Re: [Coworking] My #coworking contribution, in 4 parts!
Happy International Coworking Day! Thanks for everyone's help, support, and ear over the years. Matthew Wettergreen Cofounder, Caroline Collective — Sent from Mailbox for iPhone On Fri, Aug 9, 2013 at 8:34 AM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: Happy Int'l Coworking Day, Y'all! I wanted to make this year's Coworking Day a little bit like Christmas (or Hanukkah) in July. So with the help of some friends, I've put together a 4-part care package. http://betterwork.co/coworkingday/ *One of the four parts is time sensitive*...so I wouldn't wait to check this out ;) -Alex -- /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia -- 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 coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- 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 coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
Re: [Coworking] Nonprofit status
/d/msg/coworking/-/kC1oUJGExcgJ. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- twb member, Workantile http://workantile.com/ @twbrandt -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. 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 coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organprinter -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
[Coworking] Coverage of Coworking in Good Magazine
Hi Everyone, Didn't see that this was posted and thought I'd share. Congrats to CoCo and all the partners in LEXC on the coverage: http://www.good.is/post/how-big-business-are-using-coworking-spaces/ Can any other spaces report on how many members are employees of larger companies? Regards, Matthew -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organprinter -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
Re: [Coworking] Re: C4 Workspace Is Closing
Todd, Just wanted to say that I enjoyed being able to talk about coworking and the similarities between SA and Houston. I hope that the last few years were a ride full of education and growth for the community and yourself. Looking forward to running into you in the near future. Matthew On Mon, Sep 26, 2011 at 4:19 PM, Todd O'Neill t...@c4workspace.com wrote: I have to say Thanks! to everyone in the coworking community; friends, acquaintances and strangers alike; for your public and private messages of support. You're the best! p.s. Oh, that spell corrected cowering space message was classic! Cheers! Todd O'Neill Chance Favors the Connected Mind Catalyst - C4 Workspace http://c4workspace.com/ Organizer - TEDxSanAntonio http://tedxsanantonio.com/ FaceBook: C4 Workspace http://www.facebook.com/c4workspace | Twitter: c4workspace http://www.twitter.com/c4workspace -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organprinter -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
Re: [Coworking] Member Communications Wordle
did you pull any additional stop words from this? On Wed, Jul 27, 2011 at 9:35 PM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.comwrote: Inspired by Angel's sharing of the attendance stats, I wanted to share something a little different We've been using basecamp for our primary member communinications since Early 2008, when email alone started to fall apart. I thought it'd be fun to do an export of nearly 4 years of online member communication, clean up the cruft, and make a word cloud! I used Wordle to make an illustration of the top 200 words used in member communication. It's pretty, and awesome. That's pretty awesome. http://cl.ly/04023D1i0K2s0c0n0p0s [image: Wordle%20Applet.jpg] /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organprinter -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
Re: [Coworking] Team Project - Coworking - Graduate Program - Feedback needed
Leena, Happy to hear of some more Houston peeps interested in coworking. We could definitely show you around Caroline Collective, talk about other models, and point you in the direction of some other folks that would be helpful. Regards, Matthew On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 3:53 PM, Leena ewa...@gmail.com wrote: Hey guys! I'm hoping someone can help me. I'm currently in grad school and working on a project for my final course. My team and I must create a business plan for a non existing start up company. A few months ago we decided on a coworking company in the metro Houston area that focuses on a collaborative style space. We currently are trying to interview a few established coworking companies to get an idea of the viability of the concept. It's just general questions that could help us in our financial forecasting and estimates. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organprinter -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
Re: [Coworking] Re: Event Space
://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 coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. 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 coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organprinter -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
Re: [Coworking] Citizen Space: End of one era, beginning of the next
Tara, Chris, Hilary, everyone at Citizen Space, Thanks for all of your help, support, guidance and vision over the past several years. None of us would be doing as well or be half as inspired without your presence. Matthew Caroline Collective On Fri, Feb 11, 2011 at 2:34 PM, Tara Hunt horsepig...@gmail.com wrote: Mark your calendars for late March as we are going to have the biggest closing party you've ever witnessed. http://www.horsepigcow.com/2011/02/citizen-space-end-of-one-era-beginning-of-the-next/ -- tara 'missrogue' hunt Company: Shwowp (http://www.shwowp.com) Book: The Whuffie Factor ( http://www.horsepigcow.com/book-the-whuffie-factor/) Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing Uncommon (http://horsepigcow.com) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/missrogue phone: 514-679-2951 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organprinter -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
Re: [Coworking] CityVue - A new coworking venture in Northwest Houston
Michael, Thanks for letting the group know about your new space, congratulations! There are more than enough independents and creatives in the Houston to support multiple coworking spaces, welcome to the club. As you begin to find your community and hone in on a space, please make sure that you keep the group abreast of your progress. There's a wealth of information and many experts here who can help prevent missteps and get you launched. Let me know if you'd like to meet up and discuss coworking in Houston and check out Caroline Collective. We're all happy to meet other coworking crusaders like yourself. Regards, Matthew Wettergreen Caroline Collective carolinecollective.cc On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 3:41 PM, Michael Anderson jans...@gmail.com wrote: Hey everyone! I am the latest in what seems to be the unending stream of posts about new spaces in development. I see this as a good thing :) I hope we can be a space that is a strong entry into the successful category! We have been developing our vision for our space over the last 3 months and have now just begun our market research and community development phase. Currently, we have very little traction on this, but we are encouraged by an overall positive response from people we speak to about the idea in our part of town. Our vision is to develop a coworking space in the northwest side of Houston because there is nothing like it in that area. There is ample amounts of folks that are creative, artistic, and independent in this area, but are often masked by the suburban nature of the area. It is just so inexpensive to live up there, that many do and then make the terrible trip into town down Highway 290 during traffic times. We want to help people rescue their time and also provide a space for people to creative and collaborate. Website: http://www.cityvuehou.com Twitter: CityVueHou Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/City-Vue/133602373373926 Please check us out and let me know if you have any questions/advice/ jokes I need to hear. If anyone in Houston wants more information, make sure to email us! We are going to start to organize some coworking/jelly/programming events soon. Also, we are planning on coming to the unconference at SXSW next month, so looking forward to meeting you guys and listening to your sage advice. Thanks, Michael Anderson CityVue -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organprinter -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
Re: [Coworking] Introduction
Michael, It's always exciting to hear about people in Houston who are thinking about starting their own spaces. We will show you around and get you started on the process. Regards, Matthew On Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 6:01 PM, Michael Anderson jans...@gmail.com wrote: Hey everyone, My name is Michael Anderson and I live in Houston, TX. I came across the concept of coworking in the last week and my mind has been exploded information over the past few days. I am looking forward to offering some space within the next year or so, but I have just begun my research. I am looking forward to collaborating with others in this industry and look forward to getting to know some of you as I begin my foray into this field. I will be visiting Caroline Collective this week during the day, so please let me know if you reside there and I would love to say hi. Thanks! Michael -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to cowork...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.comcoworking%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com . For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organprinter -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to cowork...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
Re: [Coworking] If you dream it, you can have it
speaking of worth the wait, we're holding out for a TARDIS replica. On Tue, Mar 30, 2010 at 9:34 PM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.comwrote: $600, plus $100 for renting the UHaul and associated moving goodies. /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Tue, Mar 30, 2010 at 7:24 PM, Tara Hunt horsepig...@gmail.com wrote: That is frigging fantastic! I'm drooling! Do you mind sharing what you paid? typed choppily on my Nexus One On Mar 30, 2010 10:15 PM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: Some of you may have seen this on Twitter, but I thought it'd be fun to share here too. We've long had a very practical problem of the fact that Indy Hall just isn't designed for people who spend all day on the phone. Which is fine, people can work around that...but ultimately you need to take or make a call once in a while! We've got a few conference rooms, social spaces, and even our balcony where people step out to take a call that's more than a few minutes. In our current space, we've even set up a couple of makeshift phone booths in closets and bathrooms that people reserve for conference calls. But...me being me...I've always wanted a real phone booth. Now, I did a fair amount of calling around to see if we could score one of the old 90's Verizon booths, since they scrapped all of them in the early 2000's, I figured they' end up in a junk yard somewhere in New Jersey. But nobody at Verizon could locate that junk yard for me. Luckily, there's Craigslist. Having mentioned on more than one occasion my obsession with a phone booth, one of our members spotted a vintage Bell Telephone booth on Craigslist and sent it to our internal e-mail list. WAY better than those janky metal and plastic Verizon ones, this one was WOOD and GLASS, pressed tin interior, and even the vintage ad still in its sign holder. The price was right, and despite the need to carefully birth the 500+ pound beast from a very narrow basement stairwell it's been sitting in for what was presumably most of its life, she was was worth the wait. Check her out in all her glory: http://twitpic.com/1bcoml With original Bell Telephone decals http://twitpic.com/1bcomm Folding door open, from the side http://twitpic.com/1bcoqh That awesome vintage sign (OMG long distance!? Dial by Number!?) http://twitpic.com/1bcvui And of course, her new home at Indy Hall The moral of the story is: it's always worth the wait. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to cowork...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.comcoworking%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com . 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 cowork...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.comcoworking%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com . 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 cowork...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.comcoworking%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com . For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D Caroline Collective Co-Founder // Co-Director 4820 Caroline st // Houston // TX // 77004 http://carolinecollective.cc Rice University Engineering and Design for Art and Artifact Conservation (EDAAC) Program Director http://edaac.rice.edu e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organprinter -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to cowork...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
Re: [Coworking] Coworking.com, not an org, instead a license
to this movement is key, and I understand his reasoning completely: the success of the movement that contributed groundwork to is a crucial part of his C.V., and when he gets around to his next big idea, it’s important that his attribution in the coworking history books is present. Attribution. Linkbacks. A track record for, and of, sharing. This is all really, really important or else the whole thing risks toppling in on itself. - *What would a coworking license look like?* I’m not totally sure yet. I know I’m not interested in restriction, since that would be entirely counter to the principles of the movement. I’m just looking at little things to help *enforce reciprocity*. Am I interested in policing such a thing? Of course not. But if there’s something on paper, misunderstandings can be dealt with. -- And really, all I want is to help give back even a little piece of what I’ve gotten from this community. As the movement grows, those expectations need to be set forth clearly. -- And since that’s *what we want* with coworking (more people to experiment on the model and link back to their inspirations, as well as provide new inspirations), I think that could be helpful. I know not everyone thinks about giving back, and if you require people to, you’ll always be disappointed. That’s the unfortunate reality. I accept that. I think we’re lucky to be part of a community where the leeching is still the less-common situation. But as the movement grows more and more, the opportunities for exploit increase. -- I didn't push the idea at the time, but was more watching patterns and getting frustrated. Some of those patterns have evolved, and brought us to where we are today. http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2008/06/its-about-giving-back-this-time/ I'd like to offer the idea that's more lightweight than the organizations that have been proposed. The thing we've really been talking about is ironing out the expectations associated with coworking, and largely, tying them back to core values somehow. The problems with organizations are many, and something I'm not interested in debating here. What I'm curious, legitimately curious because I don't have enough knowledge to back up successful or failed models, is the idea of using something like a license to unify us and set expectations. Not like a drivers license, but like a software license. One that encourages sharing, reciprocity, building market value, and ultimately, more knowledge capital along with the word coworking and its associated ideas. The downsides to this, of course, are that software licenses themselves have a bit of a holy war background to them, and that they're complicated to understand. Such is legal. The upside is, it addresses some unity and usage with the word coworking, which we all value enough to have spent the last 3 weeks discussing a domain and its implications on the list. I don't know if this idea has legs, and love to open up the floor for founded discussion. /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to cowork...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.comcoworking%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com . For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D Caroline Collective Co-Founder // Co-Director 4820 Caroline st // Houston // TX // 77004 http://carolinecollective.cc Rice University Engineering and Design for Art and Artifact Conservation (EDAAC) Program Director http://edaac.rice.edu e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organprinter -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to cowork...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
