I think the "open/closed" part might be summarized as:
"Open decision-making: sets explicit, transparent, public limits on who
can be a member and how they can participate; does not have implicit or
hidden rules or processes for determining or excluding potential members."
That still leaves some room for the processes to be various degrees of
transparency, but would exclude a place that says, "We let some people work
here but we don't tell you how we choose who gets in."
It would include a place that says, "Tech-only," or a place that says, "You
must meet these criteria to work here." It would include a place that says
"Submit your application and we'll get back to you soon." as long as the
criteria are transparent. By transparent, that might be defined as "someone
who guesses if they'll be able to become a member or not, will be right
almost all of the time." There can be transparent discrimination against
industries or work styles, and that would be "open" under this definition.
It would exclude a place that says, "Please send 3 references of former
employers/co-workers" without saying what criteria is being looked for
when the references will be called.
It would not include a "curated membership" if how the curation process
worked wasn't transparent, but it could if it was transparent.
All of these are actual examples of places I've seen.
What do you think?
Alex
--
Alex Linsker
Collective Agency's Community Organizer / Proprietor
(503) 517-6900 http://collectiveagency.co
Tax and Conversation's Statewide Community Organizer
(503) 517-6904 taxandconversation.com
(503) 369-9174 mobile (503) 517-6901 fax
322 NW Sixth Ave, Suite 200, Portland, Oregon 97209
On Monday, September 22, 2014 4:48:15 AM UTC-7, Ramon Suarez wrote:
>
> Based on your responses I've got this:
>
>
> -
>
> Calls itself a coworking space.
> -
>
> Has a fully dedicated space for coworking (not just a few hours or a
> cafeteria shared with patrons).
> -
>
> Has an active community of members, not just clients.
> -
>
> Has a facilitator dedicated to connect the members and build trust
> among them, engaging in activities to build the coworking community.
> -
>
> Treats coworkers as 1st class clients.
> -
>
> Promotes and encourages collaboration, interaction and serendipity.
> - Offers one or many kinds of membership (full or part time)
>
> I did not know how to phrase the open/closed part.
>
> What would you add, remove, change? Be specific :)
>
> Ramon Suarez
> Serendipity Accelerator, Betacowork
> Author: http://coworkinghandbook.com
> email & hangouts: [email protected] <javascript:>
> Phone: +3227376769
> GSM: +32497556284
> Twitter:http://twitter.com/ramonsuarez
> Skype: ramonsuarez
> Try coworking: http://betacowork.com
>
> <http://betacowork.com/free-coworking-tryout/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=468x60_banner&utm_content=girl-home&utm_campaign=ramon-signature>
>
> On Fri, Sep 19, 2014 at 5:29 PM, Ramon Suarez <[email protected]
> <javascript:>> wrote:
>
>> Jon, I do as you do. They are members of a community and at the same time
>> they are clients. They pay for a service, not only for belonging.
>>
>> Ramon Suarez
>> Serendipity Accelerator, Betacowork
>> Author: http://coworkinghandbook.com
>> email & hangouts: [email protected] <javascript:>
>> Phone: +3227376769
>> GSM: +32497556284
>> Twitter:http://twitter.com/ramonsuarez
>> Skype: ramonsuarez
>> Try coworking: http://betacowork.com
>>
>> <http://betacowork.com/free-coworking-tryout/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=468x60_banner&utm_content=girl-home&utm_campaign=ramon-signature>
>>
>> On Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 11:58 AM, Jon Stever, The Office RW <
>> [email protected] <javascript:>> wrote:
>>
>>> Re: "clients" vs. "members".
>>>
>>> I would definitely agree on the philosophical distinction.
>>> Essentially,it's trying to tease out whether the space exists to build a
>>> community ("members") or to earn a margin on real estate ("clients"). This
>>> is an important dichotomy, but it's also strictly false as we all exist on
>>> a sliding scale between these two extremes.
>>>
>>> I don't think we want to start to see "client" as a dirty word...at a
>>> nice restaurant the clients will be on a first-name basis with staff, have
>>> a special table, regular meal selections, and even Christmas cards in the
>>> mail (and may even be called "patrons" to distinguish the relationship),
>>> while at McDonald's "clients" are a mass of impersonal and transactional
>>> relationships.
>>>
>>> I find myself slipping interchangeably between terms when talking about The
>>> Office <http://theoffice.rw>, because as a coworking space manager and
>>> business manager I have to think both in terms of building and
>>> strengthening our community ("membership") and in terms of making the
>>> numbers work and communicating with potential partners and investors
>>> ("clients"). When I'm thinking in terms of investment and expansion, I
>>> intellectual categorize "members" as "clients"...this is often
>>> sub-conscious and I used to even feel ashamed when I realized that I had
>>> done it, but I wonder if this is really such a horrible thing. Because,
>>> when I think about why I do what I do and the people I work with and for, I
>>> think of "friends" and "members"...
>>>
>>> What do you think?
>>>
>>> - Jon
>>>
>>> On Friday, 12 September 2014 13:15:23 UTC+2, Alex Hillman wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> In my opinion a coworking space -- being a *community* of coworkers
>>>>> -- always calls and treats its coworkers *members*.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I like this one a lot!!
>>>>
>>>> -Alex
>>>>
>>> --
>>> Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com
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>>
>>
>
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