Aside from technological fixes to cancel noise it sounds like the secondary problem is the social one.
We were planning on writing a philosophy of sorts for Caroline Collective that outlined how we envisioned people interacting in the space. Not to stifle creativity or to direct the evolution of the space but for the specific goal of addressing the noise situation at the onset. How does this sound to people? Matthew On Apr 30, 2:58 pm, "Alex Hillman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Back to the original topic, about noise issues, one of our newest full time > members voiced his opinion on some of perceptions of pros and cons. His only > con, really, is a noise issue. > > http://www.wildbit.com/blog/2008/04/30/coworking-social-club-or-work-... > > Other than better organized space (we're limited, understandably, by the > size of the space we're in), has anyone else come up with anything creative > (besides the aforementioned utilities) for dealing with noise and chatter of > the social aspects? Some members prefer the ruckus, others don't. > > Knowing full well we cant, and won't please everyone, Chris's respectful > post got me thinking about how we might be able to tune up this solution. > > Thoughts? > > -Alex > > > > On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 3:52 PM, Derek Young <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > We've taken very much the same approach. However, at the same time, we > > make it clear that we aren't opposed to adding phone lines, fax lines, color > > printers, or other services IF THEY'LL BE USED. I do everything I can to > > avoid recurring costs like phone lines. > > > We bought a multi-function printer that can do faxes. We don't have the > > line at this point. If one of our member's core business requires faxing and > > they are opposed to the eFax services, then we'll put the line in. "We're > > here to help". The same thing applies to fixed telephone lines. Cell phones > > work great. But some folks need a more consistent line for conference calls > > or when working with cell phone intolerant clients (CEO types in our > > experience). Several folks at the Suite seem to be involved with regular > > radio interviews via phone too. This could drive us to fixed telephone > > lines. We aren't opposed to fixed lines, but again, if it's needed for the > > core business of our member and it'll be used, we'll put it in. So far, > > we've kept a lot of nice-to-haves out of the office using this logic. > > > Re: Pink Noise generators. Recommend headphones. We also have an > > office-wide stereo system (two big speakers and Craigslist stereo equipment) > > that anybody can control via iTunes/AirTunes. That has actually worked quite > > well to baffle background noise when there's a lot of activity. It also > > drives people to get bigger headphones – depending on the music choices of > > the day. > > > I hope this helps, > > > Derek Young > > - Suite133 > > > On 4/30/08 9:42 AM, "Alex Hillman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Totally agreed with Jacob here. I've been a broken record with this, I'm > > sure, so for those of you who've heard it over and over again I'm sorry. > > But: > > > Ask your *potential* members what they want/need. But as Tara has > > suggested in the past, don't be open ended about it because most of the > > time, they don't know what they want/need. Surveys are great, as are > > observational conversation. But make sure that these things are directed at > > YOUR users, after all, they're the ones you're planning to serve! > > > Small iterative steps to launch will save you headaches and dollars. > > > In respect to these particular utilities...they're interesting but seem > > unnecessary, unless you're stacking people on top of one another without > > providing any kind of quiet areas. Just my .02. > > > Good luck! > > > -Alex, IndyHall > > > On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 12:34 PM, Jacob Sayles <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Kelly, > > > One of the first things I did last spring when Office Nomads was just > > an idea was to drive down to Portland and talk with Eva and David and > > check out their space. They were SUPER helpful and one bit of advice > > they gave me stuck and it has helped me sleep better at night since. > > Don't build it unless you KNOW it's needed. Their space is awesome > > and because of all the work they did getting it ready it has scaled up > > quickly and smoothly. This has a few disadvantages though. One, you > > are out some serious cash upfront when every $$ matters, and two, > > ramping up quickly isn't exactly a good thing. We took this advice > > and opened our doors after just 3 weeks of prep. That prep was mostly > > getting the internet installed and the furniture we had been > > collecting out of my garage. We are still working to fill in the > > furniture gaps, paint the walls, and developing and fine tuning our > > business processes. The slower ramp us helps keep us sane and the > > savings from not buying lots of expensive equipment and not having our > > doors open for months to install said equipment helps keep us from > > freaking out because of the slower ramp up. Now, as people ask for > > things we can add services like phones and address sound issues. > > > Jacob > > > On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 5:27 AM, Kelly Brown <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > I was reviewing the sample business plan provided by Cube Space - > > > (which again special thanks to Eva & David for sharing -- this thing > > > was very helpful in getting started on my own plan) > > > > Anyway - I came across two items that i thought were interesting.... > > > The mention of Pink Noise Generators & Direct In Dial (DID) telephone > > > services. > > > > I wasn't originally planning to include these services -- as I felt > > > most people would probably have their cell phones and as far as noise > > > goes we'll have privacy booths if people need to step out for a > > > telephone call. > > > > That said - I think these are wonderful ideas and we're considering > > > including these in our facility. > > > I'm wondering - does anyone have strong feelings on these either way? > > > > Are these an unique feature or a 'given' that every facility should > > > have? > > > Are you implementing these services in your facility? > > > > Thanks!-kb > > > Kelly Brown > > > Office Space Co-Working > > > > > > www.officespacecoworking.com<http://www.officespacecoworking.com><http://www.officespacecoworking.com> > > > -- > > Jacob Sayles > > Co-founder & Janitor > >http://officenomads.com > > -- > -- > ----- > -- > ----- > Alex Hillman > round(3)media new! ask me about it > digital: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > visual:www.round3media.com|www.dangerouslyawesome.com > local:www.indyhall.org --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. 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