[Coworking] Introducing myself: Jedi from Los Angeles, CA / Philadelphia, PA
Hello all- I'm a Space Catalyst and Coworker, though I didn't realize it fully as such until today. I stopped in at Blankspaces.com across the street from my apt, where I met Jerome and got a tour and the low down on his space (it's a beautiful space by the way). I've been involved with all this on various levels since 1996 when, at 17, I synced up with a motley crew of artists, performers and others at one of our old employers properties. Some of us, including the employers son, co-managed an outdoor adventure company by day and then gathered together with others afterhours for parties, movies, and then increasingly so for the common vision of forming a collective, for- and non-profit group to raise the locals awareness on a number of topics. While we had high hopes our efforts never moved much further than our dinner parties and other planning meetings - we looked at some spaces and drew out some floor plans even but nothing more. Next was my last two years of secondary school during which I homeschooled myself but would go on campus to use it's computer lab or other study/work rooms (this makes me think that study hall is probably another early model for coworking spaces), then again in college/at university where computer labs were nearly every other room (at least the art/design/computer schools anyway). Then I relocated to Los Angeles and made ample use of Internet cafes, connected with collectives, and with live/work loft communities like The Brewery Art Colony, Abundant Sugar, The Do LaB, Sugar Shack, and most recently, the Catalyst Artist Collective. Throughout all this time, I've continued reconnecting to the ideals and themes I helped craft back in the nineties as a teenager, merging them together with my adult ones in the hopes of birthing something new. Also, my experience in event productions, eCommerce, social media marketing, carpentry and construction, and other related areas lends itself to my desire to create space for something new on some level. One of my working concepts is called Floorspace which arose from a desire for more floorspace to dance at clubs, then morphed towards more practical uses as I became more active in business. As Ken said in his intro, it might be that I don't take this any further too. But I keep bumping into signs along the way that inspire this desire to be played out as far I can take it. -- 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] Introduction - Houston Texas
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.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
[Coworking] cabin fever
hello - just wanted to say hi and say how happy I am to find this group! i've been freelancing for several months and altho it's great having total control over my time, working from home and all that good stuff, i'm a social person. i get lonely. i sometimes worry i will become socially, uh-hem, inept. i've been looking for a situation where i can share space with others in the milwaukee area, but there doesn't seem to be anyone renting/ sharing, strangely enough. every once in a while i go to a friend's studio, which helps. it's not enough tho - i feel as tho i'm impinging on their time/space/money. i hope to find or start up a coworking situation soon. i look forward to more discussions on this topic! thank you! -- 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: Twitter Lists for coworking
Hi, Fly The Coop is a new (ish) Manchester, UK based co-working space. You can find out more about us at: http://flythe.coop Our users twitter list is at: http://twitter.com/fly_the_coop/ftc-members http://twitter.com/fly_the_coop/ for our announcements. We're currently looking to setup CoWorking Visa's with other spaces. I've started a list of co-working tweeters at: http://twitter.com/#/list/oceanician/co-working Look foward to chatting to you. Cheers, Ian. -- 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: FlyThe.Coop - Manchester, UK
Hi, Just a quick hello from me, as it's my first post. I've been involved with helping with Fly The Coop in Manchester as a director for a while. We've just had our 2nd members meetup in the space, and we're starting to get a buzz going, and organizing a few events. We're also trying to put together a booking system. I do remember seeeing another system at another space, but can't find it now. Did one get open sourced? We've started on one, but it might be more beneficial to everyone for us to contribute to an existing system. Love to hear back from you and get involved in helping and discussing issues with you. Thanks for your time, Ian Moss http://ianmoss.com/contact http://twitter.com/oceanician -- 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] Hello all
Hi, I've been looking into coworking for several reasons. One as a worker but also as possibly setting up a coworking center. I'm glad to be here so I can learn more about what is happening in this space. Jon -- 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] Space Catalyst from Colombia
Hello Community, First and foremost thank you for all the information. The community seems great and the wiki has given a lot of food for thought. I recently experienced the co-work environment at CoWork Central in Buenos Aires, and am eagerly planing ahead for a space in Cali - Colombia. I'd like to be a part of the group and maybe gain some more ideas from the community, and hopefully becoming a co-work location in Colombia. Again looking forward to becoming part of the community David -- 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] Where can I find info on how to join the Coworking Visa Program
