To add: I don't think that what coworking is has much to do with the profitability or lack thereof of a space. Making a living is important, and creating a business that can survive and thrive is important, but there are so many ways to skin that cat that I don't think it's worth bickering about whether or not spaces should look towards profits or not.
Also I meant intertwined in that middle paragraph. INTERtwined. :) Typing faster than I'm thinking over here in Seattle... S __ Office Nomads officenomads.com 206-484-5859 On Wed, Apr 4, 2012 at 3:11 PM, Susan Evans <[email protected]> wrote: > Thank you thank you thank you, Tony. So well said, and rings true for me > in many ways. > > This connects quite well to the fact that I always try to steer people > away from describing coworking as a "service" to be provided to folks. A > service implies simplicity, a start and a finish, and the relationship > between service provider and consumer to be more separate than intwined. > > Coworking is not a service. It is complicated, ongoing, and invites the > intertwining of relationships as opposed to the separation of such. > > I love love love these conversations and hope that they spark folks > elsewhere to examine the how and the why of coworking in their lives. > > Awesome stuff, folks. > > Susan > > __ > Office Nomads > officenomads.com > 206-484-5859 > > > > On Wed, Apr 4, 2012 at 3:04 PM, Tony Bacigalupo <[email protected]> wrote: > >> *So while many spaces sound like "true" coworking, they are still the >>> minority. What can we do to fix this?* >> >> >> We fix this by not thinking of coworking as a static thing that needs >> defending but by focusing on the deeper, more meaningful concept that is >> driving coworking. >> >> If you think of coworking as a movement, then its purpose for existence, >> by definition, is to change the status quo. It also means that it, like all >> movements, has a finite life cycle. Coworking, the movement, compels >> existing institutions like office rental businesses to change how they do >> things. In that sense, that's exactly what is happening now. >> >> But what we're talking about goes far deeper than that. If all coworking >> did was create a world in which anyone anywhere could find a local >> community of people to work alongside and collaborate with, whether by way >> of small community space or large workspace provider, that would be >> awesome. >> >> But to stop there would betray the far deeper and more important shift >> that is taking place. >> >> When Brad Neuberg invented >> Coworking<http://codinginparadise.org/weblog/2005/08/coworking-community-for-developers-who.html>, >> with >> a capital "C", he envisioned a more complete support system for people who >> were otherwise on their own. They maintained a mutual schedule of business >> hours, went to lunch together, and did group activities. It wasn't located >> in an office facility; it was in a wellness center. >> >> In other words, it was about far more than workspace from the outset. >> >> A lot of what he pioneered was ahead of its time, but at the core of it >> is the need for us to think of this as a completely new framework for >> servicing the needs of a workforce that has total control over how, where, >> when, and why they work. That's really different from the workforce that >> the rest of the world is used to accommodating. The world is used to >> serving the needs of a workforce that commutes, works regular business >> hours, has a hierarchical employment system, regular paychecks, paid >> vacations, and all sorts of other constructs. Those things just don't fit >> the needs of these new folks anymore, and Coworking is the beginning of a >> solution. >> >> But it's only the beginning. For coworking communities to distinguish >> themselves as something obviously different from renting office space, we >> have to continuously strive to find new ways to better serve that new >> workforce. >> >> The fact that Benjamin and Derek and others have distanced themselves >> from "coworking" is a wake-up call. If we ("who's we?") are to continue to >> compel the attention, respect, admiration, awe, and participation of a >> world of people for whom the old ways don't work, we have to continue to >> work hard to earn it by aspiring to better fulfill those deeper needs, and >> by continuing to bring this future to light. >> >> Keeping the perception of the word "coworking" centered on this deeper >> concept is important and it merits healthy discussion, but we only have so >> much control over that-- and, ultimately, it's just a shortcut. >> >> What we're really talking about is work as we know it, and what it will >> look like when we change it. >> >> Tony Bacigalupo >> --- >> New Work City >> Site <http://nwc.co/> | Twitter <http://twitter.com/nwc> | >> Newsletter<http://nwc.co/newsletter> >> >> >> >> On Wed, Apr 4, 2012 at 4:52 PM, Jerome Chang <[email protected]>wrote: >> >>> Is making a profit for a business necessarily bad for the coworking >>> community? >>> Coworking has brought about great ways to collaborate, and to create >>> community. Those kinds of intangible ideals will obviously manifest in >>> many different ways. I don't think there is one "true" coworking, nor two >>> or three, just as there is no one "true" art. >>> >>> >>> Jerome >>> ______________ >>> BLANKSPACES >>> "work FOR yourself, not BY yourself" >>> >>> www.blankspaces.com >>> ph: 323.330.9505 | 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los >>> Angeles, CA 90036 >>> >>> On Apr 4, 2012, at 12:02 PM, Derek Neighbors wrote: >>> >>> Beth, >>> >>> As someone who also has distanced themselves from "coworking" I can >>> sympathize. Coworking as a fad has become largely about space owners >>> trying to make money running their "coworking business" and/or propagating >>> corporations are evil and freelancer nation will rule the world. All of >>> these things make building community more difficult in the long run. >>> >>> I think the initial incarnation of coworking was very much about >>> community, but it became a victim of its own success and now a days its >>> hard to distinguish most coworking spaces from shared office groups like >>> Regus other than more modern layout/furniture. >>> >>> I think that Alex at IndyHall, Tony at NewWorkCity and the good folks at >>> Office Nomads have made a great push in the last two years to try to get >>> things centered back around community and many others have stepped up and >>> started to turn the ship. >>> >>> So while many spaces sound like "true" coworking, they are still the >>> minority. What can we do to fix this? >>> >>> -- >>> Derek Neighbors >>> Gangplank >>> >>> On Wed, Apr 4, 2012 at 9:49 AM, Beth Buczynski <[email protected]>wrote: >>> >>>> I'm confused...Benjamin goes to such great lengths to say that Grind >>>> isn't a coworking space because it's not "an incubator or an >>>> accelerator" and that the "chairs, the tables, the real-estate, >>>> renting a seat or a desk are secondary to constructing a strong >>>> community." That sounds EXACTLY like true coworking to me! While >>>> coworking spaces can act like incubators, the spaces that exist purely >>>> to facilitate this aren't necessarily committed to the community >>>> aspects that set coworking apart from every other type of work space. >>>> On a related but unrelated note, Grind's pop-up coworking space during >>>> SxSW was really great. Anyone else check it out? >>>> >>>> Beth >>>> @gonecoworking >>>> >>>> On Apr 3, 8:07 pm, David Singer <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> > David Judson, the proprietor ofwww.mystartstory.com-- long form >>>> > interview of founders of starups has included two piorneering >>>> > coworking/collaborative workspace founders in his series: Benjamin >>>> > Dyett, founder of Grind [www.grindspaces.com] and Jenifer Ross, >>>> > Founder of W@tercooler [www.watercoolerhub.com]. I highly recommend >>>> > these reads -- both of these individuals have inspired me to do a deep >>>> > dive into exploring coworking on multiple levels. The links to the >>>> > interviews are here: >>>> > >>>> > Benjamin Dyett: http://mystartstory.com/benjamin-dyett/ >>>> > >>>> > Jenifer Ross: http://mystartstory.com/jenifer-ross/ >>>> > >>>> > David A. Singerwww.twitter.com/davidasinger >>>> >>>> -- >>>> 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. >>> >> >> -- >> 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. 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