Right, think of the group as less of a centralized authority and more as an overlay that potentially connects the spaces. The Starfish and the Spider is a decent first read, but it's also useful to read about terrorist and insurgent networks, since they're also using this sort of distributed structure. Also, there's a great recent report on the future of cloud computing (reviewed here: http://spinuzzi.blogspot.com/2009/05/reading-identity-in-age-of-cloud.html) that discusses how tech trends are pushing organizations to be more distributed.
Although the association may not be so positive, you might think of this unifying organization as less like the Congressional Congress, more like al-Qaeda. That is, its function would be to find shared goals and enable reciprocal connections, not to centralize decision- making or authority. That model would probably work better for coworking, since coworking spaces are so radically different. Our two active CW spaces in Austin, for instance, are radically different in terms of atmosphere, clientele, mission, and even their relationship with capitalism. But they do find common ground in the ideas of autonomy and flexibility that underlie coworking. I like the idea of the panel a lot, as long as it can be an open-ended discussion. I'd attend it! For what it's worth, I've proposed a panel too, but it's about distributed work in Austin, with coworking as one component. Will circulate the title when it comes up on the Panel Picker. CS --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
