The Totalism Cooperative is a general labour association, operating since 2016. We specialize in applied research, consulting and educating in the fields of information & knowledge technologies, collaborative organization, and artistic co-production.
Our cooperations prioritize common-goals alignment, so they are better for everyone involved - affordable, rapid, exciting and cheerful. This in turn changes our labour's accessibility, and inclusivity. ### both?
The broader logic, and implications for our labour cooperants, can be found here: → 🔗coop-manifesto.
Every contemporary organisation and each individual can benefit from improving their organisational processes, regarding how they handle data — authoring, collaborating, organizing, search & retrieval, representation and visualization, conceptual models, data mining, etc.
2 week focus: * Figure out the main organisational and technical problems & actionably document them * Rapidly document, specify, develop and deploy a solution to a painful "quick fix" technical problem * Sketch & rethink the internal research & development practices, towards an innovative direction * Consider ethical and legal challenges & opportunities * Concord a longer term smart data strategy ### can be expanded further to ... 1) help make other problems actionable ... 2) by TCO direct work or stewarding
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Example outcomes
#1 (Belgian software/media company): * Rethought the database model (conceptual clearing for future proofing, performance improvements) * Made plans for graph database and "extended use of data" * Made foundation for reinforced learning on example that influence search weights * Made foundation for statistical test infrastructure * Quick-fixed a broken "Solr" search engine instance * Written up a single page executive report for future tech (was immediately used in a successful VC round) #2 (UK open hardware project): * base structure and vision-setting for this "zero stage" (🔗non-shitty) startup * for results, see XXX🔗voxelcraft ###RECOVER !!!
Process: * Initial creative storming & direction-setting * Regular consulatory briefings * Prototype specification & development * 3/4 term main presentation * Compile a white paper or executive report * Outline open directions for possible further work ### past clients: UK University, International climate research non-profit
$$$$$ Process: * Investigation: work to understand the main collaborative culture & challenges * Preparation: suggest several formats * Setup & introduce a new solution * Regular Maintenance, small consultations, upkeep & adjustments (~10h / month) (Not unlike #lovely.tools project.)
* Participating in a larger creative projects Specialization: * Co-develop and concord specifications * Care to transfer responsibility to wider community later * Analyze broad community, political and legal implications, challenges & opportunities * ###
Collaborative projects always struggle to capture and maintain their document systems. Their tool choices are often improvised, and thus incomplete, unkempt, and unconsolidated.
A Document Steward position ensures regular quality overviews: * pushes adoption of standard processes, from the basic (onboarding, archiving, meeting agenda setting, ...), to more advanced & custom * directly resolves complex problems with key document duplicates, mergers, etc * upkeeps styles and document hierarchies * keeps the processes functional & active * passes methods to an internal group of stewards-in-training, to adopt & pass on
References from a number of associations, companies & collectives available.
Mentoring and individual consultation on a wide-variety of technical and organisational topics. We connect with existing institutions, to support their current audiences & reaching out to new ones.
Usually as a part of a group, coordinated under a grant. Usually includes (re)deployments & advanced configuration of existing software, presentations, and running support.
