Hi Chris,
I decided to coin "federated coworking" as an umbrella term to
discuss the development and structure of mutually beneficial working
relationships between coworking spaces beyond the Google Group and
Wiki. Whether or not the term sticks, I wanted to start a conversation
on what it will take to unite on key issues, likes sustainability,
marketing/branding, and core values of the movement. This might step
on some toes, as I'm fully aware of the indepedent and creative spirit
behind each space (otherwise we're just another office building). Far
from compromising that creative spirit, I want to bolster it and
protect it. Andy (@OnCoworking) and I just shared a great conversation
on his podcast about some reasons we should work together and how it
might work. The first thing to do, like Alex mentioned (if I'm
understanding him correctly), is to develop a structure for dialogue
that involves people with a vested interest in coworking's success,
namely the space owners, and the rest of the coworking faithful to a
lesser extent.
On the podcast, I mentioned an article from the Economist (http://
www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13990207) that I read
today, that talked about each state in the United States being an
independent laboratory of public policy, with each one running
concurrently, trying different methods to solve problems, and rising
above or falling below the pack based upon performance. Coworking in
2009 is similar; you have 70-100 (Andy's number) coworking spaces in
the United States running concurrently, trying to solve similar
problems like sustainability, retention, maintaining unique culture,
improving the lives of its tenants and surrounding community. We need
a way to harness the knowledge being developed in these coworking
labs, and a coworking space-developer, coworking space-owned model for
generating and distributing resources.
I loved Andy's idea on a coworking credit union, and my idea on a
coworking Craigslist, as two ways to get started. Recirculating
resources within the coworking ecosystem will benefit every
participating space and their tenants, and create a "virtuous cycle"
as Andy put it that will enable further growth and cultural awareness
of this movement as a new way to work.
By the way, I've launched http://www.federatedcoworking.org with a
barebones WordPress template as a place to post information on what's
happening related to the conversation.
Thanks,
Chris
On Jul 15, 3:58 pm, Chris Johnston <[email protected]> wrote:
> This may be a stupid question but what is the difference between federated
> coworking and regular coworking?
>
> Christopher M. Johnstonhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisjohnston
>
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 15, 2009 at 1:42 PM, Anca Mosoiu <[email protected]> wrote:
> > Hello there,
>
> > I've just started up my co-working space in Oakland, Ca, so this discussion
> > is pertinent. I would like to participate in a phone call to get the ball
> > rolling, though I'm no moderator. I can find someone to help us out,
> > though.
>
> > My main question when I read Chris's original email was "What is overall
> > mission of a co-working space"? Are we creating co-working spaces because
> > there is empty office space in our building? Or do we have a specific goal
> > in mind when we set all this up? Are we all trying to attract the same
> > audience? Do we have the same (or a similar set) of services that we
> > provide in terms of facility, IT, and amenities?
>
> > Do we all have issues with health insurance (or just those of us living in
> > the US)? Do we have the same kind of membership system? What are the
> > advantages and disadvantages of joining up with others in our area and
> > across the world?
>
> > I don't have any answers, only questions and speculation.
>
> > There are several free phone services that we can use to actually have a
> > conference call.
>
> > All we need is a date to make this happen. Any preferences?
>
> > Cheers,
>
> > Anca.
> > -=-==-=-=-
> > Anca Mosoiu
> > Tech Liminal
> >www.techliminal.com
>
> > On Wed, Jul 15, 2009 at 11:17 AM, Alex Hillman <
> > [email protected]> wrote:
>
> >> I've been sharing a bunch of thoughts regarding the growth of this
> >> community, and the fact that online and off, there are a number of major
> >> issues.
> >> What I struggle with is the appropriate forum for this discussion, as this
> >> thread is already demonstrating. The wiki isn't it, because it's a cesspool
> >> of unorganized information. Emails/mailing lists are difficult, especially
> >> with the scale and diversity of THIS list.
>
> >> SXSW is a good start, because there's an existing critical mass, but it
> >> also comes with baggage. I'm not 100% certain where to start, but I do
> >> agree
> >> that if we don't discuss something to maintain the unity of this group,
> >> there's significant risk for all of us as space owners, catalysts, and
> >> coworkers as things continue to evolve.