Re: [Coworking] Introduction - Houston Texas
Hey Rich, Welcome to the coworking group. I'm the co-founder of Caroline Collective in Houston (http://carolinecollective.cc); glad to find another person in Houston interested in coworking. If you're in the area stop by Caroline Collective some time. There's another coworking space in the area also, KatyDock (http://katydock.wordpress.com/) Matthew Caroline Collective On Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 12:50 PM, Rich W richwit...@gmail.com wrote: I found the Group from a reference in an Inc. magazine article. Rich Witmer, self-employed business marketing consultant based in NW Houston area. Glad to find a name for what I knew was out there, independent professionals longing for collaboration. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to cowork...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.comcoworking%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com . For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D Caroline Collective Co-Founder // Co-Director 4820 Caroline st // Houston // TX // 77004 http://carolinecollective.cc Rice University Engineering and Design for Art and Artifact Conservation (EDAAC) Program Director http://edaac.rice.edu e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organprinter -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to cowork...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
Re: [Coworking] Community Acquisition of Coworking.com
This is an incredible thing that Alex did by contacting the community members to make sure the domain stays community focused. Thanks Alex. Caroline Collective and myself will contribute $500 for the domain. Matthew Wettergreen Caroline Collective On Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 11:26 AM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: A few days ago, the group received an e-mail from Gerrit at The Coworking Intitute, the owners of coworking.com http://groups.google.com/group/coworking/browse_thread/thread/5e4e84c5ef869ae As he mentioned in the e-mail, he and his partner Bernie were recently approached by a commercial entity with interest in buying coworking.comfrom them. While the offer was one they could not refuse, they agreed to turn to our community first and give us a chance to counter-offer. I've been corresponding with Gerrit on the side and have had a very positive dialogue. We've agreed to a counter offer (which they have accepted) of 5000 Euros, or ~$6800 USD. I've never spent this kind of money on a domain before, so I've spoken with a group of some of the longest-standing contributors to the coworking community to see if I was off my rocker. We've agreed that this is a great opportunity to put a stronger stake in the ground for the brand of coworking, the core values that this list upholds, and a better technique of communicating with people who are just finding our community. What do I think should be done with the domain? *My plan is as follows:* The wiki, blog, and google group will be aliased appropriately from subdomains of the coworking.com domain. Coworking.com will contain a home page explaining those properties and their contents, as well as some curated press links that will be user submitted. Additional ideas are welcome, but this is where I'd like to start! In the last 24 hours, I've kicked off a pledge of $500 from my own pocket (IndyHall still has some debt to pay back from our move last spring and we consider that priority), and have been followed by the following pledges: $500 - Alex Hillman/IndyHall $500 - Tara Hunt/Citizen Space $250 - Felicity Chapman/Cubes Crayons $250 - Steven Heath/AltSpace $1000 - Susan Evans Jacob Sayles/Office Nomads $500 - Chris Messina $500 - Patrick Tanguay/Station C That means we've been pledged $3500, just about halfway to the $7k mark we need (including paypal fees and impending wire fees). That's enough for me to transfer 50% of the asking price to the sellers to begin the transfer to us. Now...what are these contributors getting for their hard earned money? I've come up with a very simple structure to encourage consistent contribution amounts: • *Any contributor of $250* or more will have lifetime (of the domain) access to a subdomain of their choice (http://yourchoice.coworking.com), so long as the content of the subdomain falls within the values of the Coworking Community Manifesto: Community Collaboration Openness Diversity Sustainability see Citizen Space http://citizenspace.us/about/our-philosophy/ and Station-C http://station-c.com/en/community-manifesto for citation of what those values mean • *Any contributor of $500* or more will get a subdomain of their choice as well, and additionally up to 5 email addresses hosted at a Google for your Domain account set up for coworking.com • *Any contributor of $1000* will get a subdomain, 5 e-mail addresses, and a sponsor link in the footer of the coworking.com home page linking to the coworking community/space website of their choice. No single contributor over $1000 will be accepted to give enough fair chances to contributors across the community. *There's no tricks, no scams, no funny business. * Disclosure: I will be maintaining the domain name and its DNS records on behalf of the community until, at some point in the future, there is an entity that supports *this community* that can take over. I will also be donating web hosting, again, until an entity that supports this community takes over. How do you become a contributor? Go to this form: https://indyhall.wufoo.com/forms/help-buy-coworkingcom/ Everything I've outlined in this e-mail is there as well. I look forward to this rallying point for the group, and having a great domain name to continue the growth of this community. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to cowork...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.comcoworking%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com . For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D Caroline Collective Co-Founder // Co-Director 4820 Caroline st // Houston // TX // 77004 http://carolinecollective.cc Rice University Engineering and Design
Re: [Coworking] Interview for Joberu
I'd be happy to provide some answers for you about coworking, I help run Caroline Collective in Houston, TX. Best, Matthew On Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 10:03 PM, Joberu.com eyeore...@gmail.com wrote: I am a blogger for Joberu and I am looking for some individuals to interview for a blog piece about co-working. I would prefer someone who has experience founding a coworking group who would be willing to answer a few questions via email. I am considering turning these into regular features of the blog. My goal is to inspire co-working environments and telecommuting in general in places with smaller local economies that can really benefit from this movement. Thanks in advance! Please email me at eyeore...@gmail.com or hit me up at joberu.com if you are willing to help! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to cowork...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.comcoworking%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com . For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D Caroline Collective Co-Founder // Co-Director 4820 Caroline st // Houston // TX // 77004 http://carolinecollective.cc Rice University Engineering and Design for Art and Artifact Conservation (EDAAC) Program Director http://edaac.rice.edu e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organprinter -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to cowork...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
Re: [Coworking] Leases and landlords
I saw this earlier and earmarked it to revisit, need to finish up holiday cards tonight but I'll explain our arrangement with our landlord tomorrow. Jerome Chang also has an interesting perspective on rent abatement from an earlier post that I'll link to when I circle back. On Tue, Dec 22, 2009 at 4:22 PM, Tara Hunt horsepig...@gmail.com wrote: Also check with Matthew Wettergreen of Caroline Collective...they had a pretty decent early arrangement in ramping up. Tara On Tue, Dec 22, 2009 at 4:26 PM, Mike Pihlman m...@telbitconsulting.comwrote: I have the best landlord in the world. Pure accident that I came here, but, I have gotten such a good deal from him wrt rent, he put ads in a local magazine for all of us in the building, he takes the time to come in and chat, offers encouragement, fixes the little things that go wrong that my handyman skills can't fix, etc etc. I help him with his computer occasionally, take in his oversized mail, let him hold meetings here, etc etc. What he also gets are people coming in his building that normally would not, and he knows that these folks are potential customers once they leave the TVO. It is telling that in these rough times only one office in this building is emptyand I want itcan't get it, butmaybe... Mike On 12/22/2009 1:02 PM, Tom S. wrote: Hi everyone! Has anyone leased their space using a revenue-sharing concept with their landlord or is everyone on a standard term lease? It seems apparent that every coworking space needs some time to get to that break-even point, so instead of getting into too deep of a financial hole, we have thought about offering our landlord a percentage of our revenue. If we reach our max capacity, then we will be able to pay 10% over the current market rent, but at the same time, as we grow to that point, we will not be saddled with a growing amount of debt or dipping into our own wallets as much. It would seem in today's tough market, landlords would be willing to receive something instead of nothing especially if there is an opportunity of extra profit on the other end. Just a thought Tom from Savannah -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to cowork...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.comcoworking%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com . For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- Mike Pihlman TracyVirtualOffice A Coworking Community 95 W. 11th Street, Suite 203 Tracy, CA 95376 Mobile: 209-608-4340 Web: TracyVirtualOffice.com Twitter: @TracyVirtOffice Skype: tracyvirtualoffice1 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to cowork...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.comcoworking%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com . For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- tara 'missrogue' hunt Book: The Whuffie Factor (http://www.thewhuffiefactor.com) Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing Uncommon (http://horsepigcow.com) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/missrogue phone: 514-679-2951 -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D Caroline Collective Co-Founder // Co-Director 4820 Caroline st // Houston // TX // 77004 http://carolinecollective.cc Rice University Engineering and Design for Art and Artifact Conservation (EDAAC) Program Director http://edaac.rice.edu e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organprinter -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to cowork...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
[Coworking] Re: Coworking in Kiev, Ukraine
Congratulations! Please keep us updated on how it goes and the types of members that populate your space. Go Team World Coworking! Matthew Caroline Collective 2009/10/12 Елена Черная helenkie...@gmail.com Coworking Center Golosiivskiy, Ukraine, Kiev - the office is open for joint work in 2009 for businessmen and entrepreneurs, including those who travel to Kiev, as well as all freelancers. At your disposal: part office, a job with furniture and office equipment, a virtual office in Kiev, rooms of negotiations, recreation area, internet. http://kovorking-tsentr-gol.uaprom.net/ -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D Caroline Collective Co-Founder // Co-Director 4820 Caroline st // Houston // TX // 77004 http://carolinecollective.cc Rice University Engineering and Design for Art and Artifact Conservation (EDAAC) Program Director http://edaac.rice.edu e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organprinter --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: What do you carry with you?
Great thread. Here's what I carry on a daily basis: 1. iPhone 2. Notebook 3. Black pen 4. Credit Card 5. Passport 6. Keys Matthew Caroline Collective On Thu, Oct 1, 2009 at 9:42 AM, Diana Thomas xdiana.thom...@gmail.comwrote: Hi, As some of you know I am yet another student intrigued by coworking and doing my thesis on the topic of mobile work. I am in the process of designing a few products for this venture and was wondering what most mobile workers carried with them on a daily basis when you leave the house? Please let me know what you carry with you when you have a chance. I am interested! You can email me directly at diana.freel...@gmail.com (I recently got married, thus the different last name) if you don't wish to share with the entire group. Thanks for your time. Diana http://di-fine.blogspot.com/ -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D Caroline Collective Co-Founder // Co-Director 4820 Caroline st // Houston // TX // 77004 http://carolinecollective.cc Rice University Engineering and Design for Art and Artifact Conservation (EDAAC) Program Director http://edaac.rice.edu e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organprinter --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: What do you carry with you?
