Tagged “ethics”

Basecamp—makers of project management, team communication and email software—have taken a controversial new stance against (amongst other things) political discussion at work, “paternalistic benefits” and 360 performance reviews.

These are difficult enough waters to navigate in life, but significantly more so at work. It's become too much. It's a major distraction. It saps our energy, and redirects our dialog towards dark places. It's not healthy, it hasn't served us well.

On the surface I can see the appeal of “keeping it simple” in the modern workplace where so many different things vie for our attention. However the move to “silence conversation” feels out of step with a moment when—as a society—we’re trying hard to correct institutional, longstanding inequalities. Perhaps the channels where political/societal discourse can happen need better demarcated and the “house rules” properly set. But especially after the year we’ve just had it also feels wrong to take a dictatorial approach toward staff.

It seems that many departing employees feel the same way.

I currently buy books from a mix of physical and online stores including Waterstones, Hive, Blackwells and most recently, The Outwith Agency – my new local shop.

I have a Bookshelf section of my website which lists a number of books I’ve read, including what I’m currently reading. The idea was very much inspired by Dave Rupert’s bookshelf.

On my virtual bookshelf, each book links to a product details page on a third party website so that a visitor can easily buy that book if so inclined. This is a feature which I added without too much deeper thought.

On Dave Rupert’s bookshelf, each book links to its counterpart on Amazon. This is likely for two reasons: firstly, Amazon are likely to have it because they have everything; and secondly, he is enrolled in Amazon’s affiliate scheme, so can make a small commission from each recommendation that leads to a purchase. Makes sense!

Even though I’m not an Amazon affiliate I started by linking to Amazon almost by default, until a few months ago when I began linking to Hive instead. Upon hearing that Hive give a small percentage of each sale to an independent book shop I realised I’d rather support that effort than simply boost Amazon’s profits. (Also: Amazon don’t need my money, and I’m not a big fan of their attitude toward privacy).

Earlier this month I heard about Bookshop and their MO is even more attractive than Hive’s. They provide “ready-made storefront” functionality for independent bookshops, and when a customer buys from a specific shop that shop is given the full profits of each sale. Alternately customers can buy from the generic Bookstore store too, in which case the profits are evenly distributed among a pool of independent shops.

I think when I buy books online in future, if I’m not buying direct from a shop then I’ll buy from Bookshop.

I’m also going to mention to The Outwith Agency about Bookshop. They don’t currently have an e-commerce store so this could be some low-hanging fruit.

I’ve also enrolled in Bookshop’s affiliate programme because it’s an attractive proposition:

We also support anyone who advocates for books through our affiliate programme, which pays a 10% commission on every sale, and gives a matching 10% to independent bookshops.

Can’t argue with that! It feels like a pretty win-win way to recommend books.

As for my website: I’m now going to link any books I mention to the corresponding product on Bookshelf (I’ve already started with my note on A Promised Land) and see if I can’t take advantage of that affilliate scheme. I’ll need to do a little work, however Bookshop helpfully use a consistent URL structure which includes each book’s ISBN so that should make it easier to template my links and thumbnails.

Footnote: a big thank-you to Adactio’s post Bookshop which is full of great tips and insights on setting up with Bookshop.

A recent issue of the dConstruct newsletter about choosing more ethical online services really chimed with me at a time when I’ve been reflecting on my online habits.

Clearleft produce an excellent regular technology-based newsletter – dConstruct – to which I heartily recommend subscribing.

A recent issue compared online services in the gig economy – such as Uber, Deliveroo and AirBnB – plus music services Spotify and Bandcamp, and considered the relative ethics of each with respect to the extent they exploit the sellers in their “marketplace”. For example, which services let the seller set the price? AirBnB do, and so do Bandcamp. But not so Uber and Spotify.

The success of services like Bandcamp – which is far more profitable to lesser-known producers than the likes of Spotify – show that we don’t need to follow the crowd and can make better choices about the online services we use.

I’ve used Bandcamp more than usual in 2020 because I like the way they are actively supporting artists during a difficult period. I also like the convention that when you buy a vinyl release, the digital is also bundled free.

I’m currently typing this post in a Firefox tab and have been making an effort to switch (back) to it from Chrome, for a less invasive browsing experience.

I use DuckDuckGo rather than Google search when I remember, and have recently made it the default “address bar search” tool in Firefox which should help break old habits.

As for Facebook, Twitter and other time-draining, sometimes harmful social media platforms, well, I’m weaning myself off those and recently wrote about how I’m using Feedbin to aggregate news and updates.

I don’t know about you, but I find it helpful to do a periodic health check on how I’m using the internet, and see where I can make better choices.

An interesting BBC podcast on the history and true nature of the cloud.

We connect to the cloud, think of it as place-less, a digital “elsewhere” for storing and retrieving our data, content and memories. But far from being immaterial, the cloud is a vast, physical network made up of concrete, silicon and steel, of earthbound server farms, subterranean data centres and cables beneath the sea. It is not a publicly owned space or digital 'commons'. It is a multi-billion dollar, private infrastructure dominated by some of the world’s most powerful companies—principally Amazon, Microsoft and Google. The cloud exists within the same geography that we do: a patchwork of national and legal jurisdictions, which determine—most of the time—what it can and cannot do.