Hey there, I work for the Leftbank Project (www.leftbankproject.com) in Portland, Oregon. We have a space in our building called The Hive that is dedicated to coworkers. It is in its infancy, but we are looking at ways to raise its awareness. I have been following the trend through articles on the web and Twitter and would love more information on the Visa program... i.e. is there a charge to become a member, what is the process etc. If anyone has any information out there it would be greatly appreciated. I checked out the website www.coworkingvisa.com but it is still under development... Thanks in advance for your help! Rachael -- 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: Improving the Google Group
Hi Alex, Yes - Zoho Discussions is free for open source projects and you are most welcome to switch. Regards Dhan Zoho Discussions On Feb 9, 9:12 pm, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: Awesome tip. I'll contact him today. Thanks Mike. /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Tue, Feb 9, 2010 at 11:08 AM, Mike Schinkel mikeschin...@newclarity.netwrote: On Feb 9, 2010, at 10:52 AM, Alex Hillman wrote: I did some research and found that a Zoho forum to support our group would cost $75/month, and incur a one-time $500 fee to migrate all of the existing data (messages, threads, and even users) from Google Groups to Zoho. There's even an option to interact with Zoho via e-mail for those of us that like this. They might even do it for free eliminating your cons. Contact dhan [at] zohocorp [dot] com who is the Product Manager for Zoho Discussions. See close to the bottom: Zoho Discussions for your Open Source Project: http://blogs.zoho.com/general/zoho-discussions-is-now-free-for-open-s... -Mike Schinkel Ignition Alley Atlanta Coworking http://ignitionalley.com -- 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.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
[Coworking] Re: Improving the Google Group
You raise very valid concerns John Sechrest. @ Zoho Discussions we had this in mind when we developed the product. Apart from the web based access, we have active bi-directional emailing too. Of course, you are welcome to give Zoho Discussions a spin and come back with comments - for I am sure your feedback will only help improve the product. Regards Dhan Zoho Discussions On Feb 9, 10:46 pm, John Sechrest sechr...@gmail.com wrote: The difference between mailing lists and forums is much more complex and much more subtle that you are outlining here. I have seen several efforts to move to forums blow up discussions. In addition, I have also seen moves like this end up translating into a biforcation of the conversation into two different groups. The choice of how you view data is a critical one. And I totally agree about the need for a tool that helps you focus your attention well. For me, google groups + gmail does this well. In general, I have yet to meet a forum that I like. Web based forums hide information and make it harder for me to find things. I find this especially true of forum sites like NING. (pet peave) I do not know how zoho forums work, having never used them. For me, I am immediately suspicious when I see the word forum. Since forums usually take me more time to process, take more energy to keep in context. I suspect it is an information processing style issue, since these are the very issues you are trying to address. I would just urge caution. A shift like this from google groups to zoho forums is likely to quietly and subtly alter who is participating, and who stays connected to the group. I have watched other groups have a significant shift of membership with tool changes like this. Be sure you are getting what you think you are getting. And be sure you know which audience you are serving with the change. On Tue, Feb 9, 2010 at 7:52 AM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.comwrote: So, Woody just suggested that an active thread be moved out of the main channel so as to not disrupt others. While I think it was a good topic to keep in the group's visibility, his question of can I move this to a sub folder reminded me of something. Google Groups kinda sucks. To be fair, it's become our home. This is the most active repository of information for coworking, and the place where I send people first to learn more and meet more coworking people. But the Google Group is anything but good for discovery. Spam moderation is chaos for the people who actively manage it. The lack of sub-threads is annoying, and the lack of message context makes it hard to know what messages to pay attention to. Recently, the open source javascript library jQuery moved away from Google Groups for a lot of these same reasons...to Zoho forums. I did some research and found that a Zoho forum to support our group would cost $75/month, and incur a one-time $500 fee to migrate all of the existing data (messages, threads, and even users) from Google Groups to Zoho. There's even an option to interact with Zoho via e-mail for those of us that like this. The pros: - Much better organization of our knowledge. The ability to set message topics to things like question, introduction, idea would be HUGE for this group. - Easier on-boarding for new members - Better spam moderation tools The cons: - It's not free - Since it's not free, somebody needs to pay for it, which means somebody is ultimately a keyholder The cons aren't huge, but they do need to be addressed. I think this could be a very valuable evolution of this discussion forum that we all love so much. What say you, the coworking group? -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. -- John Sechrest . Corvallis Benton . Chamber Coalition . 420 NW 2nd . (541) 757-1507 . sechr...@corvallisedp.com . . -- 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] Re: Coworking Annual Meeting???