Why I carry my passport: You never know when you're going to need to skip the country on a moment's notice. ;) On Mon, Oct 5, 2009 at 11:07 AM, Raul Pacheco hummingbird...@gmail.comwrote: Matthew, Why do you carry your passport? I'd be scared to bring mine along everywhere! Also, note to self - NEVER forget laptop cables. I'm at my office (I am hotdesking at The Network Hub in Vancouver, Canada) and I am power-less. Well, on battery. *sigh* blame it on the Mondays. Best, Raul 2009/10/5 Matthew Wettergreen mwettergr...@gmail.com Great thread. Here's what I carry on a daily basis: 1. iPhone 2. Notebook 3. Black pen 4. Credit Card 5. Passport 6. Keys Matthew Caroline Collective On Thu, Oct 1, 2009 at 9:42 AM, Diana Thomas xdiana.thom...@gmail.comwrote: Hi, As some of you know I am yet another student intrigued by coworking and doing my thesis on the topic of mobile work. I am in the process of designing a few products for this venture and was wondering what most mobile workers carried with them on a daily basis when you leave the house? Please let me know what you carry with you when you have a chance. I am interested! You can email me directly at diana.freel...@gmail.com (I recently got married, thus the different last name) if you don't wish to share with the entire group. Thanks for your time. Diana http://di-fine.blogspot.com/ -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D Caroline Collective Co-Founder // Co-Director 4820 Caroline st // Houston // TX // 77004 http://carolinecollective.cc Rice University Engineering and Design for Art and Artifact Conservation (EDAAC) Program Director http://edaac.rice.edu e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organprinter -- -- Raul Pacheco, PhD. Chief Content Creator, Hummingbird604.com Founder, Pacheco-Vega Consulting and Research Studio My research site can be found here http://www.raulpacheco.org My personal blog is http://hummingbird604.com My office is located at The Network Hub 3rd Floor, 422 Richards Street Vancouver, B.C. V6B 2Z4 Find me online on Twitter Facebook http://www.twitter.com/hummingbird604 http://www.twitter.com/raulpacheco (http://www.facebook.com/drpachecovega) -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D Caroline Collective Co-Founder // Co-Director 4820 Caroline st // Houston // TX // 77004 http://carolinecollective.cc Rice University Engineering and Design for Art and Artifact Conservation (EDAAC) Program Director http://edaac.rice.edu e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organprinter --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Crisis management: One day to the opening and the floor is totally messed up.
Everything that Tony said is brilliant. Those are all good tips that can be applied to multiple problems (current and future) that your coworking space will experience. At Caroline Collective we purposefully sealed but didn't stain our concrete floors so that it gives them a raw look which we feel promotes the idea of creativity. There's even a spot on the concrete where the workers tracked a couple tar footsteps through one hallway. Warts and all we love the floor because of the character. One additional point is that the uniqueness of each space doesn't just imbue character but also identity. That identity can be used as a calling card for each space and also as something that people positively identify with and keep coming back for. Good luck, congrats on your opening and please post pictures for us! Matthew -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D Caroline Collective Co-Founder // Co-Director 4820 Caroline st // Houston // TX // 77004 http://carolinecollective.cc Rice University Engineering and Design for Art and Artifact Conservation (EDAAC) Program Director http://edaac.rice.edu e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organprinter On Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 4:55 PM, Tony Bacigalupo tonybacigal...@gmail.comwrote: Liu, Crisis team assemble! Three ideas: 1. The description actuallysounds kind of artsy and cool, is it purely ulgly or just unprofessional? I hated the concrete floors in my space until I properly realized how much character it gave. 2. Call on volunteers to help you do a low-budget, last minute floor painting job and/or bring rugs. Thus can be a great community-building exercise anyway. 3. Maybe even tie it in with the opening. Bring a clean rug, work that day for free! These are the sort of opportunities that can be turned to your advantage if you reshape the problem into an opportunity for the community to come together and help. Keep us posted and let us know how it goes! Best, Tony On Jun 29, 2009, at 5:26 PM, Liu Yan liuyan.dat...@gmail.com wrote: Tomorrow is our big day and the floor guy called yesterday morning and told us this bad news: the color of our new cement floor is completely messed up. It looks like a child smear the mud all over his face, the wildest pattern design you could ever imagine! It is possible to use this space, I figured, because I remember Dave Troy once told me here don't impress your coworkers with your hardware, but we don't want to scare our coworkers off with our hardware, either! Anybody help me with some tips how to manage these? Big thanks! Liu Yan -- Liu Yan刘妍 (+86) 135 2429 5509 Xindanwei Coworking Playce Xindanwei Coworking China Network @theliuyan @xindanwei http://xindanwei.comhttp://xindanwei.com -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D Caroline Collective Co-Founder // Co-Director 4820 Caroline st // Houston // TX // 77004 http://carolinecollective.cc Rice University Engineering and Design for Art and Artifact Conservation (EDAAC) Program Director http://edaac.rice.edu e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organ_printer --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: New to Group - howdy from London and Jozi
Gareth, Welcome to the list, thanks for introducing yourself! Check out the Wiki for a list of the London coworking spaces, you should definitely be able to find something that fits: http://coworking.pbworks.com/CoworkingLondon Thanks, Matthew -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D Caroline Collective Co-Founder // Co-Director 4820 Caroline st // Houston // TX // 77004 www.carolinecollective.cc e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organ_printer On Thu, Jun 11, 2009 at 6:17 AM, Gareth Knight gareth.kni...@gmail.comwrote: Hi All, First, this is awesome, thanks for getting and keeping this going. Quick intro of myself here: http://www.oneafrikan.com/colophon/ Regards space: I'm keen to find space in London for the short term, setting up space in 6 to 12 months from now. Had an office in Putney where we rented out desks which worked pretty well, but had no idea of this list then. I'm also busy trying to setup space in Johannesburg to start with, so if there are also folks on the list who are looking for space, then please let me know. The more the merrier, and the better the space we can seup. Cool ;-) Regards Gareth gareth.kni...@gmail.com http://www.oneafrikan.com/ UK mobile: +44 (0) 77 66 00 66 56 SA mobile: +27 (0) 72 62 79 21 2 twitter: http://twitter.com/oneafrikan skype: iamoneafrikan chat: oneafri...@hotmail.com | gareth.kni...@gmail.com about: http://www.oneafrikan.com/colophon/ photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/garethknight/sets/ Due to email overload, I subscribe to this policy: http://five.sentenc.es/ -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D Caroline Collective Co-Founder // Co-Director 4820 Caroline st // Houston // TX // 77004 www.carolinecollective.cc e: mwettergr...@gmail.com w: http://matthewwettergreen.com c: 713.825.4613 t: @organ_printer --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Caroline Collective 1st Anniversary
Actually ducking out of the party right now to drop this note... I just wanted to tell everyone on the coworking group how thankful Ned and I are for all of the help, assistance and information that this group has provided over the past year and change. Tonight (now) we are celebrating our one year anniversary with a party at Caroline Collective. The Houston tech, arts and culture community is thrilled to be included and continues to mention how excited they are that Caroline Collective exists and that it continues to provide a service to the community. Without the guidance and assistance of many of you from this group we would not have the direction and strategy to include all the diverse members of the Houston community that call Caroline Collective home.. Thanks, Matthew --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Coworking in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Congrats on the opening! Noticed that you have a coffee kiosk. Multiple spaces have been talking about putting in a coffeeshop, could you talk more about how you're structuring this? Are they renting from you? It's good to see your space including artists and filmmakers. Broadening the concept of community allows you to collectively face the unique challenges that confront all independent workers, not only those in the tech sector. Matthew -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D Visiting Lecturer, Rice University coFounder - Caroline Collective http://carolinecollective.cc cell: 713.825.4613 email: mwettergr...@gmail.com twitter: organ_printer http://matthewwettergreen.com -- On Thu, May 28, 2009 at 7:06 AM, mitten mit...@gmail.com wrote: Hi all! Just a quick note to let you know that Workantile Exchange will be opening in Ann Arbor next week. A lot of work has been poured into the space by lots of people, most notably by founder Mike Kessler, and we're very excited to see the doors finally opening. Website here: http://workantileexchange.com There are some construction pics on the site there now; will likely be updated in the next day or two with more finished stuff. We've been waiting on our tables - they don't arrive til tomorrow. Argh! http://workantileexchange.com/gallery.html WorkEx is a little different from some of the other coworking spaces we've looked at, in that we don't rent desks. It's a general membership structure and is focused on building a community of independent workers of all flavors, not just techies. We have writers and artists and filmmakers, as well as the requisite smattering of web workers, and hope to keep diversity of fields in the general membership. See http://workantileexchange.com/about.html for a more polished explanation. WorkEx also has rentable training space; there's a large room upstairs and several smaller conference rooms. A pair of local coders have been running a Ruby on Rails class in the large space and it's going very well. We haven't worked out all the details on day passes, but they will be available, and we will be honoring the Coworking Visa, should you ever be passing through town. If you need more info on the space or how to join, there's more on the website, as well as a link to apply for membership. Or you can just ask me. :) --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Coworking Baby Born!
Julie, way to go! What's the boy's name? Congratulations on the successful expansion! On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 2:34 PM, Julie soukju...@gmail.com wrote: Gave birth to baby boy last week, joining Felicity - and I'm sure some others out there - who are space owners with kids, or SOWKslol! Julie Duryea http://www.soukllc.com @soukportland 503.517.6900 -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D Visiting Lecturer, Rice University coFounder - Caroline Collective http://carolinecollective.cc cell: 713.825.4613 email: mwettergr...@gmail.com twitter: organ_printer http://matthewwettergreen.com -- --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Space Size
Speaking as someone with one of the largest spaces (until Launchpad opens), an empty room is both an opportunity for growth and a considerable problem from multiple standpoints. We're on a quarter acre lot with two buildings totalling 6,000sqft inside and a couple thousand sqft of usable space outside where people can lounge and work. If we were half the size and just one room without offices we'd have been full awhile ago. Alex and Geoff have the best points from both an economic and social standpoint. A business plan is good for projections but the commitments from community members are what really matters. Keep your business plan in hand but shift your focus to what the community can handle and support. Matthew On Sun, Mar 8, 2009 at 9:47 AM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.comwrote: Our 1800 square feet we lease now was also based on the size of the interest we had before signing a lease, and how much we thought they'd be willing to pay within our proposed membership structure (which was also designed specifically for them). If we'd had more interest, or an infinitely wealthy bunch, maybe we'd have gone with a larger space to accommodate that. But having every desk full is a much better problem to have than having idle desks. Not only are you burning cash, but providing a large but mostly empty room isn't as interesting or appealing from an office socialization standpoint as a well populated smaller room. Problems and dynamics change in both scenarios. But I'm pretty confident which set of problems I'd rather have to find solutions for. If I wanted to work in a big room by myself, I'd stay home. Most importantly, as Geoff said, you can always upgrade to fit your changing needs! Thanks for the kudos on the new hall, as well. -Alex, IndyHall -- - -- - Alex Hillman im always developing something digital: a...@weknowhtml.com helpful: www.unstick.me visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com local: www.indyhall.org On Sun, Mar 8, 2009 at 11:39 AM, Geoff DiMasi ge...@punkave.com wrote: 1800. Start on a size that you can afford. You can always move. - Geoff DiMasi ge...@punkave.com 215 755 1330 On Mar 8, 2009, at 11:33 AM, Chris chris.schm...@protegecafe.com wrote: Hey Guys, After doing my business plan I estimated that I would need a rather large space to offer up the combination of rooms, offices and desks. I have started looking into potential spaces that are over 4,000 sqft. I found one that is about 5300 sqft and it look like a great combination of open space, and offices. So that got me thinking.. how big are your spaces. With is small space offers a great cozy atmosphere and is easier on the financials. But I also see that a small space gives you limited growth (physically and financially) and could be hard to sustain given the limited number of members you could offer services to. A larger space gives you the room to grow and offer more services, but is more expensive and could look very empty even with a handful of people in it. I noticed from Indy Hall's video's and post's they seemed to start with a very small place but are looking to move into a much larger place (Good luck guys, the new space looks fantastic).So this is the question.. In square footage what is the size of your spaces, and do you wish you had a bigger or smaller place and why? Thanks Chris -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D coFounder - Caroline Collective http://carolinecollective.cc cell: 713.825.4613 email: mwettergr...@gmail.com twitter: organ_printer http://matthewwettergreen.com -- --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Coworking Programming Ideas
There's been alot of discussion on the Coworking Group about ways to get people into the space or to energize members. Couldn't find anything on the wiki so I started a page with programming ideas for existing coworking spaces to engage, build, support and champion your local communities. It's by no means comprehensive so please add to it. https://coworking.pbwiki.com/CoworkingProgrammingIdeas --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Big changes in the works at IndyHall!
