J.C.'s post does point to what I take to be the greatest loss for this discussion group: that it is almost devoid of participation from people who cowork and don't also have some deeper connection to the movement. But I suppose that's the nature of the beast? Is there *ongoing* value in a coworking discussion group for *members* of coworking spaces?
My sense is we'd all benefit from getting greater input/perspective from that side of the coworking world (the member side), though I'm not sure that side would benefit from taking the time to give it. I do wonder if there's some tweak we could do as a community here that would make this list more diverse in terms of who can get benefit from being on here so that coworkers too could participate and add their perspective and also feel as though they're getting value from doing so? On Monday, January 19, 2015 at 2:22:25 PM UTC+1, Will Bennis, Locus Workspace wrote: > > Hi J.C.: > > I'm sure there are people out there who share your need and would want to > cowork with you over the Internet and for whom a physical coworking space > isn't the solution. Unfortunately, I don't think this list is the best > place to find those people. As you might have gathered from the replies, > most of the people active on this list are coworking space proprietors or > are otherwise invested in the coworking space industry or the coworking > movement. That's not by design. In my opinion it's just by virtue of what > has kept a consistent group actively interested in discussing *coworking*. > > Anyone know of a good non-affiliated discussion list where "coworkers", or > people seeking to be coworkers, congregate? My guess--J.C.--is that you'd > be better posting this question on some group where digital nomads, > location-independent professionals, freelancers, home workers, teleworkers, > etc., congregate. But I don't know where that is (or if those groups suffer > from the same trait of hosting primarily people who build their careers > around that topic, rather than the participants in those activities > themselves). > > I'd love to hear others' suggestions for where to find this niche. Or > J.C., if you find a place to post this inquiry that brings you success, I'd > love to hear where you found it. > > Best, > Will > > On Monday, January 19, 2015 at 10:23:56 AM UTC+1, Jeannine wrote: >> >> We are workinig towards this as a community, the impulse came mostly when >> we shifted form one space to 2. The secopnd space is a sort of a daughter >> location, which has options the original space simply did not have. (I >> know th espace isn't supposed to matter. But when the webshop has taken up >> all the tables with inventory and packing materials, or the importer is >> sending home machines on pallets which have to be put somewhere, it starts >> to matter. A lot. lol) >> >> It isn't quite mature yet, but it has been a really interesting ride so >> far. >> >> For a Euro-development, the newest initiative/proposal we are discussing >> is to stop with the discussion group thing altogether and move to Whatsapp >> groups for this function. Not sure how that will go, but I guess I will >> know in a couple of months. >> >> Cheers, >> >> Jeannine >> On Monday, January 19, 2015 at 3:26:47 AM UTC+1, Alex Hillman wrote: >>> >>> Hey J.C., >>> >>> I’m honestly not sure why people are getting all fussy about this, it >>> seems to me like your goals are totally reasonable to accomplish. >>> >>> I don’t get the sense that you’re trying to avoid a coworking >>> space…maybe you’ve even tried it but because you’re often on the phone it >>> didn’t work out. >>> >>> The #1 problem that coworking solves is loneliness (which it sounds like >>> you’re dealing with), and there’s more than one way to skin that cat. :) >>> >>> *Two anecdotes of encouragement for you, JC:* >>> >>> 1) completely separate from the coworking space that I founded, I run >>> what could easily be considered a virtual coworking community. In fact, >>> here’s an excerpt from the page that people see when they sign up: >>> >>> The members of this particular community pay more than most of the >>> members of the coworking space - quite happily. :) >>> >>> 2) Indy Hall’s “virtual” coworking community might look like an add-on >>> to the coworking space, but we treat our discussion list & chat room as >>> full fledged places to gather in the same ways you’ve described. There’s >>> banter and motivation and support. We do Photoshop Fridays (you don’t need >>> to be good at photoshop, trust me) and swap music videos on Youtube, help >>> each other with problems ranging from technical to business to DIY home >>> improvement projects, planning lunch & trips.... >>> >>> Are these interactions a complete replacement for the coworking space? >>> No! Of course not. >>> >>> But for: >>> * the people who like you, JC, have a constraint that keeps them from >>> working in the coworking space... >>> * the people who have jobs that *require* them to be at another office, >>> full of coworkers that they DON’T enjoy talking with... >>> * and the people who have a whole host of other reasons that physically >>> relocating themselves just isn’t practical, but WANT to be a part of a >>> community of likeminded people who they’re happy to call their coworkers... >>> >>> we’re really proud of what we’re able to offer, and the members really >>> love having a way to contribute to the energy of the community from >>> wherever they are. >>> >>> I wrote a bit on this list ( >>> https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/coworking/CFsjTAEPP2g/oRegOZbfIPYJ >>> ) >>> last year about how we launched an online community membership to focus >>> even more on opening the “door" to people want a community of coworkers but >>> can’t use the space often or ever. >>> >>> -Alex >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> ------------------ >>> *The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.* >>> Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com >>> Listen to the podcast: http://listen.coworkingweekly.com >>> >>> >>> On Friday, Jan 16, 2015 at 6:08 PM, J.C. Amaya <[email protected]>, >>> wrote: >>> >>>> Hey all! My name is JC and I do phone sales out of my apartment but am >>>> finding it kind of difficult to stay focused. I'm usually pretty >>>> disciplined in the office but at home by myself it's way too easy to get >>>> distracted and goof around, especially since my job is commission only so >>>> there's no one to get on my case when I slack off. What I'd like to do is >>>> get together with a few other professionals and create a regular google >>>> hang out for people who work from home but want to sort of recreate the >>>> office environment. A little banter, a little motivation and support. This >>>> would probably work best with others who cold call from home but I'm open >>>> to working with anyone who's interested. If anyone is interested in trying >>>> it out, shoot me an email. >>>> >>>> [email protected] >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com >>>> --- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "Coworking" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an email to [email protected]. >>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> >>> -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
