With stricter and more assertive editorial selection, these platforms are (or try to be) rooted in particular communities. But within this competitive context, the lifespan of many is short, as was the case for the music platform Pro-8moi, Myartinvest, for buying art (now closed), or Touscoprod, which has been ‘integrated’ into Proarti.
4 Local Platforms
The third model is based upon the alternative value of locally situated initiatives and hence pertains to ‘local’ platforms. Since 2010 we have seen the promotion and creation of such platforms, whether general or niche. With the hope of reaching funders no longer uniquely on a family basis, local platforms have developed that are rooted in a particular region and host local projects. These include Kocoriko (Grenoble), Gwenneg (Brittany), Kengo.BZH (Brittany), J’adopteunprojet (Poitou-Charentes), and Ma Belle Tribu, started by CASDEN Banque Populaire, which aims to support ‘outstanding citizen and community initiatives in the regions’. Similar initiatives are underway in Quebec through platforms such as La Ruche and Haricot.
Certain general platforms have also taken the hint, investing in local development: Ulule, for instance, now runs ‘Ulule Tours’ in France and Quebec. Mixing cultural and community elements in this way, with the participation of public and private institutions, only confirms what was said above in regard to partnerships. For example, in 2014, the French rail company SNCF launched a project on Ulule. With the aim of safeguarding the artistic heritage of the station at Tours, SNCF Gares et Connexions partnered with the association ‘Patrimoine-Environnement’, inviting users to back the renovation of eighteen ceramic tile paintings by the artist Eugène Martial. They raised €10,381, having requested only €8,000. Platforms help blur the lines between public and private institutions, and between the responsibilities distinctive to each. At work here is a communications strategy: the desire to create a community of users, but also and above all to outsource to users and to citizens the costs of the renovation of properties that belong to them.
Far from an Alternative: Intermediation Apparatuses
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