Alex and Geoff, Just want to congratulate you guys on this great success. I'm really looking forward to hearing what the community building, input, engagement and execution is like the second time around. It seems you'll be able to refine the process a bit for all of us. Matthew On Mar 4, 6:31 pm, Tony Bacigalupo tonybacigal...@gmail.com wrote: Hey all, I was lucky enough to be in Philly yesterday for IndyHall's Town Hall event, where Alex and Geoff discussed the state of IndyHall and prospects for its future. In case you haven't heard, IndyHall's been bursting at the seams with interest... 14 full time members, over 50 members overall, and literally not enough desks to go around. So they're considering expanding to an even bigger space nearby! There's so much more in the works as well, but it's just now getting warmed up. I wrote up a post about it with videos here:http://www.imouttaherethebook.com/2009/03/big-changes-coming-indyhall... Alex also has an official recap with slides and a video tour of the space here:http://www.indyhall.org/2009/03/04/the-state-of-indyhall-march-3rd-2009/ Very exciting stuff going on there! Bravo Alex and Geoff! I really can't wait to see how things develop. Tony Bacigalupo New Work Cityhttp://nwcny.com --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] SXSW Panel: Regional Whuffie Building: Attracting Innovation to Your City
Hey Everybody, Tony Bacigalupo (New Work City), Geoff DiMasi (P'unk Ave, Independents Hall), Julie Duryea (Souk Portland), Susan Evans (Office Nomads), and myself, Matthew Wettergreen (Caroline Collective) are on a panel at SXSW called Regional Whuffie Building: Attracting Innovation to Your City. If you're going to SXSW we'd love to see you at the panel: http://sxsw.com/interactive/talks/panels?action=showid=IAP0900393 First of all, whuffie. Taken from a direct quote by Tara Hunt: A. A word coined by Cory Doctorow in his book, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom as the currency of the future. B. Roughly equivalent to social capital C. is the culmination of reputation, influence, bridging and bonding capital, access to ideas and talent, access to resources, potential access to further resources, saved up favors, accomplishments and the Whuffie of those you have relationships with. During the panel we'll discuss issues surrounding inspiring a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship, what it takes to run successful startup or a successful career in technology regardless of region. We'll also discuss some success stories resulting from regional whuffie building and why this is something that can help your region. In our individual communities of NYC, Philly, Portland, Seattle and Houston we have experience and anecdotes surrounding our own careers and community work. Additionally, we're talking about this regional whuffie building with others in our local communities to gain some additional perspective. Since coworking plays such a large role in rallying the troops of any region, we'd like input from all of you about Regional Whuffie Building. If you're able, could you answer some questions? 1. What are some of your success stories of regional whuffie building or inspiring a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship? 2. How have you embraced the mix of face-to-face interaction and technology? 3. What are some individual strategies towards this end goal that you have attempted? Thanks everyone, Matthew -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D coFounder - Caroline Collective http://carolinecollective.cc cell: 713.825.4613 email: mwettergr...@gmail.com twitter: organ_printer http://matthewwettergreen.com - --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] 2008 vs. 2009
I was just talking to Alex and shared the fact that when the new year rolled around, several new people just showed up on our doorstep wanting to join Caroline Collective. As a result, our newly renovated coworking room was full in about two weeks. Alex remarked that Indy Hall experienced a similar situation in 2009 and his thoughts were that it might be one of those new year's resolutions of this year I'm going to interact with real people. Being in Houston, our thoughts are that people were done with 2008 through the combination of a hurricane, the election and the economic downturn. Did anyone else experience an influx of people or members when the new year rolled around? Matthew -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D coFounder - Caroline Collective http://carolinecollective.cc cell: 713.825.4613 email: mwettergr...@gmail.com twitter: organ_printer http://matthewwettergreen.com -- --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Hi I'm Trevor - Coworking space newbie
This coworking group exists because we've all learned a wealth of knowledge from each other and have a firm commitment to the greater community to in turn help everyone achieve success and sustainability. Over the past three years (congratulations everyone), this sharing has cemented the methodology for opening a successful coworking space. Followed properly these steps are financially low-risk and move at the pace of the community's needs. By jumping steps or opening a coworking space in a vacuum you're making a high-risk move that could result in something nobody wants, financial loss or worse, the closing of your space. These low-risk steps start with going out into the community and talking about coworking but mostly listening (this is something that Alex mentions again and again as being important) which will help you discover what the needs and desires of the community are. If there is no community then you build one through jellys or meetups. Once you have the support of the community the next low-risk step would be getting a commitment (not necessarily financial immediately) out of the people who will become your anchors when you find a space. The next low-risk step would be to document your search for a space based on the stated needs of the community. With the community behind an idea you're less likely to take a financial or business bath when you open the space. Additional low-risk steps that relate to financials would be to build based on the usage of your community, ie not spending money on superfluous equipment until demonstrated need. Low-risk steps and high transparency to your community and to the google coworking group are essential for all of this. By doing this you can immediately avoid problems like an empty space or thinking you need an advertising or marketing budget to make your space successful. By dropping a space into the landscape and saying it's here, everyone come you're not only taking high-risk but you're working backwards from a PROVEN methodology that will allow you to open with a path towards success and a leg up towards sustainability. The most successful coworking spaces have been the ones who have been the most open with their process to both of these communities from the beginning.Tara and Alex and Jacob and others were incredibly helpful in the infancy of Caroline Collective preventing us from taking financial or community missteps that could result in reduced success for the space. I dont' think anyone's arguing against forming a strategy but forming a business plan for a coworking space before having a community behind it might be putting the cart in front of the horse. A business plan if eventually needed, should be simple because you can cull from discussions with the community: the ones who will ultimately utilize the coworking space, financially contribute, provide sweat equity and ultimately evangelize the virtues of coworking. From another standpoint, you already have a dynamic business plan and business advisors: this google group, several posts by members of the coworking community and the coworking wiki. There's enough information in those places as well as the wealth of resources from the voices on the google group that can help overcome any problem that people will come up against. But this is only if you are open and transparent about these problems. Matthew -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D coFounder - Caroline Collective http://carolinecollective.cc cell: 713.825.4613 email: mwettergr...@gmail.com twitter: organ_printer http://matthewwettergreen.com -- On Feb 25, 9:59 am, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: Susan, Your point that every market is different is exactly the point I'm making: not that you should go in unplanned, but a traditional business plan template isn't going to properly serve a venture like this in my opinion. The plan you described: *bullet points flexible goals*, and I'll even go so far as to define a *mantra* or set of *core values,* is going to help you have the check points for making decisions along the way. Planning is extremely important, and running your coworking space like a business is important for your sustainability. Just be ready for that plan to change once new people enter the mix :) -Alex -- - -- - Alex Hillman im always developing something digital: a...@weknowhtml.com helpful:www.unstick.me visual:www.dangerouslyawesome.com local:www.indyhall.org On Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 10:46 AM, Susan Potter su...@acropolisproperties.com wrote: While I completely agree with Alex that walking in to a bank with financial statements that show revenue already coming in is far better than going into a bank with an idea, a business plan should be used a tool by business owners. I am not sure about Alex's business/startup experiences, but as someone who has started a number of ventures from scratch I have found having a basic business plan (just in bullet point
[Coworking] Re: Alcoholic Bev.
