I think this is a catch 22, in the context of media at definitely but also in terms of sales:
Any familiar word is unlikely to catch the attention of the media, in comparison to a new word that requires some explanation. On the other hand, it becomes up to the interviewee to be good at describing what it is to the interviewer, and hope that things don't get lost in translation. Personally, I appreciate having the prompt of "what is that?" to explain what we do, because the response is most often "That's awesome! I need that/know someone who would love that/do you know of a thing like that near me!?" Learn your elevator pitch, practice it, love it. Evolve it. Mine looks something like, "It's like a clubhouse for anyone who doesn't have their own office...or periodically needs to get out of theirs. If you normally work from home, cafes, or libraries, you might want to try coworking [at Indy Hall]. You get to work next to smart, interesting, creative people from more industries than you can imagine." It doesn't explain everything, but it sets up prompts for more conversation and dialogue, tailored to that person. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 9:56 AM, Will Bennis, Locus Workspace < [email protected]> wrote: > Hi all, > > In a LinkedIn coworking group that I'm in (maybe it's "the" LinkedIn > coworking group? :), someone posted the following discussion question: > > "...[w]e are discovering that the term coworking is causing > confusion.Which simple phrases have you found to effectively relate > coworking,especially in print media?" > > I thought it was worth opening that question up to this group as I've > run into this same problem and still don't have a good solution. The > confusion I've experienced comes from the fact that coworking is so > similar (in meaning and spelling) to co-worker. If I say I have a > coworking space to someone who isn't already familiar with the > concept, their immediate reaction is often to assume that it's > something to do with a place for co-workers, and though perhaps > curious about what that could possibly be, it's not something they > think they're looking for (even if coworking is exactly what they're > looking for). > > Anyone have a nice pithy phrase (or phrases) that they think really > communicate the core idea? > > Thanks! > > Will > > -- > 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]<coworking%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. > > -- 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.
