CoTech Newsletter September 2020
The long-anticipated return of the CoTech Newsletter is upon us! We hope that it will bring you a little feeling of community amidst the carnage of COVID 
Please help spread the word about this newsletter by sharing it with your colleagues and friends. And if youâd like to subscribe so you donât miss next month weâve put some handy instructions together. You can leave comments, suggestions and feedback below or send us an email.
To get involved with the running of the newsletter, say hello in the Newsletter thread. All feedback is welcome, volunteers, people with ideas for how it could be improved/restructured etc.
Yours in co-operation, The CoTech newsletter team
Contributing To The Newsletter
- Send feedback or items for the next issue to newsletter@coops.tech
- Contribute to the project repository
Featured Coop(s)
This month three new co-ops joined CoTech!
Preston Digital Foundation
We are a Digital Worker-owned co-operative operating out of the University of Central Lancashire, the first UNI-Coop we believe.
The Preston Digital Foundation specialises in the Web Site and App design and development, AR / VR, Media production (inc. Drones) and other relevant digital services. We are B2B and service the University and the Local Digital industry currently, but with a CoTech membership, who knows!?
Dandelion Collective
Weâre a not-for-profit worker co-operative. Our flagship project is dandelion.earth, a web platform for ticketed events and co-created gatherings.
We also offer visual media and filmmaking services through Triptika Studios, and event promotion and production services through The Psychedelic Society.
Clear Honest Design
Weâre an ethical design agency that think important issues should be clearer, more honest, and a whole lot more effective - we think thatâs the way to really make a difference, thatâs what we do ⊠and weâre pretty good at it.
Get involved with CoTech
- Help with the onboarding of Hubl, and community engagement efforts
- Weâre looking for volunteers to help update the CoTech website!
- Attend the CoTech monthly call on September 30th, 16:00. There will be another one on the last Wednesday of each month.
News
CoTech agrees to adopt Hubl
Since at least November 2018 skills mapping, and skills sharing has been on the agenda amongst CoTech discussions. Hubl is an open-source application, built using Solid and Linked Data standards, to provide an interopable and decentralised method for sharing skills within CoTech, with Happy Dev, FACTTIC, and co-operative organisations beyond.
Hubl is in the Alpha stage of development, and provides 3 features out of the box:
- Team chat
- Profile directory
- Job board
More features are coming, and we fully expect that in the coming months we may extend the application to cater for CoTech-specific needs
In a recent Loomio proposal it was passed that CoTech will try out using the software, and that a Community Animation Working group, open for all CoTech members to join will measure its success, with the wider goal of improving engagement within CoTech as a whole. This newsletter is a part of that, so thanks for reading!
CoTech using Meet.coop
Since early 2020, Co-Operatives from around the world have been working to create an online platform that provides access to open source meeting and conferencing tools, powered by BigBlueButton.
The Online Meeting Co-operative operates on voluntary membership, where anyone can join as either an operational or user member. Currently in their BETA stage, meet.coop aim to define their brand for all the world to see in the coming weeks.
Melissa McNab, designer and voluntary member of Meet.coop, said âWorking with meet.coop has been great to see how forming an international alliance of tech co-ops can work so collaborativelly in such a short space of time, providing a better solution that the citizens of the internet deserve.â
Read more here: https://www.org.meet.coop/
Join the discussion here: https://forum.meet.coop/
And see our progress here: meet.coop - The Online Meeting Cooperative
Code-Operative and ACORN release Alpha version of Red Alert app
Since 2019, Code-Operative and ACORN launched a crowdfunder campaign to fund the development of a cross-platform mobile app, allowing members of the community union to broadcast their locations to eachother in an emergency, so that they can converge and assist each other.
Itâs build with React Native, using a .NET backend. The code will be available open-source soon:tm: to allow similar organisations to spin up their own versions.
The app has been launched in an alpha version.
InFact Launch Notion Consultancy
Building apps and websites takes time and money. This is good for us, in some ways, because weâre the ones getting paid for it. But weâre keen to find the right answers to your problems - that means a solution that you can afford, understand and interact with yourself. Often, apps/websites donât offer this. However, there is a new software movement called âno-codeâ which is bringing complex functionality to the world without the need to learn to code.
One of these platforms is Notion, which can be used to unify your projects, files, ideas and tasks and to create a vast number of workflows and systems. Notion is a blank canvas - which is awesome, but can also be overwhelming - thatâs where we can help. We can work with you to co-create and design a system to suit your specific needs.
Harry Becomes a Dad!
Harry recently became father to the youngest revolutionary in CoTech, who is called Lara
Collaborations
Weâre stronger when we work together. Hereâs a round-up of some collaborations from across the network this month.
CoTech Work Placements at Outlandish
Lucy (InFact Coop), Doug (We Are Open) and Aaron (Agile Collective) have been working with Outlandish on summer placements, to help with a high workload.
Lucy said âI came on board a month or so ago to help out as a project manager during a particularly busy period for Outlandish. Iâve been doing PM work already over at InFact Digital Co-operative, but jumped at the opportunity to do so in a more defined role, since Iâm usually trying to juggle it with development work as well. Weâve learnt a ton from Outlandish already, and this seemed like a great chance to learn more, as well as be of service Actually, I havenât done that much PM work since!"
Read more on the Outlandish Blog
Other collaborations
- Nick Stokoe (Code-Operative) is working on a website showcasing Transition by Designâs âHomemaker Oxfordâ three-year study which aims to find creative and community-led ways to tackle housing need in Oxford. The client was introduced to Code-Operative by InFact co-op.
Hiring
Job Opportunity: Part-Time Communications
Animorph are looking for someone sociable, attentive, and curious to join their team as the person in charge of outward communications, working 8â12hrs per week over the next 6 months.
Please read the full job description, and share with your networks today!
Applications are open until 10th October 2020.