Alot of us work as hard as we play and alcohol can be a part of that. The considerations that should be made for alcohol in your space need to be that of proactivity and safety. The proactive measures (as mentioned by Alex) are to make sure that your insurance includes the ability to consume on premises, and having a respectful community, both measures are some of the basic tenants of a successful coworking space anyway. A safety standpoint might not apply to most spaces depending on the size of the coworking space, type of events held, number of those in attendance and amount of alcohol consumed. Caroline Collective has held very large events since opening, some have been composed of our tight knit respecting community who watches out for each other. Others have been purely money plays, with those in attendance looking to get free drinks and see a show. If you are going to hold a large event with possible underagers in attendance, make sure to at least give the impression that you're trying to control the drinking by having someone ID at the door and either stamp or use wristbands. We too have never sold alcohol due to the additional legal issues that come with that (as mentioned by David). However, this doesn't completely cover you so my recommendation would be to consider the type of people who will be attending your events and refer back to the proactive measures instead. Matthew Caroline Collective On Wed, Jan 7, 2009 at 5:27 AM, Daniel Fiker fiker...@hotmail.com wrote: I totally agree, we had three french here last month that were working for afeganistan on communication projects and most of the times, 6 o´clock was beer time. *DANIEL ZIERZ FIKER*** *PTO DE CONTATO|--|(11) **3063-2049*** * www.ptodecontato.com.br* -- *De:* coworking@googlegroups.com [mailto:cowork...@googlegroups.com] *Em nome de *Alex Hillman *Enviada em:* terça-feira, 6 de janeiro de 2009 19:40 *Para:* coworking@googlegroups.com *Assunto:* [Coworking] Re: Alcoholic Bev. After all, we're their office, and they get to set their own corporate drug and alcohol policy. Bingo. I agree wholeheartedly! -Alex -- - -- - Alex Hillman im always developing something digital: a...@weknowhtml.com visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com local: www.indyhall.org On Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 2:31 PM, David Kominsky davidkomin...@gmail.comwrote: At CubeSpace we have a BYO policy, except for certain occasions when we provide it. We never charge for it, because that gets into all sorts of regulations we want no part of. Generally, it only appears for events, parties and other celebrations, but sometimes someone will bring in some beer on the random afternoon. After all, we're their office, and they get to set their own corporate drug and alcohol policy. ;-) --David -- David Kominsky da...@cubespacepdx.com 503-206-3500 CubeSpace 622 SE Grand Avenue Portland, OR 97214 -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D coFounder - Caroline Collective http://carolinecollective.cc cell: 713.825.4613 email: mwettergr...@gmail.com twitter: organ_printer http://matthewwettergreen.com -- --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Pitching coworking to the boss
Hey, There have been numerous discussions on this list addressing what is and what is not coworking. I won't dilute those conversations by repeating what's been said. The question of office space should be addressed however. Caroline Collective has 7 offices that we rent out in 6 month leases. The breakdown looks like this: For-Profit Employee Health Consultancy co. For-Profit Social Media Consultant Web Creative Design co. Non-Profit Environmental Focused co. Non-Profit Arts Resource co. Non-Profit Opera co. Non-Profit Funding org for Non-Profits co. Non-Profit Health Care for Creatives and Independents co. (tentative) Two of these companies fully utilize their office every day all day either because of the number of people who work in the office, the amount of time spent on the phone or storage of necessary materials for the business. One of these companies requires the security of an office to store medical records. One of these companies believes they require privacy and solitude to be personally efficient. The remaining three use their office to take meetings and store their desk and a cabinet. What I'm saying here is not everyone needs an office and what we've found is that most people who think they need an office, don't. They need a home base with a room for taking phone calls and a private room for clients. The mere presence of offices at Caroline makes it difficult to explain the coworking concept to people because they see walls and privacy and fall back into old habits and desires. Luckily, members who utilize their offices also spend a great deal of time working in the coworking space, socializing and discussing projects and collaborations with the other office members and desk people. The coworking model supports serendipity, collaboration and community building among other things, and this open model is most effective when there are no physical walls. Yes, there are some positions and jobs that require secrecy, privacy and closed doors but those people might not be the perfect fit for coworking. Additionally, closed walls support a barrier to transparency and a culture of materialism that many of the technologically focused independents eschew. If there's a way to make it a shared room where people can work alongside others that might be more interesting to demonstrate cultural development and increased collaboration. Matthew On Thu, Dec 18, 2008 at 4:26 PM, emmaatwork emmaroselo...@gmail.com wrote: Hi all - newbie here. I work for a small nonprofit media company and we occasionally have extra space that we rent out. I always prefer to find someone or an organization that is an interesting match to try and maintain our sort of collective culture here (can you tell I work in HR?), and I think that opening our space up to something like coworking would be great. But how do I pitch the idea of renting out our office space in this way? The boss wants to tie people in to 6 month leases and have solidly assigned space. Is that even compatible to the idea of coworking? -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D coFounder - Caroline Collective http://carolinecollective.cc cell: 713.825.4613 email: mwettergr...@gmail.com twitter: organ_printer http://matthewwettergreen.com -- --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Having someone on duty?
Caroline Collective has a full time Operations Manager, Danielle, who takes an active role in running the space far beyond office management tasks. Danielle recently received her undergraduate and is trying to figure out her next steps, she currently has the time and financial freedom to accept what little we can compensate her. For a space as large as Caroline with so many different things going on it's been an absolute necessity to have her in every day. It allows Ned and I the freedom to take off-site meetings or for Ned, go into school for the day/night. Her responsibilities are not limited to: 1. Upon arrival in the morning (Ned and I open every morning), empty the trash cans, check the coffee amount and walk the space and exterior for debris and misplaced items. 2. Greet people when they come in, have them sign in, tweet from the Caroline account about their arrival, give them a tour or explain coworking if need be. 3. Event booking including giving tours to people looking to rent the space for their own events, managing Caroline events including posts to the website, facebook/upcoming invites. 4. Schedule meetings for Ned and myself, pay bills, organize, errands, research, assist coworkers on small projects. 5. Develop her own project at Caroline that will give her related experience for her next job or graduate school in Japanese studies. If you're thinking about whether to get office help, a receptionist, assistant or the like, an incomplete list of considerations are 1) size 2) culture, 3) financial cost. 1) Size Caroline Collective has two buildings with no less than four entrances and exits. It's possible for people to walk onsite and offsite without anyone seeing them. We feel that we need someone around who is willing and available to greet and give tours or explain what's going on. Smaller spaces may not even have this consideration if the coworking space is in one room or a series of rooms. 2) Culture The work culture will vary at every space and a protocol should be in place to handle new visitors to the space, even if it's just to say hello. If the principals have heavy travel schedules or the full- timers are uninterested in showing around every new person who comes in, an office manager could fill this position. Places like Citizen Space that have a welcoming culture don't have to worry about this sort of thing because everyone that comes in is either greeted or looked at to see if they need anything. 3) Financials Many of the systems set up in coworking minimize expenditures by addressing actual need vs. desires. A full-time person on duty is not always necessity for a fully functioning office or coworking space. While someone on duty can increase efficiency and/or reduce work for the full-timers and principals of the space, it is still an extra expenditure. Based on size, culture or the presence of the principals, this member of the coworking space may not be needed. Matthew On Nov 25, 7:06 am, Rosie Sherry [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: It's a challenge that we have faced at The Werks. In the early days we tried our best to be around. There's 5 of us all together, but we are all part time. One is part time student helping out with finances, other is part time admin/customer service, then there are 3 of us who 'own' the space but we all have other things to attend to. I, for example, can only be around during school hours. Or when my son decides to go and break his leg I can't be around at all (!). The Werks is fairly large and a mix of studio space, desk space and coworking - quite intentionally evenly split to create a flow. We are determined not to be an office space to cater for everyone's needs this means we spend less on admin which also means we charge less. It's not just about reducing costs though it's also about getting everyone involved. We have part time cowerker deal where people don't get a set of keys. Also, drop ins are welcome, but they obviously don't get keys. Full time-ish cowerkers get keys as do deskspace and studio space people. We try to answer the phone as much as possible, but quite often we are running around the building attending to stuff. However, when people sign up we make it clear what the deal is: - we're not here to attend to their every need - we try our best to be around - we will support them wherever possible - if we are not around other people answer the buzzer, make sure they are known, let them in and even show them around the building if no one is here to do that. The more experienced people do this, the new ones see it happen and will probably eventually get the opportunity to do it one day :) - we provide the tools for people to clean up after themselves (washing up liquid, sponges) - everyone makes a conscious effort to support and meet the people around them - they know who and where to call if there is a serious problem - werkers without keys are
[Coworking] Re: Starfish in the Sky?
How timely. NYTimes article today about flocking mechanisms: *http://tinyurl.com/36xfhu* On Mon, Nov 10, 2008 at 12:02 PM, Bart Mroz [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Talkshoe.com is pretty good for that -- Bart Mroz [EMAIL PROTECTED] 215.605.9779 twitter @bartmroz On Nov 10, 2008, at 12:47 PM, Alex Hillman wrote: Is there a good tool for video/audio salon discussion? Or does anyone have experience managing large conference call discussions so that they are productive? -- - -- - Alex Hillman im always developing something digital: [EMAIL PROTECTED] visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com local: www.indyhall.org On Mon, Nov 10, 2008 at 12:42 PM, Tony Bacigalupo [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Yeah, the flock metaphor has legs. I also enjoy Dave's distinction of spread-like-starfish, but implemented-like-flock. Provides some nice perspective in light of recent threads. I'm starting to think that we might very well benefit from some sort of salon discussion on the state of the movement and where we think it's going, and what we can do to help it grow in a healthy, positive way. On Mon, Nov 10, 2008 at 12:37 PM, Tara Hunt [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Oo...I LOVE that metaphor! On Mon, Nov 10, 2008 at 7:45 AM, Alex Hillman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Dave Troy, creator of FlickrVision/Twittervision, has begun spearheading coworking in downtown Baltimore. He and I have spoken at length, and Dave has a lot of local resources moving in the right direction. Most importantly, last weekend at SocialDevCampEast, I attended a session about coworking there and by the end a Jelly session had been scheduled. It took place last week, and was apparently a big success. Raines, you were there, you can report more on that! Anyway...Dave's already thinking on his own about the metaphors that we hold near and dear, and made this post this morning that's really thoughtful and I wanted to make sure everyone read and had a chance to respond. He compares and contrasts starfish decentralization with the autonomy built into flocking alrorithms. Dave's geeky so he goes down that road for a second, but the crux of it is important: In flocking simulations, there is no central control; each bird behaves autonomously. In other words, each bird has to decide for itself which flocks to consider as its environment. http://davetroy.com/?p=110 Clearly, this function WORKS for birds (and other flocking animals), I'm curious if we can use this metaphor to stabilize the coworking story more? I've got some early musings that I'll be jotting down as the crystalize a bit more, but I wanted to get Dave in the conversation here and get others' processing it as well. -Alex, IndyHall -- - -- - Alex Hillman im always developing something digital: [EMAIL PROTECTED] visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com local: www.indyhall.org -- -- tara 'missrogue' hunt Book: The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business ( http://www.amazon.com/Whuffie-Factor-Capital-Winning-Communities/dp/0307409503?ie=UTF8 ) Company: Citizen Agency (http://www.citizenagency.com) Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing Uncommon (http://www.horsepigcow.com) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/missrogue phone: 415-694-1951 fax: 415-727-5335 -- Matthew Wettergreen, Ph.D coFounder - Caroline Collective http://carolinecollective.cc cell: 713.825.4613 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] twitter: organ_printer http://matthewwettergreen.com -- --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: TV and Conference Room Advice
Paul, Tony makes some great points about noise reduction which depending on the materials of your walls and floor can be a problem. Situations which require discussion aloud are perfect for a conference room setting but some spaces just don't have that ability. We were able to secure a donated conference table from a company called Icestone (http://www.icestone.biz/) and a local metal working shop in Houston created legs for us (http://mergestudios.com). IceStone is extremely happy with the table and it's great marketing for them to have a functional showroom of sorts in a coworking space. In case anyone else would like to contact them, their rep is Guthrie Jones ([EMAIL PROTECTED]). We have been getting a large number of requests for use of the conference room from our tenants and the community. The model that we're currently trying out is that Tenants and Coworkers may use the space as long as needed, reserved in advance with a google calendar specific to the conference room. Non-paying community members may rent out the conference room for $25/hour. Flat screens are nice but you might want to focus on portability and finances by instead having a projector and a portable screen for events that may not need to take place in the conference room. Matthew On Tue, Nov 4, 2008 at 11:45 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]wrote: All, Looking for some feedback. Since we opened we have been flooded with requests for use of our conference room. As we are a small space, the conference room is one of the primary gathering areas. Yes we have a few private offices and 1 office with multiple desks, and the lounge, but the conference room is the big area. I have no problems renting out the space on weekends/evening as member useage will be low thenbut I'm looking for feedback from those of you with only 1 conference room like we have. How have you managed it? I'm guessing that this is a good problem to have, that being more interest then space. There is space available behind us, and we're considering taking that over which would allow us the ability to have a dedicated conference room. So if you only have one conference room how have you manged it? If you have more than one conference room have you seen a significant ROI on it? What kind of rate are you charging to non-members for use of the conference room? And lastly those of you that have Direct TV or something similar and a Flat screen is it good or bad? Does it provide a good vibe, or bad? Response from your members, etc Thanks so much! Paul -- Matthew Wettergreen coFounder - Caroline Collective http://carolinecollective.cc cell: 713.825.4613 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] twitter: organ_printer http://matthewwettergreen.com -- --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Risk Management
