I don't disagree with him, though I think the fact that it was 1) written two years ago and 2) written by someone who has never been near a coworking space does show. His hopeful analysis of the Ultimate Apartment Complex is I think a bit of wishful thinking; why anyone would wish for that is unclear to me but to avoid a multipage discussion let me just say that I do not believe that a large number of people want to live like that. Creating a model of living which people by definition want to leave as soon as they can is not what I am about.
The second half of this sentence "To go mainstream, the movement will need to build irony, self-satire, pragmatism and an element of cultural agnosticism into its brand, while continuing to make catalysis of microcultures of work its differentiator." I do agree with, the first half is just a little self puffery. I do think it has to be hyperlocal communities with global connectivity. I also agree with this: "We need a multi-cuisine menu of coworking microcultures that includes Joe-the-Plumber hangouts on the other end of the spectrum, and a lot of varieties in between. Throw in hard- drinking sales types, worldly-wise middle-manager (or “general contractor” in the free agent world) types, and so forth, and you have a lot of such populations to cater to." Though the hard drinking sales types of yesteryear are a dying breed, I do recall a time when a lost weekend with the team was just a normal part of a marketing campaign so I know what he means. Makerspaces are amoung the most interesting things it has been my pleasure to look at in a long time and I hope they penetrate the free trades market, though the practical issues around community are not trivial. I am curious about what is meant by mainstream, myself. How much more mainstream are we supposed to get? How will we know when we get there? Jeannine On Mar 7, 7:01 am, CoCoMSP <[email protected]> wrote: > Hey gang, I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone who's coming > out for the unconference in Austin. > > I wanted to point out a blog post that might be worth discussing > online or at the event, or both. I'm curious to hear what thoughts > other folks might have. > > This blog post, onhttp://ribbonfarm.com, is perhaps the best analysis > of the coworking movement I've ever run across. And notably it's by > someone who hasn't even been to a coworking space. (Forgive me if this > has been covered on the group in the past. That might've been before > my time!) > > A quote from the post: > > "Dig beyond this surface value proposition though, and there is a > very definite philosophy at work within the movement. A philosophy > anchored by an uneasy mix of primary-colored, bubblgum communitarian > values, economic bets, and ideas about the business of making a living > and living a life. The philosophy has a lot of potential, but also > some limiting self-perceptions which could end up being fatal flaws. > Can it cross the chasm, and go from being a marginal counter-cultural > trend to a mainstream model of work? At the moment, I would offer 3:1 > odds against, barring some critical re-engineering of the movement’s > DNA." > > That last line is very interesting and is what I believe many of us > are working on: perhaps not re-engineering, but at least massaging the > DNA of coworking in order to create a profitable business (or, if > you're not focused on filthy lucre, creating a sustainable site). > > Another phrase that jumps out at me is "mainstream model of work." I > am very curious about whether/how/when coworking, or some genetic > mutation of it, will become a mainstream phenomenon – and what the > coworking ecosystem will look like once that happens. > > Here's the > post:http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/04/15/coworking-im-outta-here-by-jones... > > So, what do you think? > > Cheers, > > Don Ball > CoCo coworking and collaborative space > St. Paul, MN -- 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.
