Cyber Unions, Web 2.0Cyber Unions, Web 2.0and Social Mediaand Social Media

Prakash NeupaneUNICTS

NCELL Employers Trade Union

Dhuikhel

8-9 Dec 2012

Using New Technology to Organise

• Interaction between trade union and new Interaction between trade union and new technologytechnology

• Favour horizontal rather than hierarchal organizingFavour horizontal rather than hierarchal organizing• Started by Walton Pantland Started by Walton Pantland • Other Activists are Stephen and Eduard Other Activists are Stephen and Eduard

CyberUnionsCyberUnions

What is ‘Web 2.0’?What is ‘Web 2.0’?static websites designed by professionals

easy to edit, dynamic, participativeWeb 2.0

Web 1.0

Why is this useful for unions?Why is this useful for unions?Free, easy to use communications tools

Improves communications with reps and members

Gets the union message across to media and the rest of the world

Enhances union democracy by keeping people informed and engaged

Makes the union a more dynamic organisation

Blogs, wikis and websites

Tools

Telecommunications

Microblogging – twitter, identica

Social networks – Facebook, Unionbook, Ning

Countries with low Internet penetration

But first, an interesting trade union campaign

IN 2007, the union UNI-Global held a cyber picket in the virtual reality world, Second Life, against IBM.

Appropriate technology

Cheap or free is goodSimpler solutions are usually better

No point setting up a website for people who have no Internet access

Experiment widely – what works for one group might not work for others

Technology must be appropriate to the needs of the people it serves

Social Networks

A social networking site for trade union activists.

Very useful for sharing ideas with activists in other countries.

www.unionbook.org

The social network that everyone is on – including your boss and your mother.

Useful for keeping in touch, but major privacy concerns.

www.facebook.com

Not really a social network – more for sharing news

Dynamic, real time communication

Great for ‘crowdsourcing ideas

Unique syntax:

‘@’ identifies a user – for instance I am @leischa on twitter

‘#’ makes a term searchable by creating a hashtag – e.g. #unions

‘RT’ means ‘retweet’, or forward a message

My message

‘@’ replies

Most people use an app like Tweetdeck to follow twitter.

Tweetdeck is dynamic, with tweets rolling down the screen like a waterfall – or twitterfall.

You can follow different streams in the different column

#vestas #unions

Some twitter campaigns & hashtagsSome twitter campaigns & hashtags

#vestas

#BAstrike

#Iloveimmigrants

#trafigura

#Nestle

#iranelection

Set up a simple branch website

Wikidot.com

Create a basic website using free tools

Yola.com

Wordpress.com

Blogger.com

Create a custom email address with Google Apps, e.g. info@yourunion.org

Register a custom domain - $10 - $ 15 per year, e.g. www.yourunion.org

Integrate Web 2.0 tools to keep content dynamic

Most sites have tutorials to show you how to do this

Smart Phones

BlackBerry Android

They are getting cheaper…

Allows you to access Web 2.0 anywhere

iPhone

Telecommunications

*Needs a fast Internet connection

Allows you to ‘stream’ live video from a smart phone to the Internet*

Free software you can download to your computer – allows you to make free phone and video calls to any other user in the world.

Telecommunications

VIBER/Tango

Free software you can download to your mobile allows you to make free phone calls to any other user in the world.

Other useful toolsOther useful tools

Easy to use, and allows you to find out exactly what matters to your members

surveymonkey.com

Why not take my online survey, and tell me how you use technology in your union work?

www.surveymonkey.com/s/cyberunions

Used by Unite in recognition campaigns

Easy to use, and allows you to find out exactly what matters to your members

Online Surveys

Other useful toolsOther useful tools

…you can export the links using RSS…

Delicious.com integrates with your browser and allows you to save, tag and share interesting links online…

…and display them on your branch website – along with any other RSS feed.

What about countries with low Internet penetration?

SMS – the Text MessageMobile phones are ubiquitous in developing countriesMobile phones are ubiquitous in developing countries

There are many examples of activists using text messages – for instance to monitor elections

Frontline SMS is a great tool

Frontline SMS is free software that runs on a PC hub and collates information sent by text message.

The PC doesn’t need an Internet connection – it uses ordinary mobile networks to send messages.

Why are so many tools free?Why are so many tools free?Most common business model is ‘freemium’ – basic account for free, paid account with more features

The are lots of free tools for union activists

People who create free and open source software are ideologically committed to making tools freely available

Go out there and experiment!

Free and Open Source SoftwareFree and Open Source Software

LinuxOperating systems

…as well as free software that runs on any system: Open Office, Scribus, Inkscape and thousands more

RecommendationsRecommendations

We should accept that new technologies will create more open, fluid and dynamic union structures. This is a good thing.

Reps should feel free to experiment widely

Unions should train their reps and members to use online tools

Unions and their activists should make a conscious decision to embrace new technology

Warning!

Expect glitches – hardware and software failure is common. Batteries run out, or there is no WiFi or 3G signal.

Incompatibility – there are still no standard file formats

Privacy: there is no such thing as online privacy. If you don’t want people to know, don’t post it!

State and corporate control – we need to defend the freedom of cyberspace

“Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life - Whether you want to or not.”

www.youropenbook.org

What’s next?What’s next?the ‘semantic’ web: knows whoyou are and responds intelligently, showingyou the content you are most interested in

Web 3.0

A.IMachine acting and thinking as a humanFinding the patterns and behaviours - mining

ReferenceReference1. Cyberunions.com2. Slideshare.com/cyberunions3. uniglobalunion.org

Special ThanksWalton Pantland

Glasgow, Scotlandwaltonp@gmail.com

http://cyberunions.org

Thanks for your timeThanks for your time

Prakash NeupaneExecutive Member, UNICTS

Facebook: nprkshTwitter: @nprkshn

nprkshn@gmail.comwww.prakashneupane.com