If you're speaking about insurance, we have a 1mil policy on the lot and building itself and recommend that each of our tenants get their own liability and theft insurance. In terms of security and risk reduction, Ned and I are fortunate enough to live on site which provides security after hours. We have gates that are locked at night too. We have discussed installing cameras that can be monitored online but haven't taken those steps yet. Our attack cat, affectionately named White Cat, is quite timid. We're working on that. Matthew On Mon, Oct 13, 2008 at 2:28 PM, JDean [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I would to inquire about the precautions to decrease risk, property damage, theft, injury, etc. at each of your sites. Please provide me information on how you decrease risk, such as cameras, security guards/ full-time staff, attack cat/dog and key fobs. Thanks, Jodi Dean -- Matthew Wettergreen coFounder - Caroline Collective http://carolinecollective.cc cell: 713.825.4613 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] twitter: organ_printer http://matthewwettergreen.com -- --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Coworking Space Rules
Brian, We don't have any posted rules at Caroline Collective. When people ask how the space works, we explain that it is a work environment with the expected noise from social interaction. We also point to several rooms where conference calls can be taken without disturbing work. Common courtesy is mostly self-enforced. Matthew Caroline Collective carolinecollective.cc On Oct 7, 2:30 pm, BrianR [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: After doing a basic search on the keyword rules on the list I figured I'd ask this question. Hope I'm not rehashing something. What kind of posted community rules do you have at your coworking space? If any? I'm in the process of developing some and could use your kind advice. Its probably important to note that my coworking space is a for-profit business. Thanks, -BrianR carrborocoworking.com --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Understanding Free Access
We structured our business model to include free drop-ins. Based on rent owed for your space, it might not work for everyone though. Because we view ourselves as a community service we want everyone to be able to come in and utilize our services whenever need be. This was especially important following Ike when many people were without power or internet. Matthew carolinecollective.cc On Oct 6, 1:16 pm, HeatherO [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'm trying to get ours going, so I don't have experience to speak from other than there is no way we can make the numbers work if everyone w/o an assigned desk gets to come in for free. Philosophically I have always found that people do not value or respect that which costs them nothing... just my opinion:) [image: Click Here] http://1unv.com/ujuo00/c.map At Your Service, HeatherO' Heather O'Sullivan Canney, RP, Broker/Partner Heather O' Real Estate, Inc. Real Living Partners Triangle, LLC (919)427-7770 104B N. Salem St. Apex NC 27502www.HeatherO.comwww.ApexGoodLiving.com On Thu, Oct 2, 2008 at 2:35 PM, Mike Schinkel [EMAIL PROTECTED]wrote: Hi all: I'm hearing that a lot of you are allowing people to use the coworking spaces for free. In trying to plan a facility I've run the numbers and I don't see how that is possible. First I don't see how you can get people to pay for what you are giving for free and second I don't see how you can make the density work. I understand that coworking is all about providing an open environment and letting people use it w/o signing up is in the spirit of things but in order for us to pull this off it needs to be profitable, i.e. not operating at a loss. Could anyone speak to this please? Thanks in advance. -Mike Schinkel President; NewClarity LLC Organizer: Atlanta Web Entrepreneurs http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeschinkel http://mikeschinkel.com http://atlanta-web.org --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: New Work City has a home!
Tony, Congrats on all the pieces finally falling into place. Best, Matthew On Oct 7, 7:01 pm, Tony Bacigalupo [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Thanks so much everybody! It's a scary and exciting time :-) @Darrell: Thanks man, you've been a big help. @Tessa @Tara @Brian @Annesta Thanks! Looking forward to having you there :-) @Noneck Thanks man! Looking forward to letting you :-) Cheers, Tony On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 5:47 PM, noel hidalgo [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: congrats home boy... now i can return the favor and drink up your beer! On 7 Oct 2008, at 15:08, Tony Bacigalupo wrote: You guys have changed my life. Thanks so much for all your help and support and energy and enthusiasm! We're doing great things together :-) --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Introduction looking for a co-working space
whoops, my bad. On Sep 9, 4:02 pm, Tara Hunt [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: And here is the website:http://socodepot.com/ T On Tue, Sep 9, 2008 at 9:38 AM, axon [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: (Matt: I think Amit is in western Sonoma County, CA, rather than the Seattle area.) Amit, Check out SoCo Depot in Penngrove. --Ax On Sep 8, 1:44 pm, Matthew Wettergreen [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Amit, There are several coworking spaces in Seattle that you could check out. Here's a link to several of them: http://coworking.pbwiki.com/CoworkingSeattle Best, Matthew On Sep 8, 11:54 am, Amit [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi all, My name is Amit Kulkarni and have been working as a Sr. Research Scientist at Merck Co Inc for the past 7 years. I am 31 yrs old. The company is in Seattle and I have been telecommuting for about 2 years now. I need to visit my company in Seattle only once every 3 months for about a week. I am single and live in a spiritual household in Tomales. I could describe myself as sociable and kind. I read about coworking in yesterday's 'Press Decomcrat' and would be very interested in pursuing any co-working opportunity in the area. Thanks, Amit -- tara 'missrogue' hunt coFounder Citizen Agency (www.citizenagency.com) blog:www.horsepigcow.com phone:415-694-1951 fax: 415-727-5335 --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Insurance for facilities?
We were required by our landlord to have a policy which covers both buildings and the lot. We have a friend who is an insurance agent with Farmer's and hooked up with a good deal. We recommend to each of our tenants that they obtain their own insurance also. On Sep 10, 4:37 pm, Alex Hillman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: We had requirements from our landlord as well. And we got a great deal from The Hartford. Explain that it's shared workspace, that tends to move things along smoothly. -Alex -- - -- - Alex Hillman im always developing something digital: [EMAIL PROTECTED] visual:www.dangerouslyawesome.com local:www.indyhall.org On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 5:31 PM, Derek Young [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: We were required by our landlord to carry a couple million dollar policy. It wasn't a problem to get through a local broker. We explained that we were an office service and most folks would be doing office-type jobs. We never mentioned our fire retardant pajama tester, but it only took a few days to finalize. Plus, it was pretty darn cheap. A broker should be able to figure it out. We ultimately ended up with The Hartford I believe. Our lesson very early on in the process was to forget about explaining the rational behind coworking. If you tell them it's something new, folks seem to get worried. If you describe coworking using a long understood business vocabulary, things moved along smoothly. Derek Young Suite133 On 9/10/08 1:46 PM, Kelly Brown [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I just got off the phone with our insurer and they are having a heck of a time trying to get an underwriter for us. It looks like they're going to get it done -- but I can't believe it'd even be an issue. We're really just renting office space and then allowing people to come in and work. (Some of) The underwriters are saying they need to know what each and every member's company does as there's risk associated with it -- (like one of us might be testing fire retardant pajamas in the facility). Anywhoo -- anyone else run into trouble? Anyone have any guidance on how they got their places insured to meet the landlord requirements? Any leads on coworking friendly insurers? Kelly Brown Office Space Coworking www.officespacecoworking.com --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Coworking Research: Questions about the space.
Caroline Collective answers: 1) How much finishing did you require in order to get your space functional? Our space required a great deal of work to get it to a vanilla box state. Significant demolition of standing walls, rebuilding of new walls, replacement of new doors, removal of carpet, tile and concrete preparation and staining, new paint on all horizontal surfaces, powerwashing of the exterior surfaces, new locks on all exterior and interior doors, removal of several structurally unsound sheds and overhangs in the back lot, replacement of the A/C on one of the buildings, and an asbestos check. 2) Did you go wireless exclusively, or did you provide ethernet connections? And if you did, did you spend the money to have these inset, or did you run cable and use switches/routers? We have four Netgear WAPs that blanket the entire 15,000sqft lot with wireless. We also had cables re-run to all of the offices in Caroline although no one is using a hardline connection in the entire building. 3) What percentage of your starting budget did you allocate to preparing the facility? All told we had about 20k put in for the renovations and an additional 5k in personal funds that we dumped into the renovations and purchasing items or equipment that we couldn't get donated. 4) Where did you get your office furniture? Did you involve the interested community in donating items, did you buy surplus, used, auction, new? It's amazing how many people/businesses have functional but old office furniture. We started with donations and have built additional desks to fill the coworking space. Craigslist is a great place to start if you have a craigslist culture in your city, otherwise estate sales and close contacts are the best way to find office furniture. 5) How many months of lease did you include in your initial budget calculations? How did the numbers work out for you? We have a 3 year lease and worked out a deal with our landlords that our initial months of rent are at a reduced rate and the difference between actual rent and rent paid is put on top of the money that we owe them. 6) What was the biggest obstacle to getting your space ready to work? This answer will differ depending on the space and the geographic location. If the answer is not having enough support for the project then this is a good indication that more planning and community building needs to be done to ensure the initial success of the space. Maintaining sanity will always be an issue if you are poor at dealing with stress (as my partner and I are) and like Jacob and Susan it was only through mutual support that we got through it. For most people though I think the most difficult part is finding a space that works for them based on their budget and initial support. That period can in some cases take longer than the preparation of the space which follows, personally, we were very lucky in finding our space immediately and painlessly. Matthew --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Coworking in Lexington KY
Hey Chris, Welcome to the group. Some additional resources that you can use to locate those in your vicinity who are interested in coworking are the coworking wiki (http://coworking.pbwiki.com/) and jelly (http:// wiki.workatjelly.com/). Looks like someone has already started a page for coworking in Lexington (http://coworking.pbwiki.com/ CoworkingLexington) but hasn't updated it yet. Good luck and let us know how we can help. Matthew On Jul 9, 9:02 am, chrisjdavis [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: My wife and I are in the process of scouting out locations in the Lexington/Nicholasville area for Coworking. If you leave in the Lex/ Nich/Wilmore area and are an independent/freelance type person, and are looking for some coworking goodness, let me know. --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Getting the word out
I know that everyone has already provided enough information about effective promotion methods but I'd like to revisit the discussion of advertising as a promotion method: Advertising is required to maintain brand identity when PR is no longer effective to promote it. Coworking is a galvanizing idea, one that a community can easily get behind and whip into a frothy sea of excitement. Early in the inception of a space, PR should be easy to come by and can be the best thing that you need to promote the space in traditional media and other's online sources. In order to obtain that PR you could either hire a firm, or have existing community relationships that will provide that publicity alongside your own methods. Building these community relationships through holding events at your space where you get to talk to people face to face could ultimately be a better usage of your money than paying for advertising where you do not have the chance to talk about the idea of coworking with people. Susan mentions that building and maintaining strong community connections is an effective method to promote your space. This has been the single most effective way that we've promoted Caroline and I know that it was very successful for others on this group, notably Alex and crew who attended events regularly to promote Indy Hall. I would go so far as to say that these community relationships are the first and the last thing to keep in mind when opening a space or thinking about opening a space. Opening a coworking space can be an overwhelming task, both emotionally and possibly financially. Having the support of your community will ease that burden in many ways be it financially (donations, donated equipment) or with volunteer hands (painting days, rehab projects). Without the support or ear or voice of your community, your space will be built in a vacuum, which if you know anything about physics, is not an ideal situation for humans to live in. This coworking group exists as a resource to share collective intelligence and check each other's steps along the way to ensure that correct actions are taken to make each space both unique and sustainable. Because of the immense investment of time (or money) to start a space, we are all here to make sure that you won't misstep. More importantly though, your community relationships are important as a gauge for the upfront interest in a space and a measure of the future usage and possibly an indication of future success. Matthew On Jun 20, 12:37 pm, BrianR [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I've read some discussion here and there on the list about promotion. But would like to kick off a thread that puts the communities thoughts in one place. How do you promote your coworking space? How do you get the word out that you exist? Which methods result in people using your space? I'm interested in hearing from the folks who run community not for profit spaces and for profit spaces. Cheers! -BrianR carrborocoworking.com --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Hi, cool concept, just sort of found this via Scoble.
