Hi Jerome, Interesting ideas! I am new to the coworking scene, but I'd like to mention that I am a web developer by trade, with a lot of internet marketing experience, and would be willing to contribute to such a project if someone with a bit more experience (in the coworking movement) were willing to head it up.
Thanks, Aaron On Wed, Jul 15, 2009 at 9:27 AM, Jerome Chang <[email protected]>wrote: > > Hello all. Some notes: > > 1. Advanta was one of the country's 20 largest credit card issuers who > focused on small business. They just closed shop due to all the usual > problems: escalating risk, higher defaults, etc. We freelancers are a > [actuarially] risky group. Still, it'd be interesting to see if > someone with banking/CU experience could vet out the feasibility and > at least document it for all of us. > > 2. The reason that residents of not necessarily all states are > eligible for health insurance is that every state has different laws > about these group plans. In California, for example, group > "guaranteed" plans are only allowed if you work for an employer. Any > other group plans are just slight discounts, if any, for which you > have to apply and get approved. I heard we were just 4 votes short in > the last state [senate/assembly/?] vote to adopt group "guaranteed" > plans without being "employed by that group. > > 3. [Mind you, I'm not a web tech...] We could develop a web app that > any coworking website could add to their membership page that quickly > lists other participating coworking visa sites. Who maintains it? > What info does it show? How does a visa traveller prove his/her > membership to that other coworking site? I don't know. > > ... > > 5. Reservation/Booking: I see a lot of efforts toward setting this up, > including its sister-features: POS (point-of-sale) transactions, > invoicing, billing, etc. If other coworking sites share the same/ > similar system, the coworking visa program would inherently get > structured. The precedent would be the airlines: American Airlines' > Sabre reservation system enables ticketing for many airlines. (For > full disclosure, I'll confess I'm a bit motivated to share my system > [for a price...], since I think I have probably the most complex/ > customized memberships out there.) > > 6. Marketing: a lot of coworking sites, esp the new ones, may want > some help to promote themselves. This could happen with coworking on > a macro/national level (like when national orgs advertise for milk in > general, or cheese, or whatever), or on a regional level (like when > local car dealers use commercials made by headquarters). From SEO, > social media, to traditional ads (print, tv/vids), a lot could be done > collectively for everyone's benefit to raise general awareness for > coworking as a whole. (For full disclosure, I'll confess I'm thinking > of "licensing" out my commercials and I'll change/add text for that > individual coworking site.) > > > Jerome > ______________ > BLANKSPACES > "work wide open" > > www.blankspaces.com > 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) > Los Angeles, CA 90036 > 323.330.9505 (office) > > On Jul 15, 2009, at 4:23 AM, Andy Louis-Charles wrote: > > > > > Chris, > > > > Thanks for sharing your post. > > > > I think you hit on some good points. Coworking communities do need to > > become somehow "networked" in order for them to reach their full > > potential. At the same time, I like how you recognized that the > > independent spirit of each center (and its members) is at core of the > > movement. > > > > That is why I believe any federated efforts need to be in response to > > specific community needs vs. creation of a traditional, top-down > > "chamber of commerce" type of bureaucratic entity. For example: > > > > 1. A Coworking Credit Union - the creation of a cooperatively owned > > bank that focuses specifically on lending to freelancers, > > independents, startups, coworking members and coworking center owners > > would be a valuable instititution for the community ... > > http://coworking.pbworks.com/Coworking-Credit-Union > > > > 2. Coworking Healthcare - a group rate health insurance plan for > > coworking members. Freelancers Union has a program up and running, but > > I believe only New York residents are eligible - > > http://www.freelancersunion.org/insurance/index.html > > > > 3. Coworking Visa - a more structure way to allow traveling coworkers > > to use cooperating locations. http://coworking.pbworks.com/CoworkingVisa > > > > 4. Coworking Passport - an idea I floated a couple of weeks back where > > a network of coworkers could offer urban accomodations to fellow, > > traveling coworking members. http://www.airbnb.com/groups/coworking > > > > So, my general thought is that a coworking "federation" could simply > > draw attention and bring resources to the growing number of > > collaborative efforts among coworking members that are already > > starting to blossom. > > > > But those are just my initial thoughts and would love to further > > brainstorm on them. > > > > Cheers, > > > > Andy > > twitter: @OnCoworking > > web: http://www.OnCoworking.com > > > > > > > > On Jul 14, 10:13 pm, Chris Stewart <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Good Evening All, > >> > >> My name is Chris Stewart, and I'm currently a software developer > >> for an insurance company based near Dallas, Texas. I've been > >> passionate about coworking for over a year now, and decided to > >> write a > >> 2010 SXSW Interactive panel proposal on Federated Coworking. I was a > >> panel liaison this year and loved the experience so much that I > >> decided to put together a panel of my own. The term "federated > >> coworking" doesn't seem to be used at the moment, but my thought > >> behind it is the need for greater collaboration and resource pooling > >> between existing spaces to raise awareness of coworking to the > >> general > >> population. It appears from reading posts on this forum and elsewhere > >> about the Starfish/Spider argument that coworking spaces are against > >> strong top-down organizational hierarchy, and are happy to work > >> independently from each other apart from knowledge sharing and > >> occasional meetups. My contention is that we need to respect the > >> desire for coworking spaces to maintain independent, unique > >> atmospheres, while at the same time embracing new levels of > >> connectivity. > >> > >> From my perspective, federated coworking is an umbrella term used > >> to represent a centralized authority elected by the spaces to 1) > >> represent their interests amongst government, business leadership, > >> and > >> the general public; 2) serve as a collection point for knowledge, > >> money (to fund awareness and development), and best practices; 3) > >> provide training to people who want to start a coworking space but > >> have no idea how to begin; and 4) actively develop new coworking > >> spaces in partnership with area business and government to house > >> creative collectives of individuals who will have the benefit of a > >> comfortable, warm office environment in community with other > >> creatives > >> without the office politics of a traditional office. > >> > >> Whether or not the SXSW panel is approved, I believe it's > >> important > >> that we begin asking tough questions about the future of coworking, > >> as > >> this movement will not grow to its fullest potential housed in > >> loosely- > >> connected silos. I'd like to present several plans during the panel > >> on > >> what federated coworking could look like, and allow the panelists to > >> debate the pros and cons of each strategy. Instead of making a lot of > >> noise during the event and then returning to the status quo, we can > >> make this panel a jumping off point to real-world change in the way > >> we > >> approach coworking. > >> > >> I'll add more thoughts on this subject as I listen to your > >> feedback. Respond to this post directly or contact me via twitter > >> @socialtopher. > >> > >> Thanks, > >> > >> Chris Stewart > >> Endaris (my iPhone stealth company) > >> http://www.twitter.com/socialtopher > > > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. 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