I'm dipping my toes into what seems a river of conversation here, but hope I can make a brief contribution. 1. I second everything Ryan said, especially the Starfish and the Spider and the AA example in particular.
2. I maintain that "coworking" is a concept that we all subscribe to, and any physical organization around that concept is simply our attempt to make the intangible tangible. To that end, it is just about impossible to create any "official" constructs in relation to the coworking movement from the "center" or the "top", since there isn't one. At this point, the movement is largely out of the hands of event the folks who got it started in the first place... because it represents something bigger. My point is, if you want to start something coworking-related, go for it-- but it's best to think of it as an independent project that supports coworking but does not purport to be an authority on the subject. The Coworking Visa project is a good example of this. It's opt-in, and doesn't rely on anything but the cooperation of whoever wants in. So I'll +1 for keeping it simple and not trying to make it more than it has to be. Start with what is reasonable and avoid the things that are going to take weeks & months to figure out unless absolutely necessary. And rock on! Cheers, Tony, on the road with Whuffaoke! ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------- *New Work City - Coworking NYC style.* *Phone:* (888) 823-3494 *Email:* [email protected] *Web:* http://nwcny.com *Twitter:* http://twitter.com/nwc On Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 5:59 AM, Ryan Price <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hello everyone. I'd like to point to a few external examples that can > help lend some structure (or lack thereof) to this discussion. > > Firstly, anyone participating in this thread who has not yet read The > Starfish and the Spider should go and do so now... I'll wait. The > audio version is only 5.5 hours long... It really nails the "federated > yet united" idea - the story about Alcoholics Anonymous' attempts to > centralize should be a very telling case study. > > Second, I suggest you take a look at what the folks at Fractured Atlas > have already conjured up. RE: Health Insurance and centralized > services that don't get in your way. They are an association that > provides support services for artists and arts groups. > > In their home state of New York, they have a few health care options > available, and in most other states, they just default to Aetna with 3 > pre-selected plans. They also do liablility insurance if, for example, > you need to run a big event. > http://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/healthcare/ > > Fractured Altas can also act as a non-profit surrogate if you need > 501c3 status, but you may only need it one-time, or don't have your > status yet. They even work with the person donating the money and make > sure you are using it for the activity you promised. Accountability++ > > The other things they provide are clearly demarcated on their site, > but among them are access to training (mostly online, like tips for > running your business, much like Indy Hall's videos), discounts on > software and resources, a social networking site, and a few other > things. At the same time, there are several social networking sites > for artists, they don't claim to be canonical, they just want to > provide for their members. > http://www.fracturedatlas.org/ > > The organization is VERY lightweight. I think they have 10 people in > the office at most, but they are serving a national member base. They > don't try to make policy decisions or tell artists how to run their > business, or give them a cohesive mission. That is up to each > individual. > > My point is to not think too hard about this - take the Akim's Razor > approach. What is the absolute minimum required to create a connection > between coworking spaces who opt in to the federated plan? What are a > few things that can be done to reduce duplicate efforts? > > People who tend to create movements - space catalysts - often feel > that they are the only person in the universe who has had the idea - > how do we make those people feel welcome and unique in the face of a > national / international body with membership dues and rules and... > and... and... and... > > Then there is the obvious bike shed problem, which is why the > discussions about an "official" coworking social networking site tend > to be so circular. It's hard to get all these people to agree on the > right way to create something - let alone a bank. > > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking/browse_thread/thread/3d1b2cfa56ad7033/a93945fd2f65dc6b?lnk=gst&q=website#a93945fd2f65dc6b > http://www.bikeshed.com/ > > I'm not claiming to be infallible over here, I get really excited > about the possibility of making life easier for other people who are > fighting the same battle, and I start thinking the big thoughts all > the time. > > My question would be "How can we make the Visa program something so > amazing that it ends up spawning this organization by its very > existence?" i.e. will there reach a point that Visa is centralized, > and we are able to use that as a thread to tie the rest of this stuff > together? Visa is the one thing most everyone seems to be able to > agree on, aside from the core values. So maybe that's where this > discussion should start. > > Peace, > Ryan Price > CoLab Orlando > Orlando, FL > [email protected] > @liberatr > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
