I've grown to think that a written description of coworking doesn't sufficiently capture what most spaces and coworking sessions engender. The more people I talk to, most recently Ian in Ottawa, and Pat & Dan from Montreal, the more I realize that the value in coworking is in discovering it through experience, especially given the different character of different spaces.
This is all a way of saying that a central definition has value but may feel unclear to a newbe before actually showing up in person at a space. Thus, that's our challenge. Why not put more time into the website? But IMHO the best way to get people on board is to get them to show up at events like Jelly and the like, which have a very low barrier to entry. To improve the definition of coworking, perhaps tale a look at what amit et al have got over at workatjelly.com. D ------------------ http://darrellsilver.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] (917) 841-4079 On Nov 6, 2008, at 9:27 PM, "Tony Bacigalupo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > This actually gets right to the heart of a weakness in a large > starfish organization such as this one, which has been touched on > before, which is how to decide on something like this. > > No doubt, the coworking movement would benefit from a better > "landing page" for people new to the movement who have yet to grow > accustomed to the wiki / blog / google group. I can still recall > struggling to understand it all when I first discovered it. > > That said, creating something that is the central, official spot is > difficult. We had a good long spirited discussion about the > "official" definition of coworking, but did not end up making any > decisions in the end on whether to update it. > > As I understand it, a couple of people like Tara and Chris and > others have direct control over things like the blog and the wiki's > design and structure, and they're people I think we would largely > trust to continue to do right by the movement in implementing a new > design (with, of course, our input along the way), but, they're also > probably the least likely to have time to allocate for doing so :-) > > So we'd need someone to step up and take leadership on it. > > > > On Thu, Nov 6, 2008 at 9:02 PM, Tara Hunt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > Great idea! And we have been down this road before. Our official > site is actually the blog: http://coworking.info but I've sketched > out stuff for an official coworking site (about a year and a half > ago): > > http://flickr.com/photos/missrogue/sets/72157600017335084/ > > Still looking to do that sorta thing. ;) > > T > > > On Thu, Nov 6, 2008 at 4:41 PM, nickf <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > This may be a silly question but I am wondering why there isn't an > official public facing coworking website that isn't a wiki or a blog? > I know we have the great discussion list and an cool wiki packed with > information... but, well, a wiki isn't so easy to navigate and the > content that one might be looking for is sorta spread about the wiki > and such. > > I am wondering if it's time to build a public facing website to cater > to audiences who may not understand wikis, blogs, and discussion group > systems? Or at the very least a site with basic content on coworking > that is geared towards the press, potential coworkers, potential space > catalyst, etc. > > Something with simple architecture that answers the basic questions > of: > - What is coworking? > - Who came up with the idea of coworking? > - Why has coworking caught on so well? > - Where can I find a coworking space in my area? > - What type of people cowork? > - What does it take to start a coworking space? > - Who can I contact if I have a question about coworking? > - What coworking resources are out there? > ....All questions that can be answered on the wiki or here in the > discussion group, but I just feel like the wiki doesn't provide the > ideal user experience for the media and potential renters and space > owners to really grasp the full scope of coworking and the breath at > which it extends to. > > This question came to me as I was doing an interview with the local > press today who seemed to be be pretty oblivious to the whole > international movement and lacking I site I could really point them to > to get the gist really quick. > > Full disclose, yes I am a user experience professional that creates > websites all day, but I am not looking to land a project like this for > myself. I don't have a personal interest in promotion or gaining a > cool project. I don't care who would build or design it. I am simply > asking the question because I see it as a hurdle here for dealing with > non-technical people on the outside of the coworking community. > > Am I crazy here? Has this already been discussed before (sorry, I > didn't find any threads on this)? Is this a sore spot? What were the > reasons behind not doing this? Did I just step into a holy war > topic? :P > > > Cheers, > - Nick (A newbie space owner, be gentle) > > > > > -- > -- > 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/0307409503?ie=UTF8 > > ) > 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 [email protected] 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
