Just to add my two cents... I have been part of this coworking group for about 8 months ago. The best part as far as I can tell is that we have the wiki, the blog, this group and a general pool of resources that everyone shares. Does it need more organization? Maybe. I think a lot gets repeated and certain questions that are universal to coworking space owners like liability agreements have come up quite a bit.
Still the organic nature of it all works well. One thought...kind of along the lines of a salon, would be to do a periodic (we determine) in person or conference call type session where we focus on a topic within coworking spaces or ownership. It is up to each person who participates to decide how or if to take away anything from the salon to apply to their own space. It maybe the best of both worlds. We keep the starfish in that it stays an organic movement with each space existing with its own personality and knowledge, but it allows us to vocalize ideas, resources, etc. It connects coworking spaces without placing them in a "spiderweb" so to speak. Just a thought... Felicity Cubes&Crayons Space: www.cubesandcrayons.com Blog: cubes.typepad.com/blog Personal thoughts: cubes.typepad.com/cake On Oct 9, 9:26 am, "Tara Hunt" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I guess I don't understand the benefits of making coworking an organization. > Or, at the very least, I see a few benefits that are eclipsed by the costs > of it. > > > > On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 9:24 AM, Jacob Sayles <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > I'm excited by the idea and share many of the same concerns. It's a > > pattern we've seen before in the open source world. There are a lot > > of open source projects that developed organically, and then some > > entity decides they wanted to kick it up a notch. Sometimes this > > works out well, sometimes it is disastrous. The trick is going to be > > keeping a tuned eye on the process to make sure it's not a > > spiderifying the starfish. We've identified that concern, but how do > > we navigate around it? > > > Jacob > > > -- > > Office Nomads - Individuality without Isolation > >http://www.officenomads.com- (206) 323-6500 > > > On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 9:02 AM, Tony Bacigalupo > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > I do think that external organizations can/will/should exist to service > > > different segments; for instance, I think there's a ton of potential for > > an > > > organization that aims to service cafes that host (co)working folks. > > > > Many cafes are struggling with the onslaught of laptops, as their > > business > > > models count on people getting their coffee and leaving quick to make > > room > > > for the next guy. If an organization came along that helped cafes tweak > > > their business models to take advantage of this shift, everyone would > > > benefit. (More on that another time.) > > > > The Cowork Network, as envisioned above, looks to be leaning towards > > helping > > > people establish and run dedicated workspaces. Providing a knowledge > > base, > > > access to technology, and potentially even seed funding, could all be > > very > > > useful services for folks to partake in. > > > > Karen, it sounds like your game plan is a good one-- gather together the > > > people interested in this concept and start to identify the market and > > its > > > needs. That'll provide a framework for ensuing discussions. > > > > Tony > > -- > -- > tara 'missrogue' hunt > > Book: The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your > Business > (http://www.amazon.com/Whuffie-Factor-Capital-Winning-Communities/dp/0... > ) > Company: Citizen Agency (http://www.citizenagency.com) > Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing Uncommon (http://www.horsepigcow.com) > Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/missrogue > phone: 415-694-1951 > fax: 415-727-5335 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
