The Opportunity

What if social media didn’t lock us up in online echo chambers, exploit users for their data, wasn’t funded by advertising or dictated by algorithms and didn’t exist to line shareholder's pockets?  What if, instead, it actually did what it says on the ‘social network’ tin? Help build and strengthen communities? That’s the vision for Campfire Convention, a new kind of conscious social media that works for its members – and seeds new ideas and social change for the benefit of all.

In the wake of the Facebook / Cambridge Analytica scandal, it’s now clear that the 'surveillance capitalism' model of social media as an advertising platform is unsustainable, built as it is on monetising data. The full implications of us choosing a digital advertising platform as our presumed safe space in which to spill all our most intimate thoughts, hopes, fears and passions are only now being realised. It creates a forum in which the owners of a gigantic operation rule the social media world, arguably the wider world too, for their own ends and for shareholder profit.

So I am proposing a radical new model for social networking and pitching the level of our appeal at £25k to start to do the ground work around the upgrade that is needed so that we can put a Karma plan in place along with launching a platform cooperative, when we will also be inviting members to buy a stakehold.

I’m Pete Lawrence, co-founder of The Big Chill festival which gave early exposure to the household names like Lily Allen, Goldfrapp, Amy Winehouse, Gotan Project, Mr Scruff, and Röyksopp. And in the past I’ve been included in Time Out’s Top 100 ‘movers and shakers’ alongside the likes of Ricky Gervais, Gordon Ramsay, Madonna, Brian Paddick, Ken Livingstone and Tony Blair. All well and good. But my roots remain in the grassroots.

My background is music and events. In my late 20s I set up the independent record label Cooking Vinyl, which became infamous for a field recording of an American folk singer recorded in very DIY fashion around a campfire at a folk festival in Texas. That recording, which cost £1 went on to sell nearly a million copies and establish the label as a maverick force in the burgeoning roots and world music scene. 

The Big Chill started by inviting 150 friends to a Sunday chill out club in north London. It grew by word-of-mouth, and almost by accident, to a 40,000 capacity festival, known for pioneering new evolutionary entertainment. We were the first festival to have a website in the UK, the first to webcast and the first to have a thriving online community, many of whom connected and collaborated on a daily basis.

It was through the Big Chill's flowering that I saw the power in community, and people uniting around a purpose or common interest. This led me to explore further how communities can make a difference, so for the last decade I have been inspired to evolve a new form of social networking.

Enter Campfire Convention. Bridging the divide between on- and off-line, and giving virtual and face-to-face interactions equal weighting. Already Campfire's events all over the UK have shown those who have attended the value of meeting in person, being in the physical presence of others and feeling their passions, respecting their ideas and viewpoints. We have developed a core network of quality contributors and are already syndicating the writing of key thinkers and commentators such as George Monbiot, Daniel Pinchbeck and Kate Raworth. In the real-world space, we’ve had inspiring conversations, lit Beacons around the world, and sparked new projects ranging from musical collaborations to launching a Citizens’ Assembly initiative.

Bringing people together has been the common thread through my life's work. My way is to join the dots, then step back and watch the sparks fly. It’s never been more urgent to ignite synergies around social change and conscious transformation.  Join me as we light a beacon for hope in the dark called Campfire Convention.

The Campaign

Myself and a small team have spent the last four years building the site to the soft launch stage. At a great personal cost, we’ve succeeded in inspiring a growing team of volunteers, writers and event trailblazers to come together to build something of value. We’ve started to grow a network of support around us including people like Brian Eno, our first Patron. Now, we’re ready to take things to the next level – and push the platform closer to its full potential.

It’s time to get the help we need, and to reward our team for their efforts. This is where this crowdfunder comes in. 

