Communicate or Die Reloaded

Greetings, Communicate or Die viewers.

Just a quick note to introduce myself ... and let you all know that your favorite online community dedicated to the notion that the labor movement can (and must) effectively make use of all available internet technology is back.

My name, as you can see above, is Jason Pramas. I'm a longtime labor and community organizer, a Boston native, and have been a member, officer and/or staffer of a number of locals in the UAW and SEIU over the past 16 years - currently, the Boston Chapter of the National Writers Union/UAW Local 1981. I've also been a journalist and editor for over 20 years, have always been a techie, and have lately become a specialist in collaborative (a.k.a "social") media applications for the web.

I've just been hired on as the new Communications Director for Prometheus Labor Communications, and I'll be the new site admin for the Communicate or Die website. I look forward to getting to know you all better in the months to come in that capacity. In my "spare time," I run a progressive news portal for the Boston area called Open Media Boston that you are all welcome to check out at http://www.openmediaboston.org.

In the last few years, I've been active in the unofficial movement to "drag the labor movement kicking and screaming into the 21st century" as regards internet-based tools and their implementation - not just because it is fashionable to do so, but rather because said tools have the potential to make our movement much more efficient, sizable and democratic. As such, it is critical that we develop vibrant forums to discuss and debate what's hot and what's not, what works and what doesn't, and what holes we need to fill in available technology to make it more useful and usable by union members and community allies.

Over the next few weeks, we'll reintroduce fresh content on a regular basis, try to coax previously active contributors (you know who you are) to start tossing us their thoughts every few days, and strongly encourage inactive folks to get involved in our reactivated community. Everyone, naturally, should spread the word to their co-workers and friends about Communicate or Die, and feel free to circulate material you find on the site widely.

If you have any questions or comments, by all means drop me a line at jpramas@prometheuslabor.com.

So let's get this party started ...

Solidarity ...