Hey Mal, Glad to hear that you're interested in exploring building your community of independents and creatives. One of the best ways to get started would be to explore the concept of Jelly, casual coworking: http://workatjelly.com/ and you can add Boise to the list and get started by meeting with your friends and coworkers at locations around Boise: http://wiki.workatjelly.com/ The best way to line up local talent is to get a grasp on your local tech/independent/creative community. Some of us have done this by getting out to meetings and events held around town that would cater to these types. Through listening and talking to the community you can get a better feel for what's out there already and what the needs of the community are. Good luck, Matthew On Jun 20, 6:03 pm, mal [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Timing was serendipitous since me and several coworkers got laid off recently and something like co-working would allow us to keep 'working', bouncing ideas around, etc (going to coffee -- a favorite pastime). Anyhow I'm in the Boise Idaho if anyone knows of any spaces. My wife vacated her old office recently and I was thinking maybe potentially somehow we could setup some sort of space there. This area has been hit pretty hard lately employment wise so maybe there are other interested people out there. We all like the area and ideally would like to stay here and maybe work remotely for people locally or in other places. I'm interested in how you line up local talent with jobs anywhere. Is there some sort of registry for coworking talent anywhere or any interaction going on among different locations? --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Reintroducing myself
Hey Joe, Looks like the closest coworking space to you is Group88 (http:// coworking.pbwiki.com/CoworkingConnecticut) Personally, I think that the best way to find people that would be interested would be to talk to your local community members and listen to what their wants and needs are. I see that you have a Linux meetup group that might be a good place to start (http://linux.meetup.com/395/calendar/8080765/) and also a local business/investor's group (http://ibd.meetup.com/739/). Another good way to find people who share your interest for coworking would be to start a Jelly group in your area (http://workatjelly.com/) and here to start one of your own (http://wiki.workatjelly.com/). Hope this helps, Matthew On Jun 23, 11:58 am, JoeC [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi, I'm Joe Cascio. I signed up for the group a while back, but have been involved in other projects for the last couple of months. Lately, though, my interest in co-working has been rekindled due to a discussion I had with a friend from my golf club, who is the general manager of a popular seafood restaurant here in Mystic, CT. Her intuition about the right ambiance and furnishings for a co-working space were spot-on with mine. I take that sense very seriously from a person who is in the public food-service business. There is nothing for coworking anywhere nearby that I know of. My friend also said there is a surplus of commercial rental space in the area. To start out, I'm thinking of simply contacting some friends in the realty business and surveying the properties in the area to get some idea. Previous good advice from this google group (thank you!) included doing some market research to find out who might be interested and what they'd be looking for. I'm just wondering how I can find people who might be interested in using a co-working space. Flyers in local coffee shops and libraries? Newspaper ads. I'd like to try to get together a little interest group on this. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, JoeC --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: The New York Times likes coworking!
I expect that for the next several months or so, little personal work will get done by me at Caroline during normal working hours. I've had to make time for myself to accomplish these things in off time or by ducking into my apartment for a short amount of time to remove interruption. It is what it is. People should know that following a successful opening there are multiple daily and regularly scheduled tasks that will take time away from your own work. Caroline is taking a cue from Indy Hall and exploring a full-time intern to alleviate some the maintenance, workload and daily tasks. Matthew On Jun 27, 12:57 pm, Tara Hunt [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hilarious about working from home to get things done. I find the same thing. As soon as I go into Citizen Space, it's all about running Citizen Space, so if I have to get book writing/editing done or some other task I need to concentrate on, I have to stay away! But I think that is really only an 'owner' problem. :) I believe Alex Hillman has hired someone to take that stuff on for him so he can get more work done and it's working like a charm. Someday... T On Fri, Jun 27, 2008 at 6:45 AM, felicity at cubes [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I work from home because our members and my staff always want to talk to me, so I just can't get anything done. But you know reporter's write it they want. Still more coworking press is always a good thing. I think I will just go up to Sandbox Suites or Citizen Space the next time I want to get work done, of course I will have to leave my kids at CubesCrayons :) -Felicity www.cubesandcrayons.com http://cube.typepad.com/blog http://cube.typepad.com/cake On Jun 26, 6:47 am, Raines Cohen [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Thu, Jun 26, 2008 at 5:42 AM, Tony Bacigalupo [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: It mentions Soundview Coworking in Stamford, Connecticut, as well as the Hat Factory, Berkeley Coworking, and Cubes and Crayons. I can think of many adjectives to describe Berkeley Coworking, but sprawling is not one of them. Except perhaps to a New Yorker. What is it, 400 square feet upstairs, a little more downstairs? In the context of a one-man shop, maybe. Perhaps some day soon they'll focus on coworking activity in... you know... New York :-) Naah. I figure the SF Chronicle will send somone out to cover that first. ;-) I'm surprised that Group88 didn't merit a mention, given the proximity in CT. Also, the section on CubesCrayons (and Felicity staying at home in order to get work done and avoid distractions) loops back to previous threads here about how folks can use headphones or other ways of keeping their attention focussed. Any new thoughts/learnings in that regard? Notable that this is in the Fashion section. Any bets on when we make Food, Sports, or ScienceTechnology? Raines, Coworking Coach -- tara 'miss rogue' hunt coFounder Citizen Agency (www.citizenagency.com) blog:www.horsepigcow.com phone: 415-694-1951 fax: 415-727-5335 --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Chairs
Any recommendations on chairs for a space? Any types to stay away from? I've found these IKEA ones which seem alright. With swivel action: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S39842528 Non swivelly: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S59842532 --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Grant application and coworking as theory
Several weeks ago we applied for a Houston Rice Design Alliance grant. The RDA provides a forum for thinking about and discussing design and the built environment in Houston. They quote continually seek to strengthen the ties between the general community and those trained in the various fields of architecture and design. We thought it would be perfect to add coworking to that fold. The grant that we applied for combined a brief plan for coworking at Caroline with the inclusion of an abstracted view of work completed by another architecture graduate student, Brian Shepherdson. Brian's thesis work examines the effect that urban sprawl has had on the geographical location of our work locations. Among other things his work seeks to show is that coworking is actually a logical result of technological progress and the product of the reduction of the importance of geography on interaction. We're all pretty excited to see what he comes up with; Ned and I have clued him into all of the coworking resources available. He is additionally copied on this post. The grant has been posted to the files section for anyone to use/look at/whatever. We cribbed quite a bit from the existing coworking literature, especially the NYTimes article and Julie Gomoll's quote when we work together we work smarter. Although the RDA handed out $200,000 this spring, we didn't get the grant. Why? We had too much support already with respect to the coworking group, a frontpage article in a major paper, a podcast interview with an arts organization and Caroline Collective on the tips of tongues all throughout the architecture school. They knew that Caroline was going to open regardless of contributing to it. No worries. We know that the coworking people here are the awesomest people we know anyway. Hopefully this grant app can be used by other people to get startup funds for your location or as a think piece for a nice discussion. Looking forward to everyone's thoughts on globalization and coworking. Matthew and Ned --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: My What a Big...Group You Have!
Yay Gwen! Welcome. On May 13, 4:54 pm, gwenbelldotcom [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi all, Just found out about this group from the Fabulous Tara Hunt. Pleasure to be here. I'm Gwen Bell (http://gwenbell.com). I am an entrepreneur with some fun things going on in Boulder, Berlin, Tokyo beyond... Starting a coworking space and looking to offer encouragement and gain support. Coworking FTW! Gwen Bell --http://gwenbell.comhttp://coloradostartups.com --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Caroline Collective opening party: June 7th
We're going to be celebrating the grand opening of Caroline Collective on June 7th. The physical party will be held in Houston at the Caroline Collective. 1) Everyone's invited; we'd love to have you and celebrate something we're proud of. 2) There are unconfirmed rumors of people from outside Houston attending for the weekend. If this is the case, please let me/us/we know if you need a hotel, an unoccupied couch/bed, or for us to build you a bed this weekend when we build our desks; whatever you need we'll do what we can to provide. 3) Instead of making this a party about the opening of Caroline we'd like to really make this a giant coworking party, highlighting the insignificance of geography and the importance of community. Our idea is to have multiple projectors set up around the space with a live videochat. Then physical attendees and virtual attendees can interact via chat and speech. Would any other spaces be interested in joining in the party with your own party and video or simply broadcasting what's going on at your space? If you have no event scheduled for June 7th then how bout a taped event or a recording of a regular coworking day? In both cases we'll get a dedicated projector just for that video To review: 1) you're invited and 2) we'll find space for you and if you think 3) is a terrible idea you should tell us now before we go out and secure all these projectors. Thanks, Matthew --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Pink Noise Generators Direct Telephone Lines...