Hello everyone, I'm Mark De Castro. I'm an architect and urban/environmenal planner from the Philippines. I am a newbie on this e-group. Firstly, just to give a brief background on what I do. I have a small start-up company that does townplanning consultancy for local governments here in the Philippines. We also conduct trainings on urban planning and environmental protection with private companies and academe. I have 7 partners and we have just recently incorporated. We are currently renting at a virtual office in Makati City. I came across an article at Entrepreneur Magazine Philippines about coworking. I am very interested about its concept and I think it is very innovative and can be the next wave of the future in live-work. Anyway, I would like to ask if there is coworking here in the Philippines? If so, where? If not, I am interested on the possibility of setting up one here. If possible, how? I will also do my own research about it. I am also interested to collaborate with members of this group. Thank you for having me. Best regards to all, Mark On Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 11:30 AM, rachel young rac...@camaraderie.ca wrote: I think an annual coworking conference is a great idea, something dedicated to coworking, not tacked on to another event. Something where we could focus on coworking and community issues, meet each other, see one another's cities and spaces. I'm in! There would have to be a lot of value to it in order to bring these already busy and stretched folks our of their spaces for a few days, though, something that could leverage our buying power for, I dunno, office furniture or health care benefits or travel discounts or something. Something where we can not only have those providers/suppliers sponsor the event to offset costs, but to provide real value that would be worth traveling for. I've been involved in a few organisations that are spread across multiple timezones or parts of the world, and they have decided on location in similar fashions, which is basically that host cities post their proposals and the community votes on where it should be, perhaps one vote per coworking facility. We can build in assurance that it won't always be in the same cities or parts of the country all the time so that people in, say, the west coast don't alwyas have to travel to the east coast. (ie, establish general zones and ensure the annual event rotates between zones) Anyway, I think it is certainly worth exploring, and being an event planner I am all for it. I put your suggested starting topics onto a wiki page ( http://coworking.pbworks.com/Coworking-Conference), which I think would be better to collaborate from there. I do think that this would take some time to plan out properly (and give folks some time to save up some money), so if you were thinking of escaping the winter conditions in the next few months, then perhaps sxswi is your better option for this year. r. -- rachel young rac...@camaraderie.ca (416) 801-0196 Find us in person: Camaraderie 102 Adelaide St E, 2nd Floor Find us online: camaraderie.ca/blog twitter.com/camaraderie http://groups.google.com/group/coworking/t/85443a86ec7592c2 Woodie Neiss wood...@gmail.com Jan 30 09:49AM -0500 Anyone want to get together for the first International Coworking Community Annual Meeting in ummm let’s say a warm, sunny place like Miami? Sort of a one day event where we could discuss best practices, set some protocols for future coworking locations and formally organize ourselves so that we can leverage our combined power? Suggested topics to discuss (feel free to edit/add to/delete/etc) 1) Keys to success a. pricing b. Serivices to offer 2) Managing the bottom line a. Financing the start up b. Negotiating lease agreements c. Managing monthly expenses 3) Marketing PR a. Building awareness b. How to generate more buzz c. The power of meet-ups d. Leveraging your chamber of commerce 4) Creative suggestions from some of our winning locations 5) How to formally organize ourselves into an International organization Perhaps we could all complete some surveys prior, and then present the results at the meeting as well? Regards, Woodie -- 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.com. For
Re: [Coworking] SXSW Coworking Meetup Announcement
Cody- Thanks for the invite! I look forward t this meetup and to touring your new space. Congratulations! Iris Kavanagh COO NextSpace Coworking + Innovation, Inc. www.NextSpace.us +1 831 420 0710 http://twitter.com/nextspace http://12seconds.tv/channel/nextspace facebook.com/nextspace On Feb 5, 2010, at 2:12 PM, Hillary Hartley wrote: On Sun, Jan 31, 2010 at 4:08 PM, Cody Marx Bailey superp...@gmail.com wrote: Hey everyone, On behalf of all the coworking spaces in Texas, I'd like to welcome everyone to this years Coworking Meetup during SXSW. In years past, we have used the lovely San Jose Hotel, but this year, we'll be having it at the newly opened Texas Coworking just blocks away from the Austin Convention Center. We're doing it a bit earlier than years past, so we don't take away from the party atmosphere that happens later in the night. That said, here's the skinny: Date: March 13th, 2010 Time: 6PM - 8PM Location: 200 E. 6th Street, 3rd Floor -- Austin, TX If anyone has any questions, let me know. I'll respond on/off list. Cody Marx Bailey 979-574-9199 The Creative Space (.org) Desired Hearts (.com) Hashtags (.org) 211a West Wm J Bryan Pkwy Bryan, Texas 77803 -- 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.
[Coworking] Re: Coworking Study
This sounds interesting, especially if you're willing to make the results *and your data* public. ;) To the best of my knowledge, there has not been an exhaustive research project done on coworking — but samples here and there — from both the academic and media worlds. Putting together some quantifiable stats on coworking itself — and how it's grown — would actually be very helpful, considering that when NPR asked me how big the community is, I was at a loss for providing them with any number based in fact! I'd also be interested in the qualitative reports from coworkers — looking for insight into how coworking has changed, and hopefully improved, their attitude towards work, productivity, and effectiveness. While I don't want to bias the outcomes of such a study, if one were performed, it would make my advocacy for coworking at the city, state, and municipal levels much easier. For example, I've had several conversations with the city of San Francisco about getting support for coworking spaces and they always express interest, but without demonstrating the benefits to small business or independents, little ends up resulting from that initiial interest. Chris On Feb 15, 10:29 am, sk...