co—matter digest #56: Insights about the future of community
What makes people become activists?
Peter Sunde Kolmisoppi believes that content on the Internet should be free - a cause he famously went to jail for as a co-founder of the controversial file sharing service The Pirate Bay.
Now, Peter has released a documentary called THE ACTIVIST: a 5 part series for Finnish television where Peter meets with Edward Snowden, Greenpeace captain Paul Watson and other activists to find out what makes them fight for their causes.
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What's the future of community?
Our essential reads & listens of the month.
At home with Taylor Lorenz: There's no better observer of Gen Y internet culture than Taylor Lorenz right now. In this home story, the New York Times writer shares how she discovered her passion.
How to measure purpose: Alex Bec and Will Hudson, the founders of It's Nice That, made "Enabling Creativity to Thrive" their mission. Here's how they measure it.
Search for "co-matter" on iTunes, Spotify, Google or wherever you listen to podcasts to subscribe.
Philippa Wagner: The Hotel as a Community
Philippa Wagner, director of Ennismore's innovation lab 23lab, on how a community of tastemakers shapes the future experience of The Hoxton.
Andres Colmenares: The Everything Manifesto
We caught up with Andres Colmenares, co-author of The Everything Manifesto, to learn how citizens and organizations can address the climate crisis.
Due to COVID-19,IAM Weekendwill take place entirely on the internet this year, XiaoyinlaunchedRun the World Todayjust in time to host conferences entirely virtual, Kevon joined us and works onToasty, a toolkitto help events connect people better, Kevin joined us and runsKrak Skateboarding, a global community of international skateboarders exploring the streets.
48 people from 19 countries and 5 continents joined us this month. Welcome!
Here are our favorite quotes from "What makes you interested in communities?" (asked when signing up to the mailing list):
"Cooperation over competition."
"Local people collaborating to shape the spaces they inhabit."
"I’m passionate about the opportunity our declining high streets have if retailers start thinking community first marketing."
What's next?
This week was intense. Pretty much every conference in the world got cancelled due to global health concerns. This not only implies serious economic downfalls for conference organizers and cities, but challenges the way we gather in the future. The question is:
How can we replicate the conference experience online?
That's what we're currently working on with IAM Weekend (status update tweet). Facing the unexpected situation of not being able to physically host the conference anymore, a small group of people gathered in a Zoom room to find solutions.
We don't have the answers yet. But we're committed to making IAM Weekend happen as an entirely new WTF Internet Experience from March 19-21, a URLxIRL experiment incl. breakout sessions, networking, breakfast meetings and creating a new virtual home for 400+ participants.
We'll share our learnings with you and other community organizers in a coming newsletter.