I should add that this is going to be part of a SXSW Interactive talk: Regional Whuffie Building, run by Tony B from New Work City. ;)
T -- tara 'missrogue' hunt Book: The Whuffie Factor (http://twurl.nl/qhe1l0) Company: Citizen Agency (http://citizenagency.com) Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing Uncommon (http://horsepigcow.com) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/missrogue phone: 415-694-1951 fax: 415-727-5335 On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 8:30 PM, Alex Hillman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Steven, > You've asked a bunch of great questions, many of which have been discussed > and answered in this forum before. I suggest you search the group: > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking and perhaps return with pointers to > specific discussions or opportunities to ask new questions from what you can > learn from those previous discussions. > > Best, > Alex Hillman, IndyHall, Philadelphia > > -- > ----- > -- > ----- > Alex Hillman > im always developing something > digital: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com > local: www.indyhall.org > > > > On Fri, Dec 5, 2008 at 12:03 PM, Steven Talcott Smith > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> >> Hello Co-workers, >> >> I am a software consultant and sometimes entrepreneur based in Boca >> Raton, Florida, and I am currently writing a report as a volunteer >> project for a local economic development non-profit focused on tech >> entrepreneurship. The report will cover what I think is necessary to >> nurture a thriving local entrepreneurial tech community (from a >> participant's perspective) and what I think the some of the >> opportunities are for non-profits, for-profits and groups that don't >> fit well in either category. There are many elements to this but one >> thing I am looking at is the idea of a space or spaces, in locations >> that are "places", that bring a stronger community aspect than >> incubators and more conventional workplace setups. Community is one >> of the missing elements here and I think the co-work movement has >> something to say about that. I believe there is room for a lot of >> different concepts and that they occupy different and potentially >> mutually supportive niches. >> >> I became interested in co-work spaces through organizing my local Ruby >> developers meetup. For a long time, until I moved into an incubator, >> we lacked a place to meet. A number of us are freelancers and would >> enjoy working together along with other creative professionals whether >> or not anything we are working on would really qualify for an >> incubator. We also continually find ourselves in need of design and >> creative resources and we lack the community to make it easy to find >> people we are comfortable working with. >> >> At RubyConf in Orlando last month, I ran into several other people who >> were involved in co-work spaces in Minnesota and Washington State. >> >> I am primarily interested in creating a co-work space that would also >> be the "natural place" for professional meetups and user groups to get >> together. I am interested in what fellow co-workers think makes a >> successful space and location. How important is the convenience of >> public transit? How important is it to have potentially complementary >> nearby (walkable) resources and businesses such as libraries, book >> stores, cafes, etc? What are some surprising synergies you have >> discovered? Have you seen the co-work space produce new and >> successful relationships that would not have come about without it? >> >> Has anyone provided space for user groups to meet in the evening? Was >> this successful in bringing membership and attention to the space? >> How much did you go out of your way to accommodate these groups? When >> the meetings break up do the members go home or do they stand outside >> or go somewhere else? What about adding facilities for trainers to >> use? Anyone who could teach a class on something technical or useful >> professionally will struggle with finding an appropriate venue. What >> about one that is designed for it? Could that be complementary to co- >> working? >> >> How many anchor "members" (not tenants) do you need to have to begin >> to realize the community benefits? >> >> I ask the members of this group to please point me to books I should >> read or other resources you may know about that are relevant to my >> report or to share personal experiences that might be enlightening for >> us all. >> >> Very Much Appreciated, >> >> Steven Talcott Smith >> >> >> > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