@emergentresearch.com sk...@emergentresearch.com wrote: Hi: My name is Steve King and I am a long time lurker and occasional poster on this group:). I'm a partner at a research firm - Emergent Research (www.emergentresearch.com) - that focuses on the small business sector of the US and global economy. We've been following coworking for several years and are thinking it might be time for a more formal study on this topic. I'm curious to see if the members of this group agree. What we are thinking of is: 1. A more in-depth look at the number of coworking facilities in the US today. We keep an informal count, but it is for directional purposes only and probably not too accurate. 2. A survey of coworking facility owners/managers focused on the size and scope (number of facility users, how often they visit, etc.) of the industry. 3. Possibly a survey of coworking facility users to see what they think. 4. Interviews with both coworking facility owners/managers and users. 5. Possibly a forecast of where this heading. We won't know if we can do this until we are farther along. If we go forward with this study, we would make our full results publically available. As you can tell, we are just starting to scope this study. Some questions I have for this group are: 1. Would this be useful and would you be willing to fill out our survey? 2. Is anyone else already doing this? No need to reinvent the wheel. 3. Do you have some suggestions as to what we might cover or include in the survey/research? Thanks for the help. Steve -- 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] Re: Community Acquisition of Coworking.com
Alex, As the pint person here on this, and again I totally understand that you took a much needed lead and happy you stepped up to the plate on it but wondering who is now going to be a part of the 'entity' of the negotiation of the deal. And, how is it that people can reserve on the initial offer that you presented and or for the redistribution of funds? (per Jason's last comment/ request) Would there be a way to begin a list of those who pledged and or now want to contribute; those who didn't get have an opportunity to partake on this quick deal over a long holiday weekend? What is the time frame that you are looking at to officially close the deal and how can people be a part of the 'official' process of contributing/submitting ideas going forward? Will there be a committee formed and what will be the 'election process'? Danielle Nicoli Linked in @wheremmm WHERE: Meet, Mix, Mogul Coworking in Los Angeles googlevoice 202 596 5157 On Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 9:51 PM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.comwrote: Jason, As I mention in the thread, we've over-raised at this point and aren't taking more contributions towards the domain purchase. We've had some suggestions about how to redistribute the funding and allow more people to benefit from the domain than the fast and the funded, but we won't need to address that until the domain is transferred and up, which is going to be a bit :) -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Tue, Feb 16, 2010 at 12:44 AM, jasontgoodr...@gmail.com jasontgoodr...@gmail.com wrote: I'm in for $500. On Feb 15, 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/5e4e84c. .. 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
[Coworking] Re: Community Acquisition of Coworking.com
Congratulations, Alex. Great work! There's clearly a desire among the coworking community to put in a stake in the ground and create something that more collectively represents the maturity (or maturing?) of the community! I think this initiative worked because it was 1) focused 2) had a deadline 3) resulted in a tangible outcome. Given that there's probably still people who would like to chip in, I wonder if you can't quickly look into hiring a contractor or company to build out the coworking.com website? Perhaps put out a limited RFP to the coworking community and then have the various proposals presented at SXSW and then voted on to quickly move things forward with the opportunity to raise a second amount of money to cover the costs of such a site? While I'm sure we/you could find volunteers to help, nothing motivates and catalyzes effort like positive income (i.e. cash) — and the Drupal community demonstrated that there can be a mix of open process, design leadership, and contracting out to arrive at a solution that hopefully many feel bought in to and works for the needs of a wide constituency. I also would caution against trying to create a massive or feature- rich site on coworking.com. I really like workatjelly.com for its straightforwardness and simplicity — and think that coworking.com should follow this model. Anyway, that's how I might proceed if I were in Alex's shoes — now that people have expressed an interest and committed to it with dollars — can we turn it into a secondary outcome that builds upon the initial success? Chris On Feb 15, 2:52 pm, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: WOW. In under 24 hours, we've raised pledges for over $9000. Over $6000 of that has been paid via paypal. *That said, I'm putting new sponsorships ON HOLD.* I think that we will be able to come up with new, shared value propositions to allow more spaces to find themselves sponsor links on the coworking.com homepage. If you feel like you missed out, PLEASE DON'T. This is NOT the end. It's only the beginning! I promise I won't be running off with your money :) If you've pledged, or attempted to fill out the form and did not pay via paypal at the end, I'll be sending you a paypal money request. I'd like to ask that pledges are paid by end of business day tomorrow. Once again, this has been incredible, and went much much much faster than I thought it would. I'm so proud of this community, and look forward to sharing the value of our new domain together! /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 5:32 PM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.comwrote: Awesome, Raines. Thanks for your support! I said this to Mike Schinkel, offline: This isn't buying a membership to an association. This is contributing to a specific cause, and being a sponsor. I think that we're on the path to form something more organic and accurately representative of what this community needs instead of bucketing it into a co-op or any other organization just because we know what that looks like. I think we're getting more organized, and there's no doubt about that...and I'm happy to lead the charge and have the community's support :) Hang tight, everybody. Talleying everything up now, in terms of pledges and actual payments. A few people have requested paypal invoices, they'll be coming shortly. -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 3:52 PM, Raines Cohen rain...