---
title: Cooperative Platforms
date: 2025-12-27
summary: Digital platforms owned and governed by the people who use them. When workers and users own the platforms they depend on, technology serves communities rather than extracting from them.
draft: True
featureImageCaption: "Photo by [Headway](https://unsplash.com/@headwayio) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/5QgIuuBxKwM) (Unsplash License)"
---

What if the platforms you use every day were owned by the people who create value on them?

Not by distant shareholders optimizing for quarterly returns. Not by venture capitalists expecting exponential growth. But by the workers, users, and communities who actually make these platforms valuable.

This is platform cooperativism: combining the digital platform economy with the century-old tradition of cooperative ownership. It's a movement proposing that the apps and websites we use for work, social connection, and commerce should be governed democratically by the people who depend on them.

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## Why This Matters

### The Problem with Extractive Platforms

Gig economy workers on platforms like Uber, DoorDash, and TaskRabbit typically earn poverty wages with no benefits, job security, or voice in how the platform operates. They're classified as "independent contractors" to strip them of labor protections, while being controlled by opaque algorithms they have no input into.

Meanwhile, the platforms extract enormous value. Uber has paid $0 in dividends to drivers despite billions in revenue. The wealth flows to shareholders who have never provided a ride.

This pattern repeats across the digital economy: users create value, platforms capture it.

### The Cooperative Alternative

Platform cooperatives flip this model:
- **Workers become owners** rather than disposable "contractors"
- **Users have voice** in how platforms operate
- **Profits are shared** rather than extracted
- **Governance is democratic** rather than top-down
- **Data serves members** rather than feeding surveillance capitalism

---

## How Cooperatives Differ from Extractive Platforms

| Dimension | Extractive Platforms | Platform Cooperatives |
|:----------|:--------------------|:---------------------|
| **Ownership** | Venture capital, shareholders | Workers, users, community |
| **Governance** | Corporate hierarchy | Democratic (one member, one vote) |
| **Profits** | To distant shareholders | To members, reinvested locally |
| **Data** | Platform owns all data | Users control their data |
| **Algorithms** | Black box, proprietary | Open, accountable to members |
| **Growth model** | "Blitzscaling" at all costs | Sustainable, human-scale |
| **Worker relationship** | Disposable "contractors" | Member-owners with voice |

---

## Real-World Examples

### Open Food Network

A global platform connecting local food producers directly with consumers and food hubs, cutting out extractive middlemen.

**How it works**: Operates as a network of independent instances in 20+ countries. Each regional instance is governed locally. The software is developed as a commons by a global community. Farmers, food hubs, and consumers all have voice in governance.

**Impact**: 10,000+ producers connected to local markets. Millions of dollars in food transactions. Keeps food dollars in local economies rather than flowing to Amazon or corporate grocery chains.

**Why it matters**: Demonstrates that communities can build their own digital infrastructure for essential needs without depending on extractive platforms.

### Resonate

A music streaming cooperative owned by artists and listeners, offering a "stream-to-own" model as an alternative to Spotify.

**How it differs from Spotify**:
- Artists and listeners are member-owners, not just users
- "Stream-to-own" model: after streaming a track ~9 times, you own it
- Artists earn significantly more per play than Spotify's ~$0.003-0.005 per stream
- Democratic governance with voting rights for members
- Transparent analytics—artists see who's listening and where

**Scale**: ~15,000 members, 100,000+ tracks.

**Why it matters**: Proves that even in industries dominated by giants, cooperative alternatives can offer fairer models for creators.

### Social.coop

A cooperatively-owned Mastodon instance demonstrating that social media can be democratically governed.

**How it works**:
- ~1,500-2,000 members paying dues ($1-10/month sliding scale)
- Decisions made via Loomio (another cooperative tool)
- Working groups handle moderation, tech, finance, community
- Transparent finances and decision-making
- One member, one vote on major decisions

**Why it matters**: Demonstrates that social media doesn't have to be controlled by billionaires. Communities can govern their own digital public squares democratically.

### Other Notable Cooperatives

| Platform | Sector | Impact |
|:---------|:-------|:-------|
| **Stocksy** | Photography | Artist-owned stock photos; photographers earn 50-75% of sales (vs. ~15-45% on Getty) |
| **Up & Go** | Home Services | Worker-owned cleaning cooperative in NYC; cleaners earn $25/hour vs. ~$10-15 on TaskRabbit |
| **Eva** | Ride-sharing | Driver-owned in Quebec; drivers keep 85%+ of fares |
| **CoopCycle** | Food Delivery | Federation of bike delivery cooperatives across Europe |

---

## Open Source Platforms

| Project | Description |
|:--------|:------------|
| [Open Food Network](https://www.openfoodnetwork.org) | Platform for local food systems connecting producers and consumers. <br><small>📊 10,000+ producers in 20+ countries.</small> <br><small>📦 [GitHub](https://github.com/openfoodnetwork/openfoodnetwork) · AGPL-3.0</small> |
| [Resonate](https://resonate.coop) | Music streaming cooperative with stream-to-own model. <br><small>📊 15,000+ members, 100,000+ tracks.</small> <br><small>📦 [GitHub](https://github.com/resonatecoop) · Various</small> |
| [Social.coop](https://social.coop) | Cooperatively-owned Mastodon instance with democratic governance. <br><small>📊 1,500-2,000 members. Governed via Loomio.</small> <br><small>📦 Part of Mastodon/Fediverse ecosystem</small> |

---

## The Movement

### Key Organizations

**Platform Cooperativism Consortium**: Based at The New School, provides research, education, and support for platform cooperatives worldwide.

**Internet of Ownership**: Directory of 300+ democratic digital economy projects.

**Start.coop**: Accelerator program specifically for cooperative startups.

### Challenges

Platform cooperatives face real obstacles:
- **Capital access**: Can't offer equity to venture capitalists
- **Network effects**: Extractive platforms benefit from massive scale
- **Awareness**: Most people don't know alternatives exist

But the movement is growing. COVID-19 exposed the precarity of gig work. Growing backlash against Big Tech creates openings. The fediverse's growth demonstrates appetite for alternatives.

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## The Bigger Picture

Platform cooperativism answers one of the defining questions of our time: **Who should own and govern the digital infrastructure that shapes our lives?**

The cooperative answer: the people who create value should own and control the platforms they depend on.

This isn't just about better apps. It's about economic democracy. It's about whether technology serves communities or extracts from them. It's about who gets to shape the digital future.

The tools exist. The models work. The movement is growing.

Another digital economy is possible—one where platforms are owned by the people who use them.
