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There’s a lot of coop-y news out there. What better way to get it than from the social media platform that recently considered becoming a co-operative? Some of these feeds provide information about co-ops and what’s happening in the co-op world. Others are co-operatives themselves, posting about what they do best. But all of them provide relevant and interesting content. Check out our list of the 10 best co-op news feeds on twitter
This UK-based news source covers all things co-operative. Interested in the latest on co-operative governance? How co-operatives contribute to community development? What about how co-ops can have a positive impact on the environment? This feed provides wide-ranging coverage of everything from education to politics to economics, all from a co-operative perspective.
What Coop News is to co-operatives in general, CU Insight is to credit unions. Its posts include handy, accessible tips on finances (“Millennial women make their own financial future”, and “Avoiding executive retirement savings challenges”) to more light-hearted and fun (“Four budget-friendly summer date night ideas” or “Craft brews and credit unions”). There is information here for credit unions and their employees, but for the public at large as well.
As a large Canadian supplier of outdoor recreational equipment, MEC’s twitter feed is full of tips for camping, canoeing, athletics, and the gadgets you need to do them. This nation-wide retail co-operative, with over 4.5 million members, regularly posts about topics like “Five crucial tips to start your life of travel” and “Six habits of highly successful athletes”. If this feed doesn’t inspire you to get outside, nothing will.
For inspiration for your own Instagram feed (or just to enjoy some pretty pretty pictures), follow Stocksy United. This artist-owned platform co-operative provides royalty-free stock photography, and fills its eclectic twitter feed not only with lush photographs, but articles on everything from “dark and delicious” Valentine’s Day recipes to using gender-inclusive language. This co-op is seriously cool.
For information on renewable energy, look no further than the REScoop EU feed. This advocacy group for renewable energy co-operatives around the European Union shares posts and insights about the development of community-based, climate change-fighting initiatives. If you’re interested in how small groups of citizens can engage in promoting green energy, this feed has resources for you.
Land O’ Lakes (yes, the butter company) is a co-operative started by 320 dairy farmers in Minnesota. Taking the co-operative principal of ‘concern for community’ to heart, it has become heavily involved in agriculture-related development projects around the world. Their international development Twitter feed is full of posts about global projects, for those interested in the kinds of development solutions that being tried around the world.
Not focused solely on co-operatives, this co-op news source covers many “new economy” models. Some recent posts include an explainer on platform co-operatives, and a feature about a network of workers co-ops that helps recently-incarcerated residents of Washington DC to gain employment. For those interested in ideas about how to transform the economy, Shareable is a rich resource.
The Next System Project is a collaboration of academics and activists seeking to debate the current economic system and offer alternatives. This feed includes live-tweets of lectures given as part of the project, and posts on re-thinking what it calls “Principles of a Pluralist Commonwealth” — like democracy, investment, markets, and, yes, co-ops.
The Centre for the Study of Co-operatives, based at the University of Saskatchewan, is the place to go for an academic slant on the co-op model. The centre has conducted research on co-operatives since 1984, and produces insightful blog posts by the Centre’s fellows and other researchers. Recent posts have included discussions on co-op member representation, co-operative-university partnerships, and the potential for co-ops to fill a need for childcare services.
Of course – there’s us! We like to share stories about cool things co-ops are doing, bust myths and provide information about the model, and interview interesting people in the co-op world. Follow Co-operatives First for the top co-op news for Western Canada, and our team’s insights about why co-ops are a different – and sometimes better – way to do business.