@gmail.com wrote: I'm in. *Coworking Coaches* is now a $1K sponsor (*does that put us over the top? Don't stop the pledging*), and I'm looking forward to a collaborative process of building a sustainable, resilient virtual home base for the coworking movement. I consider my investment here a downpayment on building the community infrastructure and helping coworking stand on its own two feet as a peer with cohousing, worker/business cooperatives, incubators, and similar ventures -- to be celebrated, understood, and appreciated for its uniqueness but also for what it can share, in history, education, tools, and philosophy. Perhaps we can structure what we do as we build collective capacity and set up an organization so that after the domain is covered, others can step up in other ways to match the initial effort, for the work that follows. Raines Cohen, Coworking Coach http://www.CoworkingCoach.com/ *Planning for Sustainable Communities* (Berkeley, CA) Founding Member, Hub Bay Area http://BayArea.the-hub.net/ coworking for social entrepreneurs http://BayArea.the-hub.net/ -- 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
Re: [Coworking] Re: Community Acquisition of Coworking.com
Chris, I love this idea on specific next steps that you have presented. I would be willing to move my pledge for the domain purchase to money to spend on a open site/ location at SXSW to host such a meeting. And, if there is anyone else who didn't get to be involved and would like to be please let me know. This momentum is exciting! Danielle @''WHERE: Meet, Mix, Mogul Worklounge and Community Hub Los Angeles, Ca On Tue, Feb 16, 2010 at 9:21 AM, Chris Messina chris.mess...@gmail.comwrote: Congratulations, Alex. Great work! There's clearly a desire among the coworking community to put in a stake in the ground and create something that more collectively represents the maturity (or maturing?) of the community! I think this initiative worked because it was 1) focused 2) had a deadline 3) resulted in a tangible outcome. Given that there's probably still people who would like to chip in, I wonder if you can't quickly look into hiring a contractor or company to build out the coworking.com website? Perhaps put out a limited RFP to the coworking community and then have the various proposals presented at SXSW and then voted on to quickly move things forward with the opportunity to raise a second amount of money to cover the costs of such a site? -- 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] Clarification
Hi all. I've been hearing that some of you out there have not been so happy about my mentioning of executive suites and therefore, not adhering to the ethos of coworking. I want to clarify that my previous emails were only to propose utilizing some resources that I've come across, and as a way to expedite some progress toward two milestones that I do wish we all hit: conference and organization/alliance/league. The exec suites owners are not the Evil Empire, even though like you, I openly criticize their model and practices. They merely are based on a culture that we coworking people feel needs to adapt and evolve. Besides, they are fully aware of our coworking movement and some of them have already re-appropriated their spaces for coworking. If they are already doing so, shouldn't we at least collaborate with them on a discussion level so they subscribe to our ideals? Otherwise, their huge market presence and marketing power will effectively confuse and dilute our own efforts to communicate coworking to the general public. That discussion can be done, albeit briefly, at their annual conference to be in SF this year, should we find ourselves piggybacking on their plans. That is a big IF [we piggyback]. Remember, no one has really stepped up to the plate either to plan this conference or even get everyone to agree on the format; meanwhile, we have all agreed we want to convene in some format. On a similar note, this fundraising for the coworking.com domain does bring up some concerns for me (btw, for the record, I am amazed and really happy that the funds have been raised on short notice - congrats everyone). 1. So what do we do with the extra $? I know we're waiting for the transaction to be completed to finalize the final cost(s). 2. Who will control/manage this? Alex has been appointed but shouldn't we discuss how decisions are made going forward? Should we agree to a 51% or 65% majority vote? 3. Do people who haven't/couldn't contribute any funds have any say going forward? Are there buy-in rights for the future? 4. Let's say Alex is out of the country or otherwise is incapacitated or not accessible and then the hosting company has no proof that anyone else has authorization to make any required changes. 5. Who funds future domain renewal costs, if any? Look, there are just a host of issues without at least writing this down, formally/legally or whatever. We have some money at stake now, so let's make sure we all agree in writing before money becomes an issue. Haven't we all had money become an issue between friends/ relatives? ...concerned coworker, who's hoping he hasn't been voted off the island... Jerome __ BLANKSPACES work wide open www.blankspaces.com 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) Los Angeles, CA 90036 323.330.9505 (office) -- 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: Vote for Cohere's Logo
Great logo, Angel! Sorry I didn't get to weigh in earlier - I think you guys picked the best of the litter. Well done, and congrats! Susan __ Office Nomads officenomads.com On Feb 10, 11:15 am, Angel fccowork...@gmail.com wrote: Click on that link and then the photo to get into polldaddy to cast your vote.http://fccoworking.tumblr.com/ AND...depending on the winner, if any of the other logos really speak to you I can connect you with my graphic designer. She is amazing and we have bartered desk space for graphics and web design! I love it! She probably created 24 different designs! On Feb 10, 12:11 pm, Angel fccowork...@gmail.com wrote: Hey Everyone, We've put 7 designs up for vote. Would love to have y'all weigh in. Am hoping to get 100 votes in total..already have 42.http://fccoworking.tumblr.com/ Thanks! Angel -- 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] Re: Community Acquisition of Coworking.com
