Well said. Community IS the security. That should have been listed first in our plan. It is now! Jacob
On 9/19/07, Tara Hunt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I believe that the four value pillars set the conditions for getting > beyond security and externalized trust models: > > 1. Collaboration > 2. Openness > 3. Community > 4. Sustainability > > Especially the community part. In the past (almost) year we've been open, > only a few small issues have come up: someone walked off with a power > adapter they thought was theirs, a group using the space for the event left > behind a mess and a few books from the library have taken extended leaves of > absence (but they find their way back eventually). > > We don't do any 'advertising', only fostering a positive word of mouth > within our community. We meet everyone who walks through the door. It makes > for a very positive environment. People contribute to the space because of > it, too. They don't see us as 'owners' - they all 'own' it. > > We couldn't afford to do the whole security camera, etc. model anyway, but > we are looking into a card key system for all spaces that want to > participate that will tie us into coworkination and help us track usage and > who is there. But once again, it's based on a community model, not a > security model. > > Tara > > > > On 9/19/07, Chris Messina <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > Hmm, "many" of us? I'm not sure I've heard of any...! > > > > At least from a "come one, come all" sense. > > > > Our tenants have 24 hour access but only because we give them keys. In > > reality people are in the office from around 10am - 6pm during the > > week, less on the weekends (it's like a regular work schedule!). > > Occasionally folks will stay late, or we'll host evening events, but > > we certainly don't advertise or offer our space to drop-ins past 6pm > > unless a key-holder happens to be staying late and doesn't mind the > > company. > > > > Citizen Space also doesn't "staff" the space -- that is, we don't make > > our tenants responsible for keeping the place open for drop-ins. We > > learned that lesson the hard way with our first space: it's better to > > charge folks for a consistent service that they're going to use than > > to try to also get those same folks to take up responsibility for > > running the place. > > > > That said, if your model is to offer open doors and charge, say, > > hourly, then having dedicated staff to do so is probably a good idea; > > in that case, however, due to both the "changing of the guard" and the > > element of randomness in your patrons, it's sometimes harder to > > predict what might or might not go wrong (hence the need for insurance > > and whatnot). > > > > We've been very fortunate to have found reliable and responsible > > people to fill our space; we carry insurance of course, but also know > > that we can trust our tenants. We haven't needed to invest in any > > additional security (knock on wood) and instead rely on each citizen > > to treat and protect the space as they wood their own office. > > > > Judging from your website, your model seems a bit different from ours, > > in which case I'll condition my comments by saying that what we do > > won't necessarily work for everyone. It's really more important that > > you figure out and define for yourself what kind of culture and > > community you want to create and nurture and then make your decisions > > accordingly. > > > > We still don't require agreements (of any kind) with our tenants and > > in the 10 months that we've been running our space, haven't had an > > issue. We've maintained this aspect of the space as a design decision > > in order to enculturate a sense of trust and responsibility in our > > members. We treat them like the adults that they are, and we expect > > the same in return. Not surprisingly, the culture of Citizen Space, at > > least to me, seems to exude trust and pride. If you set up rules and > > protections against what might (or might not) someday happen, your > > potential customers will treat you the same way -- and will > > potentially shield themselves from you and from investing themselves > > in your space. > > > > Every little decision that we make in setting up our coworking spaces > > has ongoing consequences, and that's why it's worth reconsidering > > everything that you've been told you should do. Just because it worked > > for someone else before, or because someone else got screwed in the > > past and says that you should protect yourself in such a way as to > > distrust by default, doesn't mean that it's the right thing for you to > > do (and I'm not making any assumptions, only pointing out a general > > principle). > > > > So, with that, I'm not sure trying to stay open 24/7 makes sense. Or, > > if it does, play it by ear -- and if you suddenly have 15 people > > showing up wanting access 24/7 that they're willing to pay for, make a > > move then. There's no sense in prematurely optimizing at a great > > expense for situtations that may never arise in practice. > > > > Chris > > > > On 9/19/07, Sasha <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > Many of you made your spaces with 24/7 access. What's the secret? How > > > do you pull that off with insurance and general security for members? > > > Has anybody have any problems with it? > > > We're trying to decide whether to make it 24/7 or just open till 10pm > > > (staffed)... > > > > > > Thanks! > > > Sasha Vasilyuk > > > Sandbox Suites > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Chris Messina > > Citizen Provocateur & > > Open Source Advocate-at-Large > > Work: http://citizenagency.com > > Blog: http://factoryjoe.com/blog > > Cell: 412 225-1051 > > Skype: factoryjoe > > This email is: [ ] bloggable [X] ask first [ ] private > > > > > > > > > > > -- > tara 'miss rogue' hunt > co-founder & CMO > Citizen Agency (www.citizenagency.com) > blog: www.horsepigcow.com > phone: 415-694-1951 > fax: 415-727-5335 > > > -- Jacob Sayles Nomad & Founder officenomads.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. 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