I think your group is screaming for uniformity, but should develop on your own. I recently presented Frank of ABCN a mindmap of the industry. email me and I can send
On Feb 8, 6:23 am, Jerome Chang <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi - see below. > > Jerome > ______________ > BLANKSPACES > "work wide open" > c > www.blankspaces.com > 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) > Los Angeles, CA 90036 > 323.330.9505 (office) > > On Feb 7, 2010, at 8:13 PM, Mike Schinkel wrote: > > > On Feb 7, 2010, at 8:06 PM, Jerome Chang wrote: > >> I have been collaborating with the head of ABCN already. That org > >> is a global network of exec centers. Coworking technically falls > >> under a niche within biz centers and I've just proposed to ABCN to > >> create a new, separate group. We utilize their experience with > >> alliances and therefore their infrastructure. > > >> Any thoughts or serious objections? > > > My own bias would be to move in our own direction because we'll > > likely disrupt their member's business models and it would be better > > for us to be purely coworking rather than based on a legacy > > organization. But again, my bias. > > If ABCN even agrees, I would ensure that we have autonomy, as the biz > centers are fascinated by coworking and think we're the "hottest" > trend now. ABCN has a lot to learn about us, and for example, might > even be able to assign resources to us to organize said nat'l > conference without our investing in too many resources ourselves. > > > > > On Feb 7, 2010, at 9:49 PM, rachel young wrote: > >> Well, my first few thoughts were: > >> 1. Do you mean an actual legal entity that is an association or co- > >> operative, or more of an unofficial collective? > > > Not sure. Probably needs to be a legal entity because someone > > somewhere has to take the money, sign up for the facility, pay the > > vendors, etc. But the less heavy it can be the better IMO. > > Everyone, please note that the above requirement for a legal entity > clearly shows the start-up nature of this org, which means a TON of > time and resources. This is why I thought piggybacking on an existing > org would be easiest for us. > > > > >> 2. Regardless of whether it is a traditional or modern concept, > >> what about the rest of us that are not in the USA? There are so > >> many restrictions for such organisations that would be great for > >> americans (or just canadians if it were a canadian co-op, or just > >> british if in england, etc) but useless for the rest of us. > > > What restrictions do you refer to? > > ditto. Anyone have any experience with this? I know that ABCN is > int'l. > > > > > > >> So, if something were to exist, we could only participate if it was > >> structured as an international association. > > > I'm not sure I understand the specific distinction between an > > international association and one that is not. If it states it's > > mission to be international, is that not enough? > > >> 3. This would also cost money. If the cost of a conference is an > >> issue, then additional dues, fees, etc would also be an issue, even > >> if they went exclusively to conference costs. > > > What specific expenses do you envision prior to collecting > > sponsorships? Legal fees? Can probably get that handled pro- > > bono. Other? > > >> I do, however, like the idea of some sort of association, if it > >> were international, and I do love the idea of the association (or > >> co-op, or whatever) being the organisation that runs the conference. > > > :) > > > BTW, I'm just brainstorming and might be way off base on some of > > these thoughts and ideas. > > > -Mike > > > On Feb 7, 2010, at 9:49 PM, rachel young wrote: > > >> Well, my first few thoughts were: > >> 1. Do you mean an actual legal entity that is an association or co- > >> operative, or more of an unofficial collective? > > >> 2. Regardless of whether it is a traditional or modern concept, > >> what about the rest of us that are not in the USA? There are so > >> many restrictions for such organisations that would be great for > >> americans (or just canadians if it were a canadian co-op, or just > >> british if in england, etc) but useless for the rest of us. So, if > >> something were to exist, we could only participate if it was > >> structured as an international association. > > >> 3. This would also cost money. If the cost of a conference is an > >> issue, then additional dues, fees, etc would also be an issue, even > >> if they went exclusively to conference costs. > > >> I do, however, like the idea of some sort of association, if it > >> were international, and I do love the idea of the association (or > >> co-op, or whatever) being the organisation that runs the conference. > >> r. > > >> On 7 February 2010 20:06, Jerome Chang <[email protected]> > >> wrote: > >> Oh. Traditional is fine. I just thought having much further > >> discussion about a co-op would be reinventingte wheel. From what > >> I've seen, we have two related proposals: > >> 1. National org/network/co-op > >> 2. National conference > > >> Forming #1 would assign the people/resources toward creating #1 and > >> at the same time, create add'l discussions/collaborations/benefits > >> throughout the year regardless of the conference. > > >> I have been collaborating with the head of ABCN already. That org > >> is a global network of exec centers. Coworking technically falls > >> under a niche within biz centers and I've just proposed to ABCN to > >> create a new, separate group. We utilize their experience with > >> alliances and therefore their infrastructure. > > >> Any thoughts or serious objections? > > >> Jerome > > >> On Feb 7, 2010, at 4:13 PM, Mike Schinkel <[email protected] > >> > wrote: > > >>>> Sounds like a "traditional" alliance or org that services all > >>>> coworking facilities. Members pitch in a monthly/yearly amount > >>>> to an org that returns them benefits, etc. > > >>> So, do you think "traditional" is good or bad? > > >>> -Mike > > >>> On Feb 7, 2010, at 4:16 PM, Jerome Chang wrote: > > >>>> Sounds like a "traditional" alliance or org that services all > >>>> coworking facilities. Members pitch in a monthly/yearly amount > >>>> to an org that returns them benefits, etc. > > >>>> ______________ > >>>> 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 Feb 7, 2010, at 7:44 AM, Mike Schinkel wrote: > > >>>>> Hi all, > > >>>>> The first thing I thought about when I saw this topic come > >>>>> through was "Great, yet another expense on top of all the other > >>>>> expenses we have." > > >>>>> As some of you know we operate Ignition Alley mostly as a > >>>>> service to our local startup and freelance community and much > >>>>> less to generate a profit. Attending a conference means > >>>>> probably $1000+ in travel expenses and that is not attractive. > > >>>>> But then I thought "This need not be like commercial > >>>>> conferences, it could be in run like coworking itself as a > >>>>> collaborative for the benefit of those who participate and not > >>>>> as a way for someone to make money." So at a very high level > >>>>> I'd like to propose the following without having worked out all > >>>>> the details: > > >>>>> -- Create a coworking facility co-op > >>>>> -- Each facility that wants to can participate in the co-op > >>>>> -- The co-op runs the conference > >>>>> -- Co-op members work to get sponsors > >>>>> -- The co-op markets to economic development agencies, chambers > >>>>> of commerce, and major corporations[1] for paid attendance > >>>>> -- Co-op members get their cut of the profits which help them > >>>>> pay to attend the event > > >>>>> Thoughts? > > >>>>> -Mike Schinkel > >>>>> Ignition Alley Atlanta Coworking > >>>>>http://ignitionalley.com > > >>>>> [1] Major corporations are starting to look to the coworking > >>>>> model to be greener in facility use and to maximize worker/space > >>>>> density to cut costs. > > >>>>> On Feb 3, 2010, at 10:30 PM, rachel young 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 > > ... > > read more » -- 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]. 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