Maybe my dream of the ultimate coworking site can be achieved finally! Here it was: http://www.flickr.com/photos/missrogue/sets/72157600017335084/ And modeled off of Conferenceer (by Jacob Patton - no longer in existence). Simple, but functional. T On Tue, Feb 16, 2010 at 12:38 PM, WHERE MMM where...@gmail.com wrote: Chris, I love this idea on specific next steps that you have presented. I would be willing to move my pledge for the domain purchase to money to spend on a open site/ location at SXSW to host such a meeting. And, if there is anyone else who didn't get to be involved and would like to be please let me know. This momentum is exciting! Danielle @''WHERE: Meet, Mix, Mogul Worklounge and Community Hub Los Angeles, Ca On Tue, Feb 16, 2010 at 9:21 AM, Chris Messina chris.mess...@gmail.comwrote: Congratulations, Alex. Great work! There's clearly a desire among the coworking community to put in a stake in the ground and create something that more collectively represents the maturity (or maturing?) of the community! I think this initiative worked because it was 1) focused 2) had a deadline 3) resulted in a tangible outcome. Given that there's probably still people who would like to chip in, I wonder if you can't quickly look into hiring a contractor or company to build out the coworking.com website? Perhaps put out a limited RFP to the coworking community and then have the various proposals presented at SXSW and then voted on to quickly move things forward with the opportunity to raise a second amount of money to cover the costs of such a site? -- 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 -- 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] Clarification
Hey all. Serious stuff here. Let's take a step back for a second. I believe we are in a dangerous place right now, because money is involved, and everybody is going to have an opinion on how it should be distributed, who should be involved, who has what percent control over what, etc etc etc. The thing that makes this coworking movement so nice is that it's a decentralized starfish organization with no leadership structure, hierarchy, or bureaucracy. The coworking concept is one which we all subscribe to, and that concept lives outside of any formal entity. This group, the wiki, and the blog were carefully crafted with the idea in mind that they facilitate communication amongst a body of people who subscribe to this concept. We're going to have to work on making this thing as fair as possible, but I strongly, strongly, STRONGLY advise that we do NOT try to go in ANY direction which takes us down a path of centralization, raising more money, or hierarchy. This domain purchase was done to secure our word and our movement against co-opting from an external interest, and that's it. The site should be super simple, continue to facilitate conversation and information sharing in an open, decentralized way, and nothing more. If those things are to exist, they should exist outside of the coworking.comdiscussion, when we're able to think about it for more than a couple of days. I gave my money to Alex with clear terms that he set, and I trust him to use those funds to act in the best interests of the movement, and that's it. I don't want a vote, I don't want a board seat. That being said, we just witnessed how much power we collectively have to pool together our resources and accomplish something. If a group of people wants to form an organization that does similar such things, like conferences and software and whatever else, that sounds like a really cool thing to work on. But it should be separate from this domain discussion. The terms Alex suggested are imperfect, and will have to be improved to better facilitate the participation of everyone who believes in what coworking is all about. But injecting structure and hierarchy will do a lot more bad than good. The same way the current blog/wiki/group sites are managed in the background by people who have the best interests of the movement at heart, so too should this domain be managed in a lightweight, nonbureaucratic, and effective manner. Love you guys. Let's keep coworking the beautiful starfish that it is. Tony - New Work City - Work with, not for. Web: http://nwcny.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/nwc Email: t...@nwcny.com Phone: (888) 823-3494 On Tue, Feb 16, 2010 at 1:40 PM, rachel young rac...@camaraderie.ca wrote: I am volunteering to look into what an international co-op or association could be, and I'll report back pros and cons to the group in a few days. (or maybe by Mon, given what my weekend already looks like) r. -- rachel young rac...@camaraderie.ca (416) 801-0196 Find us in person: Camaraderie 102 Adelaide St E, 2nd Floor Find us online: camaraderie.ca/blog twitter.com/camaraderie On 16 February 2010 13:34, Mike Schinkel mikeschin...@newclarity.netwrote: On Feb 16, 2010, at 1:06 PM, Jerome Chang wrote: I've been hearing that some of you out there have not been so happy about my mentioning of executive suites and therefore, not adhering to the ethos of coworking. I want to clarify that my previous emails were only to propose utilizing some resources that I've come across, and as a way to expedite some progress toward two milestones that I do wish we all hit: conference and organization/alliance/league. The exec suites owners are not the Evil Empire, even though like you, I openly criticize their model and practices. They merely are based on a culture that we coworking people feel needs to adapt and evolve. Besides, they are fully aware of our coworking movement and some of them have already re-appropriated their spaces for coworking. If they are already doing so, shouldn't we at least collaborate with them on a discussion level so they subscribe to our ideals? The problem is that exec suites are the incumbent industry and they currently have a lot more money than coworking space operators. The Coworking movement is one that seeks to be a change agent. Anyone who has read Innovator's Dilemma will know that incumbents will fight change unless it's in their selfish best interest. Positive change that's not aligned with entrenched interests need to come from the outside, not from the inside. If we engage the exec suites industry the likelihood is they will use their funds to extinguish the nascent coworking space operations who are in the formative stage. I'd really prefer to see coworking grow and become it's own thing rather than see it be subsumed as just another exec suite option.