3) New social innovation : 2020 Vision : A Project proposed by our patron Brian Eno will encourage creative ideas and new ways of rethinking democracy and the machinery of community. (Phase 5, launch spring 2020)

4) Building editorial and content : We are already syndicating the writing of key thinkers and commentators but are well positioned to develop our own news and magazine section as a journalistic voice in its own right. (Phase 6, launch autumn 2020)

5) Building the Ecosystem : Enabling our lead developer Tim to pioneer new ways of working with open source approach to software with Campfire as a hub that can benefit other like-minded communities working for social change by offering them an out-of-the-box solution for building their own social network. (Phase 7, launch spring 2021)

Campfire is well placed to play its part as a force for significant social change and is supporting the work of communities such as Extinction Rebellion, We Own It, Building Bridges For Peace, Flatpack Democracy, The Tree Conference, Sortition Foundation, Red Brick Building, The Alternative UK and others.

It would be easy for me to walk away from the project and enjoy a quiet life but there is a burning passion within me that knows this can work, that Campfire can be an important model for future directions in community social networking.

That's why I can't ignore the fire in the belly that drives me to make this work for everyone to develop new frameworks and community connections that help speed up this transition that is already in progress.

Campfire isn't a service, it's a community initiative, which focuses on building something that we can all benefit from rather than 'what's in it for me’

The Landscape

We already have a track record. We do have an active network online and membership is steadily growing by word-of-mouth, even though we are still pre-official launch. We are already organising face-face events. Our early Beacons are already looking at templates for organising productive meetings, working out how to stage citizen's assemblies and getting involved in initiatives with the homeless.

We have a Firestarter (me!), working full time, a few occasional contributors and volunteers and one part-time developer. Although not comparable in any way, Facebook, as of December 2018 has 35,587 employees.

The Impact

I realised through my Big Chill years that communities can make a big difference in terms of social cohesion, mutual support and frameworks for engagement.

Campfire, like The Big Chill before it, is about interaction and fun - but there is also a deeper purpose. It can offer real life experience in a community setting, learning from practical experience around events, opportunities to create, co-ordinate or join groups and initiatives. Campfire is positioned to facilitate the process of social change and that change starts with each and every one of us, the way we choose to live our lives and how we interact with those around us.

My track record usually comes back to bringing people together. At a time when people need to come together and talk more than ever to make sense of the rapid change in the world, not all of it welcome, we need to be finding ways to find common ground. This has been brilliantly articulated by our member Vicki Burke.

"I believe in the one hundred monkeys theory: that once enough of us have learned how to step into the new way, as we are all connected, we all step up together.  We can begin to heal and start to function as a society based on love and compassion."

We can develop new ways of communicating and co-operating. Annabelle Macfadyen wrote this excellent article on the need for good conversations.Good conversations, good collaborative work and good practice can make a difference and help us to build a better world together.

Here is DJ Greg Wilson's take on Campfire:

Risks & Challenges

If we don't reach target at least we are rewarding some of the amazing voluntary work that has been put in building the site and overseeing the software upgrade. Tim, our developer, will get first call on the funding, having put in weeks of due diligence when he could have been earning a crust with any number of other projects and we thank him for having the belief and optimism that we can get to where we want to be.

We are testing the water on this funding round to see if we have the support and the encouragement from enough people to join us on this journey. If this funding initiative works, then a new world of possibility opens up for community social networks and a true alternative. We already have the next five phases mapped out. 

This is all about handing on to the community and shaping a truly modern co-operative that can pioneer a new model for a community network as we enter post-capitalist environment.

Here's DJ Norman Jay's take on Campfire:

Other Ways You Can Help

If you're not able to chip in to help, that's no problem. Campfire has a policy, wherever possible, of offering free bursaries to our events and also a free membership option to those who can't afford to contribute. 

You can help us by sharing this campaign on social media with your friends or telling them about our community. The campaign also has some amazing perks attached - all members of Campfire offering their time and skills with events, 'how to' sessions and forums for passing on their knowledge and enthusiasm to support the Campfire cause.

Word of mouth got us this far and I believe personal recommendation is the best way of all to take us further.

I thank you for believing in this dream. Together we can make it real.

 https://www.campfireconvention.uk/node/8089