Thanks for commenting, Susan! I wasn't keeping a close eye on the group and missed Alex's original announcement. Just signed up to help with categorizing!
Really looking forward to the evolution of this group, Alex. GREAT work!! Jess On Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 4:32:54 PM UTC-4, Susan Dorsch wrote: > > Hi again! > > Working mom alert here – spending an hour organizing old conversations > into new categories was absolutely perfect for my brain power today. It's > simple, easy work that not only made me feel like I was actually doing > something, but it brought me back into some awesome conversations from the > Google Group (soon-to-be) of Yore. > > *Looking for a quick and easy way to be of service to the global coworking > community? Look no further.* Alex has made it easy as pie to chip in. DO > IT. > > <3 > S > > PS - hi again, everyone. I've missed y'all and I also don't know so many > of you. I look forward to being a bit more reconnected as we shift over to > the new platform! > __ > Office Nomads > officenomads.com > > > > On Mon, Mar 11, 2019 at 11:50 AM Susan Dorsch <[email protected] > <javascript:>> wrote: > >> Huge, HUGE thanks for getting this ball rolling, Alex. It's so exciting! >> Just signed myself up to help out. I hope everyone else does too! >> >> S >> >> __ >> Office Nomads >> officenomads.com >> >> >> On Sat, Mar 9, 2019 at 4:09 PM Alex Hillman <[email protected] >> <javascript:>> wrote: >> >>> Quick update - I would like to specifically invite/encourage more women >>> and POC to get involved in this initiative from the start! >>> >>> If you're on the fence about signing up, I promise the commitment is >>> very low and the potential for impact is very high. :) Have questions or >>> concerns? Drop me a note offline: [email protected] <javascript:> >>> >>> -Alex >>> >>> On Saturday, March 9, 2019 at 11:57:13 AM UTC-5, Alex Hillman wrote: >>>> >>>> Hello friends! >>>> >>>> *This is a long post for a Saturday, but it's one I'm very excited to >>>> share with you and I hope you'll take the time to read completely. * >>>> >>>> The Coworking Google Group is a very special place for many people, >>>> myself included. By the numbers alone, it's one of the largest communities >>>> in the world for aspiring and current coworking operators, staff, >>>> researchers, and more with 8000+ registered users. This group's archives >>>> contain over 6000 threads (and tens of thousands of comments) that contain >>>> over 13 years of coworking knowledge, history, friendships, stories, and >>>> successes. >>>> >>>> When you think about the reach and power of this community, it's >>>> awe-inspiring. >>>> >>>> Soon, Google is making some changes to the the platform that powers >>>> this group. This particular round of changes aren't a problem for >>>> us....but >>>> it does make me cautious about trusting Google to host our community in >>>> the >>>> long term. If they can make sweeping changes - or worse, shut down this >>>> *free* product - our community is at risk. And that's saying nothing >>>> of the shortcomings of the tool itself. >>>> >>>> *So I've been doing a lot of research and testing.* The biggest >>>> challenge is that I don't just want to move to another "new" community >>>> platform - I wanted to move ALL of the historical content to something >>>> that >>>> is measurably better, and that we can control (so we don't have to worry >>>> about a company changing their minds or direction with little warning). I >>>> also want to keep the platform email-based, which allows for much wider >>>> and >>>> easier participation. >>>> >>>> And maybe, just maybe, one that doesn't make money by harvesting all of >>>> our data? ;) >>>> >>>> Tall order, I know. >>>> >>>> *Well, I did it.* I found an option that fits the bill, and makes it >>>> possible to IMPROVE the "google group" resource in several measurable >>>> ways, >>>> and amazingly we can do this without losing any functionality we're used >>>> to. It's an open source tool called Discourse. >>>> >>>> And while it *looks* like a forum on the website, but I was able to >>>> adjust the settings to enable the email-based experience just like the >>>> Google Group. >>>> >>>> *Best of all - I was able to migrate the ENTIRE historical archive of >>>> discussions and comments to the new platform. 100% preserved (and with >>>> much >>>> better tools to search the archive!)* >>>> >>>> [image: Global Coworking Forum 2019-03-09 11-17-31.png] >>>> >>>> Among it's unique strengths, Discourse includes the ability to set up >>>> categories and subcategories, keeping our conversations more organized and >>>> making it easier for new people to find the valuable threads they need. >>>> You >>>> can even set your email preferences for SPECIFIC categories, muting the >>>> topics you care less about and subscribing to topics you're most >>>> interested >>>> in. Smart weekly digests can help you know what's going on without having >>>> to read every message. >>>> >>>> These more nuanced opt-in/opt-out settings mean we can create NEW areas >>>> of discussion that this single-channel Google Group was never good for: >>>> eg. >>>> language-specific channels for communities that prefer to communicate in >>>> their native languages, or specific channels where vendors can help people >>>> in our community without spamming everyone. >>>> >>>> And honestly, this is just the beginning :) >>>> >>>> *I'm especially proud that this new site, like the Google Group and >>>> other Open Coworking resources, will always remain free and open.* I'm >>>> working with the Open Coworking team (Tony and Jeannine) to figure out how >>>> to make sure the nominal infrastructure costs will covered for the long >>>> term. >>>> >>>> *The Migration Plan* >>>> >>>> Over the next couple of months (maybe weeks? depends on how much help >>>> we get!) I am going to actively "mirror" all new google group activity to >>>> the new platform and getting it ready for open registration. So nothing >>>> needs to change here - business as usual until we set a date to officially >>>> close the google group and redirect all traffic to the new site. >>>> >>>> *But to finish the move, I need some help from you. * >>>> >>>> Before we open registration to the public, I want to recruit ~50 or so >>>> pilot members who would like to help finish getting the new group platform >>>> ready. There are settings to test, categories to organize, copywriting, >>>> etc. >>>> >>>> Maybe most importantly, I'd like volunteers willing to help categorize >>>> and organize the 6000+ historical discussions. The process itself is >>>> fairly >>>> simple - I did around 100 threads in less than an hour myself, so many >>>> hands will make light work. We'll need to tweak categories and >>>> subcategories along the way, too. >>>> >>>> Also, going forward I'm looking for volunteers to help with onboarding >>>> new members to the group + help me manage the group. >>>> >>>> *Exciting, right? *:) >>>> >>>> My goal is to make this entire process as seamless and transparent and >>>> inclusive as possible, so I'm going to start with this relatively small >>>> pilot group but we will work in a public channel of the new Discourse >>>> site, >>>> for anyone who wants to observe the process. >>>> >>>> Depending on participation and progress, my goal is to invite more >>>> batches of people on a regular basis (probably weekly) and enable a fully >>>> open registration as soon as we've worked out the majority of the kinks. >>>> >>>> *Wanna get signed up early and help get things set up?* >>>> >>>> 👉 Fill out this quick form here: >>>> https://airtable.com/shrGJPE4ZRlNf131d >>>> >>>> *Note: the MOST important part is making sure that you put the correct >>>> email address in - this will help link your account on the new site to >>>> your >>>> past posts. * >>>> >>>> This early setup process is fairly manual, so please be patient while I >>>> process the applications. If you fill out the form, I promise you will >>>> hear >>>> from me (or someone on the team). >>>> >>>> I'm sure you can tell, I'm extremely excited about this next chapter >>>> for the epic resource we are all a part of, and how this effort will >>>> enable/empower more coworking operators, staff, and of course thier >>>> coworking members to succeed. >>>> >>>> Yours in community, >>>> >>>> -Alex >>>> >>>> -- >>> 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] <javascript:>. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> >> -- 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.
