Vote Yes to a Co-op with Your Users
A letter to Twitter shareholders
Twitter is under threat of being sold, and selling out its users.
For a lot of us Twitter is the fastest, easiest way to know and share what’s going on around us – it sparks conversations, spreads information, and energizes movements.
But Wall Street thinks the company is a failure because it’s not raking in enough profit for shareholders. That means that Twitter is up for sale, and there is a real risk that the new owner may ruin our beloved platform with a narrow pursuit of profit or political gains.
We want the company to share its future with those whose participation make it so valuable: its users. There’s a growing movement urging Twitter to work with users to find a way to buy it, and to turn it into a cooperatively owned platform. We can foster innovation from the community and create a better, more user-friendly business model. The Associated Press, REI, and the Green Bay Packers all demonstrate the profitability and popularity of democratic ownership models.
In April and May, shareholders will vote on our proposal for Twitter to research the benefits of converting into some kind of co-op.
Sign our petition urging shareholders to vote YES to a co-op.
YES gives shareholders analysis and insights into the value of an exit to democratic user ownership. No means we'll never know : (
It's time we expand our imaginations in order to create a more open, inclusive, and people-centered Internet.
Join us!
1. Send a tweet
2. Sign this petition
3. Smile :)
Questions? Please email info@wearetwitter.global
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A letter to Twitter shareholders
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[Your Name]
The following proposal was submitted on December 16, 2016, for consideration at the next Twitter, Inc. shareholder meeting, according to Rule 14a-8:
As Twitter users and stockholders, we see how vital the platform is for global media. We are among millions of users that value Twitter as a platform for democratic voice. And in 2016, we’ve seen Twitter’s future in the balance, from challenges of hate speech and abuse to the prospect of a buyout.
That is why we want the company to consider more fully aligning its future with those whose participation make it so valuable: its users. As of today, over 5,000 individuals signed a petition at wearetwitter.global urging Twitter to build democratic user ownership.
For successful enterprises like the Green Bay Packers, REI, and the Associated Press, their popularity, resilience, and profitability is a result of their ownership structure. Examples of online companies include successful startups like Managed by Q, which allocates equity to office cleaners, and Stocksy United, a stock-photo platform owned by its photographers.
We believe these models point the way forward for Twitter, Inc., overcoming challenges to thrive as a cooperative platform.
A community-owned Twitter could result in new and reliable revenue streams, since we, as users, could buy in as co-owners, with a stake in the platform’s success. Without the short-term pressure of the stock markets, we can realize Twitter’s potential value, which the current business model has struggled to do for many years. We could set more transparent, accountable rules for handling abuse. We could re-open the platform’s data to spur innovation. Overall, we’d all be invested in Twitter’s success and sustainability. Such a conversion could also ensure a fairer return for the company’s existing investors than other options. Therefore,
RESOLVED: Stockholders request that Twitter, Inc. engage consultants with significant experience in corporate governance, preferably including conversion of companies to cooperatives or employee ownership, to prepare a report on the nature and feasibility of selling the platform to its users via a cooperative or similar structure with broad-based ownership and accountability mechanisms. The requested report shall be available to stockholders and investors by October 1, 2017, prepared at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information.