By Charles Adjovu; Date: 2019–08–19
Ledgerback Update
Hi everyone, welcome to the Ledgerback Blog, the official blog for Ledgerback, an independent, think-and-do tank for decentralized and/or open alternatives that explores the future of Web3 technology, distributed governance, platform cooperativism, and so much more!
In this post, we shall be discussing updates on the Astro Pay service, open and distributed governance, updates on members and projects, and some interesting articles we have found in the past few weeks.
Astro Pay Service
The Astro Pay service will be shutting down at the end of this month 😢.
Unfortunately, new developments in the regulatory environment require us to suspend the Astro Pay service until we can determine our best course of action under the new guidance from the Nevada Financial Institutions Division (NFID) regarding providers who deal with virtual currencies.
For any inquiries or additional information regarding the shut down of the Astro Pay service, please send an email to hello@ledgerback.coop.
Member Updates
We would like to thank Max Semenchuk for applying to become a member of Ledgerback!
Hopefully we can satiate Maxs’ research and development interests in decentralized and/or open alternatives and produce some amazing works together.
On a sad note, we have two members leaving us 😢. We would like to thank Steven Hadawar and Stephanie Rodriguez for all their contributions to Ledgerback during their Membership. We wish you both the best of luck on your future plans!
Open & Distributed Governance
We are adapting our governance structure to better comport with our current view of a distributed, open organization.
As discussed in previous blog posts, we are attempting to transition Ledgerback into a distributed membership network model by modifying our governance structures.
In so doing, we are amending our internal governance documents (Bylaws, Articles, Operating Rules, etc.) to reflect the needs of an open and distributed governance approach, such that the network is governed on a collective basis, but allows enough freedom for individuals to grow within the network.
Concerning our open and distributed governance approach, we are trying to tackle the following non-exhaustive areas:
- collective use of Ledgerback assets by Members
- decision-making protocols oriented towards a distributed network of individuals and promote varied choices
- procedures and policies for meetings that are oriented towards democratic control
- incorporate innovative governance models in a co-operative
- financing and budgeting determined on a collective basis
- how often to amend the governance documents
- duties and responsibilities of Members to Ledgerback and other Members
- pin down the base principles and values for the network.
We have drafts addressing the points above and hopefully we have cemented our ideas to the point where we believe an open and distributed governance model will not only work, but should be able to thrive. Three innovative governance models we really want to implement are Quadratic Voting (QV), Token-based Governance (still a bit iffy on this one), and a Sociocracy-like model for meetings. We believe all three models are supportive of co-operatives because they assist members in making better decisions, and engaging in greater democratic governance methods throughout all aspects of the organization.
Additionally, we are considering the appropriate structures to help the network grow towards openness and further decentralization that will lead to the network becoming self-sufficient.
We believe we can achieve this goal by expanding the network with a new entity that will oversee the revenue-generating aspects of the network, while the current Ledgerback (hereinafter Research Institute), transitions to handle the non-profit aspects of the network related to research and education.
If you are interested in our work on an open and distributed governance model that promotes co-operatives, please send us an email at hello@ledgerback.coop.
Article Compilation
Here is a list of some interesting articles we have found in the past few weeks.
Murray Fulton, The Power of Two: Raising One-Member, One Vote to the Next Level
Maija Palmer, The alternative to VC investing everyone has been waiting for?
Mark Buchanan, How ergodicity reimagines economics for the benefit of us all
Stacco Troncoso, Last Night A Distributed Cooperative Organization Saved My Life: A brief introduction to DisCOs
John W Maxwell, Erik Hanson, Leena Desai, Carmen Tiampo, Kim O’Donnell, Avvai Ketheeswaran, Melody Sun, Emma Walter, Ellen Michelle, Mind the Gap: A Landscape Analysis of Open Source Publishing Tools and Platforms
Ledgerback Membership
Ledgerback offers seven (7) types of membership packages for potential applicants.
The following types of membership packages available are:
- Research Analyst
- Supporter
- Exchange
- Developer
- Writer
- Social Coordinator
- Corporate
Each type of membership package comes with “regular member benefits,” which include a twenty-five percent (25%) discount on all Ledgerback products and services, and a $10.00 credit for network transaction fees (i.e., miner’s fee).
Are members restricted to the seven types of membership?
No. You do not need to sign up for a membership package to become a member.
Anyone may become a member if they meet Ledgerback’s membership qualifications and fulfill the required procedures.
The membership packages are in addition to, not a replacement for membership.
Contact Information
You can contact Ledgerback by leaving a reply or sending an email to hello@ledgerback.coop.
Social Media
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Platform Cooperatives
For more information about platform cooperatives, please refer to www.platform.coop.
