I love the distinction between bonding and bridging capital. Thanks for that.
On Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 10:16 AM, Alex Hillman <[email protected] > wrote: > I haven't heard the words "social capital" on this list in a long time, > it's good to have them back. One of my favorite topics, with a big hat tip > to Tara Hunt & Chris Messina for my introduction to this in the olden days > of coworking. > > I love Trek's simple equation, it's one I personally live by as well and > has done well for me. In coworking, it manifests in lots of other ways, > too. One thing we actively work on at Indy Hall is making sure it's a place > to DO work, not a place to GET work. Not to say that people can't find or > get work within a coworking space - in fact we all know it happens and > happens a lot. But members who show up with the express desire, or worse, > the express NEED for work, tend to find less of what they want. It's like > trying to withdraw from a new bank account that you haven't made a deposit > into yet. > > It's the people who contribute before they take (make a deposit before a > withdrawl) that get the most. > > Teach a skill. Share a lunch conversation. Recommend a book or article. > Simple stuff pays back 10-fold. This is the kind of stuff that Angel > mentions, and why it's not only so much more fun but why it makes a richer > experience. > > All of that said, within social capital, there are also two kinds to > consider and balance: *bridging* capital and *bonding* capital. > > Bridging social capital is accumulated between heterogeneous groups, and > bonding social capital is accumulated between homogeneous groups. > > There *are* negative consequences of *too* much *bonding* capital: > > - exclusion of outsiders > - burdons imposed on group members > - increased pressure to "fit in" > - a trend towards lowest common denominator social norms > > Basically? Cool kids clubs are their own worst enemies, and many coworking > spaces have the same problem. > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBWpWSKjTbU > > Luckily the antidote is simple: balance bonding capital with bridging > capital. > > Think of it like diversifying investments. You (and your members) want to > diversify your social capital across the coworking space and it's members - > but actively encouraging people to invest their social capital in other > neighboring groups as well is often overlooked. > > Protip: this practice can start long before you open a coworking space - > and if put into practice on this list by more people, would make it a > better place for everyone!. :) > > -Alex > > /ah > indyhall.org > coworking in philadelphia > > > On Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 9:47 AM, Tom Brandt <[email protected]> wrote: > >> At Workantile it took us a while to get what we say during tours >> perfected, but we have learned to tell people right off the bat that we are >> membership organization of independent and remote workers, and then go on >> to explain the social and community aspects of Workantile. if someone says >> the word "rent", we cut them off almost immediately because that word is a >> clue that the don't quite get what it is. Our retention rate has improved >> significantly since we started explaining what Workantile is correctly >> right off the bat, because people looking for something else don't join. >> >> One of the concepts my colleague Trek Glowacki emphasizes is "social >> capital" and "social debt". You accumulate social capital by contributing >> to the community and social debt by detracting from it. If your social debt >> exceeds your social capital, you are probably not worth retaining as a >> member. Most of our members have built up huge amounts of social capital, >> so we are in a good place there. >> >> On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 6:26 PM, Angel Kwiatkowski <[email protected] >> > wrote: >> >>> I'm such a huge fan of letting members do the implementing when they >>> have ideas that go beyond basic infrastructure. Here are some recent >>> things they've asked me and my responses... >>> "we want to do a swap meet at Cohere, is that okay with you?" >>> ----"yes, I love it, just reserve the conference room for the date/ >>> time you want to do it" >>> "we think it would be neat to have 4 community bikes that people could >>> check out"----"me too, go for it!" >>> "I really want a towel rack in the new bathroom"----"I will install >>> that today" >>> >>> :) >>> >>> On Jan 26, 4:07 pm, Susan Evans <[email protected]> wrote: >>> > That guy sounds like he'd make an *awesome* community cultivator at the >>> > coworking space he opens up. I hope he gets inspired to build something >>> > better!* >>> > >>> > *that is my favorite part about the simplicity and fluidity of >>> coworking. >>> > Can't find a space that suits you? Create your own, or get yer Jelly >>> on! >>> > __ >>> > Office Nomads >>> > officenomads.com >>> > 206-484-5859 >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 3:00 PM, Tony Bacigalupo <[email protected]> wrote: >>> > > > Which will be fine, because for every person with a "how can you >>> serve >>> > > me?" >>> > > > mentality who leaves, we usually get two with a mindset of "what >>> can I >>> > > > do for the community?" >>> > >>> > > [Tiny Tower analogy redacted] >>> > >>> > > Bingo, the challenge is how to set expectations differently for the >>> next >>> > > people who walk in the door. Is it a matter of some people just >>> being a bad >>> > > fit, or an opportunity to improve the onboarding process? >>> > >>> > > > -- >>> > > > 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. >>> >>> -- >>> 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. >>> >>> >> >> >> -- >> twb >> member, Workantile Exchange <http://workantileexchange.com/> >> >> -- >> 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. > -- twb member, Workantile Exchange <http://workantileexchange.com/> -- 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.