>
> >> Does anyone have experience moderating large group phone calls? One idea
> >> that I've had (and I've heard from others as well) would
> >> be some sort of scheduled call between coworking space owners is in order
> >> as
> >> a starting point. The same thing could be replicated across the other
> >> factions/roles (catalysts, coworkers, etc), and then we can start to cross
> >> pollenate.
>
> >> I think that right now this group is too large with too many independent
> >> agendas to be a productive, focused working environment, and it makes sense
> >> to fragment a bit in order to gain some order.
>
> >> My response, like Christopher's original post, clearly isn't fully baked.
> >> I did want to express that I'd read and agree with some of the concepts,
> >> and
> >> strongly disagree with others.
>
> >> What I'd like to see is that before we do ANYTHING, a very finite mission
> >> is crafted that we're working towards, that we can refer back to when
> >> things
> >> (inevitably) get off track. That way, if what we're doing/discussing ever
> >> goes against the mission, we have the ability to keep each other in check
> >> and either re-orient, or agree to recreate the mission.
>
> >> Remember, that mission is NOT the same as the definition of coworking.
>
> >> That's my .02 and a starting point I'd like to offer. Given that myself,
> >> Tara, and Tony will be sharing close quarters for the next couple of weeks
> >> (and visiting a lot of coworking spaces across the country as we embark
> >> tonight on Whuffaoke), I imagine by the end of our journey something will
> >> begin to crystalize.
>
> >> Thanks for igniting this conversation, Chris. I'm fascinated to see where
> >> it takes us.
>
> >> -Alex, IndyHall
>
> >> --
> >> -----
> >> --
> >> -----
> >> Alex Hillman
> >> im always developing something
> >> digital: [email protected]
> >> helpful:www.unstick.me
> >> visual:www.dangerouslyawesome.com
> >> local:www.indyhall.org
>
> >> On Wed, Jul 15, 2009 at 8:35 AM, Todd O'Neill <[email protected]>wrote:
>
> >>> I was talking with one of our drop in visitors yesterday and he asked
> >>> if there were any coworking locations in his city (Madison Wisconsin).
> >>> I explained that he could go to the wiki and do a search (which I did
> >>> for him; Madison-- when will you be up and running?). I also mentioned
> >>> there had been work on a Google map listing of coworking locations
> >>> around the world but the development on it was dormant.
>
> >>> And that's how we started discussing similar concepts to Chris'
> >>> proposal for federated coworking. I explained that to date the
> >>> coworking movement has been grass roots, enabled by online and social
> >>> media. And that, in my opinion, there needed to be some organizing in
> >>> order to move efforts like the Google Map or the Coworking Visa
> >>> forward unless some "heroes" come forward to make those and others
> >>> efforts happen. I've worked in volunteer and professional associations
> >>> for a loonngg time. Heroic action can get things done. And the
> >>> disappearance of the heroic actor(s) can cause the great activity to
> >>> end (the Google Map.) Our visitor comes from the slow food, community
> >>> agriculture movement. He totally got the challenge we face to organize
> >>> disparate local communities into one cohesive whole.
>
> >>> This forum is a great place to learn from early leaders and exchange
> >>> ideas. It is a great organizing entity. I am indebted to everyone here
> >>> for what I've learned. (And likewise guilty about not sharing as much
> >>> as I have learned.)
>
> >>> Each of our individual coworking locations have more in common than
> >>> are different. What makes us unique is how we take the common elements
> >>> and utilize them in and for our communities.
>
> >>> As an international coworking community we may have reached the
> >>> tipping point where there needs to be some organization, adhoc or
> >>> otherwise. Federation is a nice starting term. And rather than invent
> >>> how this is organized I'm sure we can look to other grassroots
> >>> movements (food policy, transportation, etc.) about how they
> >>> "formalized" their "association" between their local community groups.
>
> >>> Chris, I will vote for your session to be sure. But SXSW does not have
> >>> to be the only organizing platform. I have some ideas I'm working on
> >>> in that respect. More later.
>
> >>> Cheers!
>
> >>> Todd O'neill
> >>> Partner, C4 Workspace
> >>> San Antonio, Texas- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
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