To spark a few emotions at the beginning, I like to look at the currently largest social network “Facebook”. By closer examination you find out, that it is already run to a large extent by the users. The obvious one: Content. I guess no discussion on that one. Another example: Support. According to a german site http://allfacebook.de/allgemeines/facebook-kontakt-support , it is not possible for Facebook to provide a contact form or direct email support. The explanation: With 750 million free users, the company could not finance such a service. Well, what is the solution? People have to collaborate and support each other :-)) I leave it at that as an introduction because this article is not really about Facebook, it is about “Free Coworking” and the way Coworkers can connect on a common platform!
On launching the “Free Coworking” Skill Sharing Tool, I notice a reaction by many people that has something, for one, to do with the Apple Analogy I described in another article http://www.coworking-news.de/2012/02/free-coworking-a-free-apple-analogy/. If you get a service offered for free (like the free apple), people will automatically think, here is someone who wants to use me to further his business. To make matters worth we live in a time of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. People are fascinated by a “winner takes it all” culture. I guess many people think why should they support “a simple idea” which potentially could bring large benefit to one or a small number of people. An idea which is so obvious and in my believe the “core” idea of coworking. Collaboration on a common platform. In practice, up to now (in “paid coworking”), this platform is a coworking space and not a virtual network. In that sense, “no danger” of the “Next Facebook”. But when it comes to a virtual coworking platform potentially with a global relevance, many people, I believe, think “Facebook”, “Money”, “Power”. Facebook by the way, is a very good example to show how (a kind of) social capital (Social Media and User Content) attracts financial capital. But Facebook is not a platform for collaboration, it is a platform of expression. I developed this idea in the article (How to transform coworking from expression to collaboration) http://www.coworking-news.de/2012/01/how-to-transform-coworking-from-expression-to-collaboration/. We now need a common platform, based on our own infrastructure, to collaborate otherwise coworking will not evolve. Coworking would remain something about a cheap flexible office where people go to work by themselves drinking coffee and having a chat. To me, what coworking is really about, is collaboration on a common platform, a platform that is physical and virtual. These virtual platforms do not exist or did not work up to now, because I believe many people fear a “Facebook for Coworkers” in which they do not have a stake. To me, that makes perfect sense but I think as cultural creatives http://www.coworking-news.de/2012/02/enjoy-this-film-think-different-engage-in-free-coworking/, it is easy to change that. Now I like to come to the second point: Developing and owning of a social network. Facebook, for example, will never be owned by its users, because it is a corporate company. Going public will not change that because financial institutions and profit maximisation will always control Facebook. “Free Coworking” should be different and I invite everybody to become an owner and developer of it. To make this ownership effective I suggest a first mechanism that might be new to many people. I call it “democracy by consensus” or “decision by consensus”. As far as I know there is no English term for it yet. Based on the ideas of Georg Paulus, Siegfried Schrotta and Erich Visotschnig “Systemisches Konsensieren“.http://www.sk-prinzip.eu/unterstuetzung/literatur.html? view=article&article=189 The concept is quite simple. Democracy (a little bit like “paid coworking”) is the best system we have come up with, up to now, to promote freedom, individual rights and a more peaceful society. What many though do not know is that our democratic system (by design) is by no means perfect. The paradox is that the older a democracy gets the bigger the social divide between rich and poor becomes. This holds true for all western democracies except Japan, but this is just a little aside. The important aspect is that democracy still produces winners and losers. Why is that a problem of the democratic system of today? Because we believe that taking decisions by majority is the best we can do. That is a mistake! Think about it. A group of 100 People want to decide how they are going to spend the holiday together. The options: Going to the beach or climbing. 51 vote for Climbing, 49 vote for the beach. According to classic democratic thinking we have now the best possible solution. Everybody goes climbing now. It is the will of the majority. In real terms we might have produced 51 winners and 49 losers. Not a good start for this particular holiday group. “Decision by consensus” would take a different approach to finding the most acceptable solution for everybody. Instead of counting only the fors and against something, one introduces a scoring system which looks at “Percentage Points” that are against a particular option. These points are also called “Resistance Points”. Everybody presents their individual “Resistance Score”. You then look at the largest “Resistance Scores” for example 90 to 100%, which would translate into something like “completely” unacceptable option for that person. Now there is a chance to optimize the final outcome for the whole group. By finding out that one person or more, for example, have a problem to walk in the mountains, have fear of heights, suffer from mountain sickness etc. you have identified a problem that could be solved. You might want to add further options (like considering a beach holiday resort which offers also climbing facilities), or you find out that there are many people that voted for the mountains before but in fact have very little resistance to the beach option. Back to “Free Coworking”, by running the “Free Coworking Group” and all its tools like “Skill Sharing” on the principle of ”Decision by Consensus”, everybody has a stake and automatic ownership/control. All relevant decisions will be prepared using the “Decision by Consensus” method. Everybody who is interested can get involved and should get involved! Voting on a global scale can then follow, by using the normal voting procedure. This system actually works for our society as a whole. We just have to choose to adopt it. To recap, “Free Coworking” is not the “Next Facebook”, because it is based on different principles and has a completely different purpose. The principles are collaboration, “decision by consensus” and transparency. The purpose is to support collaboration by an infrastructure developed, run and owned by its users. I guess, enough ideas for today. Support “Free Coworking” by spreading the word, starting your local campaign http://www.coworking-news.de/2012/02/coworkers-unite-you-have-to-say-that-you-want-coworking-for-free/, by developing new tools for all coworkers in line with the principles and purpose set out above. Discuss and develop these ideas on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/329893250367925/, the Google Coworking Group etc. And most importantly enjoy coworking! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. 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