[sudo-discuss] membership reboot?

[Yar]

On Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 8:11 PM, Danny Spitzberg <stationaery at gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm currently renewing my HUB membership (already
> 3 years in, a really open-minded organizer is has their community engagement
> role) and was prompted to click agree/disagree with the following:
>
> [snip]
>
> So, my question: has there been any discussion around membership
> recruitment/ retention/ rebooting?

I added this to our meeting agenda on a whim. Most of the discussion
was me being bitter about their co-option of language. Hol had the
quote of the night: "they're ctrl-v-ing the hell out of us", referring
to the Kopimist cut-and-paste mantra.

I'd always been skeptical of them. Their fundraiser got 100k in one
night, and they charge $400/month for their co-working space. They
have paid positions, and their leadership appears hierarchical and
opaque. For example, there is no mailing list, only a glitzy
"newsletter". While I was inspired by their hosting Oakland Data Day,
I felt most of the value came from volunteer attendees. In other
words, where is that money going?

This ridiculous video didn't help me take the "impact hub" concept
seriously: http://vimeo.com/35373512

Put simply, Sudoroom is a grassroots organization and always will be.
Our ultimate goal is to serve our communities. I believe the HUB's
ultimate goal is to extract rent from our communities.

After reading on Oakland Wiki yesterday that their building is owned
by Signature, the same developers behind Brooklyn Basin, I believe all
hypothetical good faith I had in that project has vanished. It's
marketing, marketing, marketing. You could argue the HUB is not their
landlord, but then why are they naming their new building complex "The
Hive"? It turns out this "hive" also includes the 5 story condo
building a block from Sudo that has literally had a "now selling" sign
since we moved in two years ago. This is absolutely a collaboration
between speculators and gentrifiers in my mind, and I think it is
extremely gross and fucked up.

To be honest, I think we'd be very wise as an organization to
explicitly distance ourselves from these kinds of projects.