[Coworking] Re: Community Acquisition of Coworking.com
Was away for the weekend and totally missed this, but very excited to see the new site! Sasha Vasilyuk Sandbox Suites www.sandboxsuites.com -- 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] Re: Improving the Google Group
Jumping in... Three communities vibrant on google groups Two of them moved to better systems Only one vibrant community left Google groups may suck at some stuff, but it works. Please don't break it. Tara On Wed, Feb 10, 2010 at 8:42 AM, Dhan aravindhan.vijayaragha...@gmail.comwrote: You raise very valid concerns John Sechrest. @ Zoho Discussions we had this in mind when we developed the product. Apart from the web based access, we have active bi-directional emailing too. Of course, you are welcome to give Zoho Discussions a spin and come back with comments - for I am sure your feedback will only help improve the product. Regards Dhan Zoho Discussions On Feb 9, 10:46 pm, John Sechrest sechr...@gmail.com wrote: The difference between mailing lists and forums is much more complex and much more subtle that you are outlining here. I have seen several efforts to move to forums blow up discussions. In addition, I have also seen moves like this end up translating into a biforcation of the conversation into two different groups. The choice of how you view data is a critical one. And I totally agree about the need for a tool that helps you focus your attention well. For me, google groups + gmail does this well. In general, I have yet to meet a forum that I like. Web based forums hide information and make it harder for me to find things. I find this especially true of forum sites like NING. (pet peave) I do not know how zoho forums work, having never used them. For me, I am immediately suspicious when I see the word forum. Since forums usually take me more time to process, take more energy to keep in context. I suspect it is an information processing style issue, since these are the very issues you are trying to address. I would just urge caution. A shift like this from google groups to zoho forums is likely to quietly and subtly alter who is participating, and who stays connected to the group. I have watched other groups have a significant shift of membership with tool changes like this. Be sure you are getting what you think you are getting. And be sure you know which audience you are serving with the change. On Tue, Feb 9, 2010 at 7:52 AM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.comwrote: So, Woody just suggested that an active thread be moved out of the main channel so as to not disrupt others. While I think it was a good topic to keep in the group's visibility, his question of can I move this to a sub folder reminded me of something. Google Groups kinda sucks. To be fair, it's become our home. This is the most active repository of information for coworking, and the place where I send people first to learn more and meet more coworking people. But the Google Group is anything but good for discovery. Spam moderation is chaos for the people who actively manage it. The lack of sub-threads is annoying, and the lack of message context makes it hard to know what messages to pay attention to. Recently, the open source javascript library jQuery moved away from Google Groups for a lot of these same reasons...to Zoho forums. I did some research and found that a Zoho forum to support our group would cost $75/month, and incur a one-time $500 fee to migrate all of the existing data (messages, threads, and even users) from Google Groups to Zoho. There's even an option to interact with Zoho via e-mail for those of us that like this. The pros: - Much better organization of our knowledge. The ability to set message topics to things like question, introduction, idea would be HUGE for this group. - Easier on-boarding for new members - Better spam moderation tools The cons: - It's not free - Since it's not free, somebody needs to pay for it, which means somebody is ultimately a keyholder The cons aren't huge, but they do need to be addressed. I think this could be a very valuable evolution of this discussion forum that we all love so much. What say you, the coworking group? -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 coworking%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups .com . For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- John Sechrest . Corvallis Benton. Chamber Coalition . 420 NW 2nd . (541) 757-1507 . sechr...@corvallisedp.com . . -- You received this
[Coworking] Re: SXSW Coworking Meetup Announcement
pariSoma will be there too ! Clement Julian On Jan 31, 4:08 pm, Cody Marx Bailey superp...@gmail.com wrote: Hey everyone, On behalf of all the coworking spaces in Texas, I'd like to welcome everyone to this years Coworking Meetup during SXSW. In years past, we have used the lovely San Jose Hotel, but this year, we'll be having it at the newly opened Texas Coworking just blocks away from the Austin Convention Center. We're doing it a bit earlier than years past, so we don't take away from the party atmosphere that happens later in the night. That said, here's the skinny: Date: March 13th, 2010 Time: 6PM - 8PM Location: 200 E. 6th Street, 3rd Floor -- Austin, TX If anyone has any questions, let me know. I'll respond on/off list. Cody Marx Bailey 979-574-9199 The Creative Space (.org) Desired Hearts (.com) Hashtags (.org) 211a West Wm J Bryan Pkwy Bryan, Texas 77803 -- 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] Clarification
