Uh, this sounds like a CoworkCamp is in the making. I get that many folks attend SXSW but do all 200 catalysts or founders attend? We need to be open to the idea that coworking is moving beyond the IT, Web, Design community.
So we need a place for about 100 people in an affordable, cheap to fly to, warmish weather location. How about counter programming to SXSW and hold it in the early Fall? With Texas' coworking space growth in the past year I nominate the Republic as a suitable location. Dallas is easy to get to from anywhere. San Antonio is pretty nice in October! :-) Austin is... well, you know, wierd. I had bounced this idea around to the Texan spaces late last summer but got too busy to follow up. I was even thinking of a mini-camp on Saturday afternoon at SXSW prior to the Meetup. We could take the idea out for a test drive. NOW I'm getting juiced up for SXSW! See many of you soon! Todd O'Neill Catalyst/Partner C4 Workspace San Antonio Texas On Feb 4, 1:09 pm, CollegeMoneyMan <[email protected]> wrote: > I added something to a wiki agenda that would be helpful to those of > us considering formally starting a co-working environment; namely > marketing information understanding local demographics. My friends and > I are eager to learn more about the marketing dimension of co- > working. > > Regards > > JR > > On Feb 3, 9:30 pm, rachel young <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > I think an annual coworking conference is a great idea, something dedicated > > to coworking, not tacked on to another event. Something where we could focus > > on coworking and community issues, meet each other, see one another's cities > > and spaces. I'm in! > > > There would have to be a lot of value to it in order to bring these already > > busy and stretched folks our of their spaces for a few days, though, > > something that could leverage our buying power for, I dunno, office > > furniture or health care benefits or travel discounts or something. > > Something where we can not only have those providers/suppliers sponsor the > > event to offset costs, but to provide real value that would be worth > > traveling for. > > > I've been involved in a few organisations that are spread across multiple > > timezones or parts of the world, and they have decided on location in > > similar fashions, which is basically that host cities post their proposals > > and the community votes on where it should be, perhaps one vote per > > coworking facility. We can build in assurance that it won't always be in the > > same cities or parts of the country all the time so that people in, say, the > > west coast don't alwyas have to travel to the east coast. (ie, establish > > general zones and ensure the annual event rotates between zones) > > > Anyway, I think it is certainly worth exploring, and being an event planner > > I am all for it. > > > I put your suggested starting topics onto a wiki page > > (http://coworking.pbworks.com/Coworking-Conference), which I think would be > > better to collaborate from there. I do think that this would take some time > > to plan out properly (and give folks some time to save up some money), so if > > you were thinking of escaping the winter conditions in the next few months, > > then perhaps sxswi is your better option for this year. > > r. > > > -- > > rachel young > > [email protected] > > (416) 801-0196 > > > Find us in person: > > Camaraderie > > 102 Adelaide St E, 2nd Floor > > > Find us online: > > camaraderie.ca/blog > > twitter.com/camaraderie > > > <http://groups.google.com/group/coworking/t/85443a86ec7592c2> > > > Woodie Neiss <[email protected]> Jan 30 09:49AM -0500 > > > Anyone want to get together for the first International Coworking > > Community Annual Meeting in ummm let’s say a warm, sunny place like > > Miami? > > Sort of a one day event where we could discuss best practices, set some > > protocols for future coworking locations and formally organize ourselves > > so > > that we can leverage our combined power? > > > Suggested topics to discuss (feel free to edit/add to/delete/etc) > > > 1) Keys to success > > > a. pricing > > > b. Serivices to offer > > > 2) Managing the bottom line > > > a. Financing the start up > > > b. Negotiating lease agreements > > > c. Managing monthly expenses > > > 3) Marketing & PR > > > a. Building awareness > > > b. How to generate more buzz > > > c. The power of meet-ups > > > d. Leveraging your chamber of commerce > > > 4) Creative suggestions from some of our winning locations > > > 5) How to formally organize ourselves into an International organization > > > Perhaps we could all complete some surveys prior, and then present the > > results at the meeting as well? > > > Regards, > > Woodie -- 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.
