Jonathan, I caution against any form of standardization. I know it makes it easier for the software, but this is a community of individuals that can't even decide on the definition of coworking. We each know it in our hearts, and that is enough. I'm trying to summarize quickly for the sake of fitting this into an email but that right there is a crucial factor in how this community sticks together. It's a subtle nuance that can be really difficult to wrap your head around but it's critically important. That might sound like something that is difficult to work with but it is also really easy to make solutions with this in mind if you don't try to fight it. Our current tools, the google group and the wiki page, are all-inclusive and neutral and no one has to conform to any standard to participate. I've spent a lot of time studying why these tools work for us, despite all the drawbacks people love to debate.
Again, it's really tricky for me to explain this via email and I look forward to talking about this more over beers in Austin. Am I just being cryptic here or does this make sense to people? Anyone care to paraphrase what I'm trying to get at here? Jacob --- Office Nomads - Individuality without Isolation http://www.officenomads.com - (206) 323-6500 On Sat, Feb 26, 2011 at 4:12 PM, Jonathan Yankovich < [email protected]> wrote: > Hi All, > > I'm working on adding more metadata to coworkingregistry.org and one of > the things we identified was having rates information for various membership > levels. Now, I KNOW that each facility has different membership levels that > offer different levels of service, access, etc, but for the purposes of > standardization and communication, I'd like to identify some common > membership levels. > > Currently, when I look at most spaces' web sites, I see the following > levels: > > 1) Drop-In - A one-day pass to work while the space is open, like a 9-5 > Hotdesk member but for one day. (No storage.) > > 2) Hotdesk 9-5 - Access to a desk/chair/resources every day that the > space has open hours. No key. Bring your laptop, take it when you leave. > "Leave no trace" coworking, unless a project locker is provided. > > 3) Hotdesk 24/7 - Access to a desk/chair/resources as well as a > key/card/code so you can access the space whenever you want. > > 4) Permadesk - Your own established desk with whatever storage is > provided. Commonly you might leave a laptop or desktop computer at your > desk. Permadesk generally includes 24/7 access (key/card/code). > > There are generally higher "tenant" or "anchor tenant" types of members, > but these are usually custom/contract relationships and not something that > needs advertising. It might be valuable to have a "Looking for anchor > tenant" option on coworkingregistry, but saying more than that is probably > not necessary. > > So what does everyone think of these 4 general levels of membership? > > Are these good names, or are there better names for these things? Do these > names translate well into other languages? > > Remember that the exact offering will vary from space to space in terms of > the hours of availability, additional amenities, access to meetup/conference > room spaces, and so on. I dont propose that we try to agree on those, or > get spaces to change what they offer. What I'm trying to establish is a few > general/base levels of membership that we can use to talk about membership > across spaces in a general way. For example, everyone generally knows what > a day-pass or drop-in is. Does this make sense? > > See you in Austin, > > -- > -Jonathan Yankovich @tronathan > Community Advocate, Madison Coworking > Preferred contact: > 1. skype: jonathanyankovich > 2. twitter: tronathan > 3. gtalk/email: [email protected] > 4. phone: (608) 513 2012 > more info: http://coworkingregistry.org > more info: http://madisoncoworking.com > please follow @tronathan @coworkregistry @coworkmadison > > -- > 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. > > -- 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.
