For Cooperative Advocates
Extending cooperative principles to digital infrastructure.
Cooperative principles in practice
We're applying the seven cooperative principles to social media: voluntary membership, democratic control, member economic participation, autonomy, education, cooperation among cooperatives, and concern for community. This is what those principles look like in a digital context.
Read more about thisSustainable cooperative economics
Member fees, not advertising. Surplus reinvested or distributed to members. No external shareholders extracting value. A financial model that proves cooperatives can work in the digital economy.
Read more about thisA model for digital cooperativism
If we succeed, we create a template for cooperative digital infrastructure—not just social media, but identity, communication, and community tools. A demonstration that there's an alternative to platform capitalism.
Read more about thisThe Opportunity
The cooperative movement has transformed many sectors—finance, agriculture, retail, housing. Digital platforms have largely been left out, dominated by venture-backed corporations optimizing for extraction.
This is a chance to bring cooperative principles to one of the most important sectors of the modern economy.
Why It Matters
Digital platforms have become critical infrastructure for public discourse, economic activity, and social connection. Leaving this infrastructure entirely in corporate hands means:
- Democratic deficits in how platforms are governed
- Value extraction from users rather than value creation for them
- Concentration of power in a few corporate hands
Cooperative ownership addresses all three.
How Cooperative Networks Can Help
The cooperative movement has resources and expertise that could accelerate this project:
- Governance expertise: Help us design effective democratic structures
- Financial mechanisms: Connect us with cooperative banks and funding sources
- Cross-promotion: Help us reach potential members through cooperative networks
- Legitimacy: Endorsement from established cooperatives signals credibility
Ready to get involved?
Whether you want to help build this or just stay updated, we'd love to hear from you.