spearheading the stories.coop initiative (www.stories.coop), where one cooperative from anywhere in the… Continue reading
Essay of the Day: Peer-to-Peer Relationality
By Michel Bauwens: Anonymity is nothing new in cities. What is more, however contradictory it might seem, sociability and anonymity go together in the city. Bauwens reflects on this through an analysis of peer-to-peer networks, a system for sharing and combining individual efforts on the Internet in a collective task. If we look at the… Continue reading
Overview of European commons development: Germany, France, Italy
Excerpted from David Bollier: “In Germany, the commons is actually a topic of mainstream political discussion. Here, too, the Green Party and particularly its associated foundation, the Heinrich Boell Foundation, have been very active. I have been working with the Boell Foundation and with the Commons Strategies Group on the commons, especially with Silke Helfrich… Continue reading
Essay of the Day: From Product-centered to People-centered economic development
(Michel Bauwens: The following is a crucial distinction to make, we strongly recommend you read this) By Sam Rose, Paul Hartzog and informed in part by collaborations with Steve Bosserman. Production centered supply chain business development depends on: unlimited growth exclusive access to resources artificial scarcity around actually abundant resources people filling roles in a… Continue reading
Movement of the Day: Occupy Science, Global revolt of scientists against major science publishers
Now also the Scientist and Researchers of the world are revolting. That is remarkable since they are the peak and pride of the Middle Classes. And relevant for all of us since these (mentally) young men and women are the core and hope of our Knowledge Society. With their knowledge and creativity they drive most… Continue reading
David Bollier: Sharing is the Biggest Secret in the Global Economy
Jay Walljasper’s introduction: There’s more than Olympics and Elections going on in the coming months. 2012 has been named International Year of Cooperatives by the United Nations in recognition of the fact that more than 800 million people around the world belong to one of these economic networks. Coops flourish in all sectors of modern society proving that… Continue reading
The scandal of scholarly publishing/profiteering and why sharing should be defended
A really great and important editorial by Christopher Kelty, which I recommend reading in full at Al Jazeera. The article was prompted by the closing of library.nu, a site for the sharing of scholarly material which was vital for learners the world over. Excerpted from Christopher Kelty: “The winter of 2012 has seen a series… Continue reading
Essay of the Day: Why Localization is Inevitable in a Resource-Scarce World
* Article: The New Geography of Trade: Globalization’s Decline May Stimulate Local Recovery. By Fred Curtis, David Ehrenfeld. Solutions Journal, Volume 3 | Issue 1 | Page 35-40 | Jan 2012 Introductory Citation “It is an article of faith that global trade will be an ever-growing presence in the world. Yet this belief rests on… Continue reading
Person of the Day: Cooperative wealth-builder Gar Alperovitz
Excerpted from a profile by David Bollier: “David Bollier: “One of the most eloquent advocates for socially friendly forms of capital ownership – the French call it the “social economy” – is Gar Alperovitz, a historian and political economist at the University of Maryland and a founder of the Democracy Collaborative. Alperovitz’s 2005 book, America… Continue reading
Five Ways Crowdsourcing Can Accelerate Your Start-Up
Source: Casey Armstrong – Shareable Crowdsourcing is a multifaceted creature, one that can put the power of automation and the flexibility of distributed work into the backbone of your start-up. Here are five simple ways you can use crowdsourcing accelerate your startup: 1. Raise Some Moola with Equity, Debt, Donation or Pre-sales Based Crowdfunding Crowdfunding… Continue reading
OpenCourseWare Consortium Declares First Annual Open Education Week for March 5-10
Source: The OpenCourseWare Consortium The OpenCourseWare Consortium announces today the first annual Open Education Week from March 5-10, 2012. Open Education Week is a global event that seeks to raise awareness about the benefits of free and open sharing in education, especially Open Educational Resources (OER). OER are high-quality, free and open educational materials that… Continue reading
Essay of the Day: Should we go back to the Public Creation of Money?
Key thesis defended here by Michael Hudson: Governments can create new credit electronically on their own computer keyboards as easily as commercial banks can. And unlike banks, their spending is expected to serve a broad social purpose, to be determined democratically. Europe’s catastrophic decision to choose deficit-financing by banks, By Michael_Hudson: “Article 123 of the… Continue reading
Movement of the Day: #OccupyWallStreet’s Alternative Banking Group and Occupy The SEC
‘Occupy the SEC is a group of concerned citizens, activists, and professionals with decades of collective experience working at many of the largest financial firms in the industry. Together we make up a vast array of specialists, including traders, quantitative analysts, compliance officers, and technology and risk analysts. What makes Occupy the SEC so unique… Continue reading