SPGB – never heard of them
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alanjjohnstone wrote:I have been consistently suggesting two things over the last several months, much to the chagrin of some…That we begin the process of rebranding ourselves as an organisation…And that we begin to devote far more resources to making ourselve better known on the internet.
but the half full brigade don't think we need to do anything differently.
rodmanlewis wrote:When, or if, socialism is established these people will climb out of the woodwork and declare they were 'with us all the time'! Meanwhile we continue to do the donkey work.Interesting that. At one SP public meeting I went to there was a staunch Labour supporter saying that when socialism is finally established, up will pop the SPGB to take all the credit.But either way – as long as we get socialism, who cares?
Ozy, probably originated in Glasgow, but it was used often by Edinburgh branch speakers who learned their craft from Dick and Vic at the Mound which was where i regularly heard it used… Rodman, you are seeing the worse in people. He was a typical Left-winger and had differences with ourselves on many issues and no way a "groupie". He simply knew the party from its regular outdoor meetings and was making an observation that he had not see us out and about for a long time and presumed we were defunct…perhaps he only meant the branch. But i did take it as a message that we must be active on the ground or else we will be seen as dead and gone and who seeks out a corpse to join? Rodshaw, the Party will transform into something i don't think many of us can predict or imagine once we reach that "critical mass" that has been talked about elsewhere…i can't even envisage what it will be like with 10,000 members much less the hundreds of thousands we contemplate joining the closer we approach our goal, I remember how it was when we had a modest 1,000 members and there was a great difference from then and now …weekly branch meetings …weekly EC meetings …
alanjjohnstone wrote:Rodshaw, the Party will transform into something i don't think many of us can predict or imagine once we reach that "critical mass" that has been talked about elsewhere…i can't even envisage what it will be like with 10,000 members much less the hundreds of thousands we contemplate joining the closer we approach our goal, I remember how it was when we had a modest 1,000 members and there was a great difference from then and now …weekly branch meetings …weekly EC meetings …I agree with the first half of the quote. It will be nothing like the past. Technology has changed everything. The sooner we realise that the betterSome young boy has reached 14 million with a message that sounds remarkably like oursWe can ignore such things and continue the way we are, if that makes us feel good
You said
Quote:It will be nothing like the past. Technology has changed everything.i said
Quote:The Party will transform into something i don't think many of us can predict or imagine once we reach that "critical mass" that has been talked about elsewhere.Despite the internet and social media, i still think we require an organisation to mobilise and carry through the political changes necessary for socialism…capturing the machinery of the State etc…Twitter alone won't bring socialism even though it might bring people on to the streets to protest. If you meant that the Party organisation will not be anything like the past, i agree. Already i am on record for proposing the use of Skype for EC meetings and conferences and perhaps the need for either in decision making may be superfluous in the future. But will branches disappear?…Do we become the proverbial armchair revolutionaries sitting at our keyboard engaging with one another via the screens …i think we forget that socialist activity is …ummmm…a social action …But who knows what will happen…i don't but i don't mind committing the crime of speculating…
alanjjohnstone wrote:another via the screens …i think we forget that socialist activity is …ummmm…a social action …?So is twitter and facebookI could jump up and down while I spread the word if you think that would help.What do you do at public meetings? We I know! We sit on our butts talking to a few non members. Is that what you meean by mmmmmm"social action". Perhaps we need to understand what 'social action' is? Then we can get on with it.
Social action is what it is …action…social media…is text…As i said it may help to get people out on the streets or into other public spaces but it is feet on the ground that counts…especially if it is marching to the polling booths to cast our ballots…So social media is merely a tool to achieve actual action. As someone deprived because by personal circumstances of attending face-to-face party events, the internet and Facebook is a poor substitute…Is NERB an internet branch by choice or necessity…wouldn't the preferred medium be physical meetings if those were possible… How often has humour, irony, sarcasm, etc. etc. been misinterpreted on this list because text is no replacement for body language. But rather contradictory, in the past, i have suggested we do away with our hard-copy journal and go for a e-zine…i have suggested we do not need a building of bricks and mortar of No 52 to organise, that we can do most of our business online …This part of the debate about our future we should be involved in…not evading such questions as our relationships and interactions with one another, with our existing audience, and with those we are trying to reach out to with the socialist message…
The fact is revolution is about ideas and the communication and connection of ideas. Communications have been revolutionised and whether we like it or not we are changing, we need to change faster. Hiring Spencer to produce a vid would give us the potential of reaching millionsI don't think you and I have many disagreements, We are both after the same type of changes.
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