Thanks, these are both really helpful for proper phrasing and leading by example. Ned and I will start on this philosophy text and post a draft this weekend for everyone to pick apart. With regards to noise does anyone else besides Indy Hall have a loud room where there are no noise restrictions? We have a separate room that could be used for this purpose but this depends on general opinions. Matthew On May 11, 6:36 pm, Brian Del Vecchio [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Once again, Alex, you've responded with my thoughts before I could get them in an email. Leading by example is the best way to establish community standards. I also try to vocalize the standards when doing so, by saying I've got to make a call, so I'll be out on the back porch. Also, speaking up when someone is too loud, and with good humor, makes it safe for anyone else to do so later. I offer this advice humbly, since I'm probably the worst offender in our space when it comes to disruptive conversation. I was also reminded of this line from the NY Times article: And Mr. Vlahides at the Hat Factory griped about some humorless European guys who sat at the common table and talked loudly on their cellphones instead of going outside. We must always be vigilant against these humorless invaders, wherever they may hail from :) nytimes.com:http://urltea.com/369d On 5/11/08, Alex Hillman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Setting a precedent, and leading by example, are probably the two easiest solutions. Sounds like this shared space values would be a great sub-document to be shared along with our core values of coworking. -- Brian Del Vecchio | Virosity, Inc. | [EMAIL PROTECTED] | 617-899-0798 --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Introducing Myself and Looking into Starting Coworking Space in TX
Hi Joel, Matthew here from Caroline Collective. We've got a bunch of space still available and an incredible community here in Houston. Hope you can come by sometime. Matthew On May 8, 6:21 am, Tara Hunt [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: There is also LaunchPad Coworking in Austin:http://blog.launchpadcoworking.com/ And here is Caroline Collective in Houston: http://carolinecollective.cc/ I think there is space at both...plus AMAZING communities, which is the core to coworking. Tara On Tue, May 6, 2008 at 1:14 PM, Dawn Hayes [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Joel, Congratulations on graduating. I am in NYC but lived in Austin for a year and have family out there. There are some folks interested in launching coworking efforts, but I was surprised at how much slower the process was (probably because office space isn't as expensive there). Check out: http://coworking.pbwiki.com/CoworkingAustin I am interested in working with the community and collaborating, so feel free to keep in touch. Cheers, Dawn www.unitedcommunityventurepartners.com On Tue, May 6, 2008 at 5:20 AM, BusynessStudent [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hey Guys and Gals! I just wanted to take some time to introduce myself. My names Joel and I'm going to be graduating this Friday from Texas State University. This past spring I was in a class that required us to start a business. I helped started one and have helped an other start looking for funding. Early on in the semester I pitched an idea of a co-op working space before I even knew there was such a thing. Now that I am about to graduate I have time to start focusing on my future. So if anybody is wanting to start a coworking space in San Antonio, Houston, or Austin I would love to work with ya! I would have a floor or couch to sleep on in each city. Ive been working on some financials and hope this coming Saturday to pitch my idea for coworking space to my family. I know its not going to make me a millionaire over night. I just want to work beside creative people who are all entrepreneurs in there own right so that one day I will find the way to my dreams. thanks in advance for reading through my horrible writing. I hope to stay in touch. -- tara 'miss rogue' hunt coFounder Citizen Agency (www.citizenagency.com) blog:www.horsepigcow.com phone: 415-694-1951 fax: 415-727-5335 --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Introducing Myself and Looking into Starting Coworking Space in TX
Hi Joel, Matthew here from Caroline Collective. We've still got lots of space available and a fabulously supportive community in Houston, hopefully you can come by some time. Matthew On May 8, 6:21 am, Tara Hunt [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: There is also LaunchPad Coworking in Austin:http://blog.launchpadcoworking.com/ And here is Caroline Collective in Houston: http://carolinecollective.cc/ I think there is space at both...plus AMAZING communities, which is the core to coworking. Tara On Tue, May 6, 2008 at 1:14 PM, Dawn Hayes [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Joel, Congratulations on graduating. I am in NYC but lived in Austin for a year and have family out there. There are some folks interested in launching coworking efforts, but I was surprised at how much slower the process was (probably because office space isn't as expensive there). Check out: http://coworking.pbwiki.com/CoworkingAustin I am interested in working with the community and collaborating, so feel free to keep in touch. Cheers, Dawn www.unitedcommunityventurepartners.com On Tue, May 6, 2008 at 5:20 AM, BusynessStudent [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hey Guys and Gals! I just wanted to take some time to introduce myself. My names Joel and I'm going to be graduating this Friday from Texas State University. This past spring I was in a class that required us to start a business. I helped started one and have helped an other start looking for funding. Early on in the semester I pitched an idea of a co-op working space before I even knew there was such a thing. Now that I am about to graduate I have time to start focusing on my future. So if anybody is wanting to start a coworking space in San Antonio, Houston, or Austin I would love to work with ya! I would have a floor or couch to sleep on in each city. Ive been working on some financials and hope this coming Saturday to pitch my idea for coworking space to my family. I know its not going to make me a millionaire over night. I just want to work beside creative people who are all entrepreneurs in there own right so that one day I will find the way to my dreams. thanks in advance for reading through my horrible writing. I hope to stay in touch. -- tara 'miss rogue' hunt coFounder Citizen Agency (www.citizenagency.com) blog:www.horsepigcow.com phone: 415-694-1951 fax: 415-727-5335 --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Pink Noise Generators Direct Telephone Lines...
Aside from technological fixes to cancel noise it sounds like the secondary problem is the social one. We were planning on writing a philosophy of sorts for Caroline Collective that outlined how we envisioned people interacting in the space. Not to stifle creativity or to direct the evolution of the space but for the specific goal of addressing the noise situation at the onset. How does this sound to people? Matthew On Apr 30, 2:58 pm, Alex Hillman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Back to the original topic, about noise issues, one of our newest full time members voiced his opinion on some of perceptions of pros and cons. His only con, really, is a noise issue. http://www.wildbit.com/blog/2008/04/30/coworking-social-club-or-work-... Other than better organized space (we're limited, understandably, by the size of the space we're in), has anyone else come up with anything creative (besides the aforementioned utilities) for dealing with noise and chatter of the social aspects? Some members prefer the ruckus, others don't. Knowing full well we cant, and won't please everyone, Chris's respectful post got me thinking about how we might be able to tune up this solution. Thoughts? -Alex On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 3:52 PM, Derek Young [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: We've taken very much the same approach. However, at the same time, we make it clear that we aren't opposed to adding phone lines, fax lines, color printers, or other services IF THEY'LL BE USED. I do everything I can to avoid recurring costs like phone lines. We bought a multi-function printer that can do faxes. We don't have the line at this point. If one of our member's core business requires faxing and they are opposed to the eFax services, then we'll put the line in. We're here to help. The same thing applies to fixed telephone lines. Cell phones work great. But some folks need a more consistent line for conference calls or when working with cell phone intolerant clients (CEO types in our experience). Several folks at the Suite seem to be involved with regular radio interviews via phone too. This could drive us to fixed telephone lines. We aren't opposed to fixed lines, but again, if it's needed for the core business of our member and it'll be used, we'll put it in. So far, we've kept a lot of nice-to-haves out of the office using this logic. Re: Pink Noise generators. Recommend headphones. We also have an office-wide stereo system (two big speakers and Craigslist stereo equipment) that anybody can control via iTunes/AirTunes. That has actually worked quite well to baffle background noise when there's a lot of activity. It also drives people to get bigger headphones – depending on the music choices of the day. I hope this helps, Derek Young - Suite133 On 4/30/08 9:42 AM, Alex Hillman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Totally agreed with Jacob here. I've been a broken record with this, I'm sure, so for those of you who've heard it over and over again I'm sorry. But: Ask your *potential* members what they want/need. But as Tara has suggested in the past, don't be open ended about it because most of the time, they don't know what they want/need. Surveys are great, as are observational conversation. But make sure that these things are directed at YOUR users, after all, they're the ones you're planning to serve! Small iterative steps to launch will save you headaches and dollars. In respect to these particular utilities...they're interesting but seem unnecessary, unless you're stacking people on top of one another without providing any kind of quiet areas. Just my .02. Good luck! -Alex, IndyHall On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 12:34 PM, Jacob Sayles [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Kelly, One of the first things I did last spring when Office Nomads was just an idea was to drive down to Portland and talk with Eva and David and check out their space. They were SUPER helpful and one bit of advice they gave me stuck and it has helped me sleep better at night since. Don't build it unless you KNOW it's needed. Their space is awesome and because of all the work they did getting it ready it has scaled up quickly and smoothly. This has a few disadvantages though. One, you are out some serious cash upfront when every $$ matters, and two, ramping up quickly isn't exactly a good thing. We took this advice and opened our doors after just 3 weeks of prep. That prep was mostly getting the internet installed and the furniture we had been collecting out of my garage. We are still working to fill in the furniture gaps, paint the walls, and developing and fine tuning our business processes. The slower ramp us helps keep us sane and the savings from not buying lots of expensive equipment and not having our doors open for months to install said equipment helps keep us from freaking out because of the slower ramp up. Now, as people ask for things we
[Coworking] Re: First national press, then international acquisition!
Damn it Alex, that's the second time today I fell for something. The first was Bob Lesfetz's post about Apple buying Universal. On Apr 1, 8:36 am, Alex Hillman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: It's a good day for coworking around the globe! http://www.indyhall.org/2008/04/01/a-perfect-partnership/ Just a reminder not to take life too seriously, and seize the day :-) -Alex -- -- - -- - Alex Hillman round(3)media new! ask me about it digital: [EMAIL PROTECTED] visual:www.round3media.com|www.dangerouslyawesome.com local:www.indyhall.org p.s. april fools. --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Internet Access for Coworking Spaces
This is a huge help. Looks like Speakeasy is the way to go and luckily they service Houston (or at least our part of Houston). Looking forward to testing out all the the router/repeater solutions out there. Thanks Tara, Jacob and Alex On Mar 26, 2:46 pm, Alex Hillman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: We also have a speakeasy commercial line as well that's stood up quite nicely even at 5pm on a friday when everyone's watching hulu. Our router situation is still in flux as we find something that's stable and can handle the load better wirelessly. (knock on wood) it's been good this month. We're currently running on the Belkin 54g, but have tried a DD-WRT in the past as well and have had generally fickle responses from both. Hard-wired to the DSL, though...even when we're packed it's snappy. And for $130/month you can't touch it. -Alex On Wed, Mar 26, 2008 at 3:08 PM, Jacob Sayles [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'm sure you'll need maximum bandwidth for downloading all those unicorn videos At Office Nomads we have a T1 with speakeasy that goes for about $350. It's 1.5Mbits up and down and is guaranteed and solid as a rock. When you go to officenomads.com you are going over this pipe. We are looking to expand for heavy traffic days by load balancing over a direct wifi link to our friend's server rack downtown (3Mbit) and maybe even a fat DSL or cable line (6-10Mbit). Speed isn't everything and your router/firewall has a lot to do with quality of service. We use a fun little box that has no moving parts, 6 interfaces, and runs PFSense. It was about $400 and it makes me smile. Jacob Sayles Co-founder Janitor http://officenomads.com On Wed, Mar 26, 2008 at 11:13 AM, Tara Hunt [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: We use Speakeasy in SF. I don't know where they cover. We don't have a dedicated line, but it's pretty reliable and quick, even when 35+ geeks are gathered. Tara On Tue, Mar 25, 2008 at 10:32 PM, Matthew Wettergreen [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hiya, I wanted to get everyone's thoughts on the best options for internet access for coworking spaces. What type of plan does everyone have? Speed? Price? Has anyone gotten ISPs to sponsor? thanks Matthew -- tara 'miss rogue' hunt coFounder Citizen Agency (www.citizenagency.com) blog:www.horsepigcow.com phone: 415-694-1951 fax: 415-727-5335 -- -- - -- - Alex Hillman round(3)media new! ask me about it digital: [EMAIL PROTECTED] visual:www.round3media.com|www.dangerouslyawesome.com local:www.indyhall.org --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Co-dogging / coworking
Ned and I are shooting for a May 1st soft opening for the anchors. Several of our anchors are chomping at the bit to get into the space but it's just not ready for public consumption yet. Until all the discussion ensued I was positive that Raines was being facetious about co-dogging. The pet share sounds like it could work depending on the pet, pets need love too you know. Pets aside, we do not own a dog, that was the landlord's dog snooping around. Thanks for all the positive comments so far. Matthew and Ned On Mar 22, 7:48 pm, Julie Gomoll [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I have to admit, that sounds like a lovely setup for puppy :) Nice office, too! --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
