Cyberspace - the final frontier

RELATED LINKS Union Island Second Life UNISONTV on YouTube Facebook MySpace Twitter

Taking their cue from the crew of the Starship Enterprise, trade unions across the globe are seeking out new life online.

Because while we may not be teleporting ourselves just yet, much of the techno-wizardry envisaged by sci-fi writers in the last century is now a reality.

Which is why trade unions are embracing online networks of all sorts. From member-only web forums set up by unions themselves to public sites available to anyone with a computer and an internet connection, they offer a powerful and cost-effective way to bring people together.

And we can use that to make activism more appealing to more people. The potential is vast.

The past year has seen a boom in the popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube

And even Gordon Brown is blogging now, posting updates on his every move directly from Downing St to his ‘followers’ on Twitter.

All these sites enable unions to inform and motivate existing members and attract new ones by bringing campaigns to a new audience.

As a PR tool, they're peerless.

Getting personal
Many web-savvy young people are politically aware and prepared to stand up for issues they believe in, but put off by traditional union structures. Social networking sites help us to capture their interest by allowing us to talk directly to millions of users, for whom the exchange still seems personal.

They are becoming a crucial conduit for some unions.

The Musicians Union has a large presence on MySpace, making it possible to organise a traditionally 'difficult' group of workers - most of whom are self-employed and don't have nine-to-five jobs. By using e-comms, the union has brought about a stunning reversal of fortune, with its membership rising 20% in just two years after falling for the previous 20.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given that its members communicate for a living, the National Union of Journalists has the largest trade union group on Facebook. The group helps members keep in touch and share information with each other, but it's also helping the union to pick up new recruits - especially among workers in new media companies who often don't realise there’s a union that looks after their interests.

Catching people’s interest can be beneficial even if they don't go on to join the union. They may collaborate in other ways, and at the very least can help us spread the word about our campaigns and events.

If UNISON posts a video outlining its Pay Matters campaign on YouTube, for example, there's no reason it can't go around the world and back almost immediately. We can send the link to the thousands of activists who receive the eFocus email bulletin each week, who can then send the link to everyone in their address book, who in turn can send it to all their friends, and so on and so on.

It's like Chinese Whispers without any misunderstandings creeping in.

Virtual worlds
This month UNISON joined other unions across the globe in celebrating May Day in the virtual world, when a new online home for unions and activists was launched in Second Life - a social networking website that can best be described as a 3D world.

It's what is known as an 'immersive environment'. Gamers will already be familiar with the technology. Users create a 3D version of themselves, called an avatar, to visit Second Life. Once there, they chat, network and conduct business, as well as playing games.

Now, with the creation of Union Island, there's a permanent political presence too: a community where activists from the global union movement can get together and share information in a way never before possible.

On 1 May, visitors to Union Island propped themselves up in the virtual bar, swapping practical tips with other trade unionists over pints of virtual beer.

They took part in training to learn how to run better websites for their unions, and they talked to activists in Germany about their campaign for a national minimum wage.

All without leaving home.

The innovative project, supported by UNISON and other unions from the UK, Germany and Italy, brings activism bang up to date.

Virtual action
It may seem frivolous to some. But it makes sense to find unions on these sites, especially as more and more businesses are jumping to use the new technology to foster international collaboration. These include major players like Coca Cola and IBM.

The latter have spent 10 million (real) dollars on making a splash in Second Life. However, the company got more than it bargained for last year, when it was the focus of a well-publicised virtual strike. Activists from all around the world took up their pickets online, and persuaded IBM to reinstate a productivity bonus for 9,000 workers in its Italian factories.

The strike was organised much like a ‘normal’ one. But one of the beauties of social networking is that it can do away with top-down activism, bringing members together to talk, help and support each other in working to make things better. And that's what trade unions are all about, after all.