On Feb 16, 2010, at 2:08 PM, Tony Bacigalupo wrote: Serious stuff here. Let's take a step back for a second. I agree with you in principle, but not as black white. Do you see the Open Source Initiative as harmful? They did it in part to control the branding of open source which is essentially what acquiring a domain is about, branding. This doesn't have to be able running a conference, but it should be about branding, IMO. When you get people with shared interest in an initiative together it works when the number is small (see Dunbar's number as reference) but as the number grows and new people come in without the crystal clear ethos of the original members things turn to chaos without some way to manage it. Sadly it's human nature and wanting it to stay the same won't make it so. Worse, someone who does manage it well will be able to co-op the initiative (i.e. the exec suites industry in this case) if it isn't managed by the existing thought leaders and I'd put you, Alex, Tara and a lot of others online here in that group. I don't know what the answer is, but I'm pretty sure the answer is not do nothing. I also think we are all smart and capable people able to come up with an answer that works well if we put our heads together on the matter. Lead us. -Mike Schinkel Ignition Alley Atlanta Coworking http://ignitionalley.com -- 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] Where can I find info on how to join the Coworking Visa Program
On 9 February 2010 10:20, The Hive PDX rachaelausti...@gmail.com wrote: Hey there, I work for the Leftbank Project (www.leftbankproject.com) in Portland, Oregon. We have a space in our building called The Hive that is dedicated to coworkers. It is in its infancy, but we are looking at ways to raise its awareness. I have been following the trend through articles on the web and Twitter and would love more information on the Visa program... i.e. is there a charge to become a member, what is the process etc. If anyone has any information out there it would be greatly appreciated. I checked out the website www.coworkingvisa.com but it is still under development... Thanks in advance for your help! Go to the coworking wiki and select Coworking Visa link (I moved it other day to the first resource link). Log in (or create an account if first time) select edit link and add your details and bingo, you are in and you can use the new sekret Coworking Visa greeting(*) (*) Do not tell anyone but the greeting is saying 'hi!' to everyone when they walk in! Steven Heath Director, Foxbane Consulting Founder, AltSpace Cell: +64 21 706-067 www.foxbane.co.nz Level 22 Plimmer Towers 2 Gilmer Terrace Wellington AltSpace.co.nz - Shared office space in Wellington for home based workers, freelancers, or nimble companies -- 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] Clarification
I don't know what the answer is, but I'm pretty sure the answer is not do nothing. I also think we are all smart and capable people able to come up with an answer that works well if we put our heads together on the matter. Lead us. I was one of the ones saying we needed 'something' to hold this name. However, it very quickly became apparent that we did did not agree on what that 'something' was. I very strongly said I would rather have Alex hold the name in trust for ever rather than having a USA LLC or non profit company created. Some of the reasons are legal (USA law is an arse when it comes to non citizens as shareholders) and some of it is watching creatures like ICANN (use USA law against its own directors) and the other is we are not sure what direction is going to occur. We can wait. All those that have paid up trust Alex to do the right thing. Lets do the deal, bed in an initial website and then decide from that point what to do. -- Steven Heath Director, Foxbane Consulting Founder, AltSpace Cell: +64 21 706-067 www.foxbane.co.nz Level 22 Plimmer Towers 2 Gilmer Terrace Wellington AltSpace.co.nz - Shared office space in Wellington for home based workers, freelancers, or nimble companies -- 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] Re: Coworking Study
This makes me think of a report called Hidden Tech that a friend of mine keeps trying to get me to read. Might be a good reference for a research project along these lines: The original report funded by Northeast Utilities subsidiary in Mass. Hidden The and Valley is attached. Oeverview/summary on Amy Zuckerman's site. Amy Zuckerman the Project Manager for the 2003 Pilot Study, her website with links to reports and overview from a national perspective. http://www.a-zinternational.com/hiddentech/ Peace, Ryan Price rpr...@ryanpricemedia.com @liberatr 407-484-8528 FloridaCreatives.com Orlando Happy Hour: Mar 15th @ Crooked Bayou Next Likemind: Feb 19th @ UrbanThink! FL DrupalCamp: Feb 20th + 21st http://2010.fldrupalcamp.org -- @fldrupalcamp On Feb 16, 2010, at 11:36 AM, Chris Messina wrote: This sounds interesting, especially if you're willing to make the results *and your data* public. ;) To the best of my knowledge, there has not been an exhaustive research project done on coworking — but samples here and there — from both the academic and media worlds. Putting together some quantifiable stats on coworking itself — and how it's grown — would actually be very helpful, considering that when NPR asked me how big the community is, I was at a loss for providing them with any number based in fact! I'd also be interested in the qualitative reports from coworkers — looking for insight into how coworking has changed, and hopefully improved, their attitude towards work, productivity, and effectiveness. While I don't want to bias the outcomes of such a study, if one were performed, it would make my advocacy for coworking at the city, state, and municipal levels much easier. For example, I've had several conversations with the city of San Francisco about getting support for coworking spaces and they always express interest, but without demonstrating the benefits to small business or independents, little ends up resulting from that initiial interest. Chris On Feb 15, 10:29 am, sk...@emergentresearch.com sk...@emergentresearch.com wrote: Hi: My name is Steve King and I am a long time lurker and occasional poster on this group:). I'm a partner at a research firm - Emergent Research (www.emergentresearch.com) - that focuses on the small business sector of the US and global economy. We've been following coworking for several years and are thinking it might be time for a more formal study on this topic. I'm curious to see if the members of this group agree. What we are thinking of is: 1. A more in-depth look at the number of coworking facilities in the US today. We keep an informal count, but it is for directional purposes only and probably not too accurate. 2. A survey of coworking facility owners/managers focused on the size and scope (number of facility users, how often they visit, etc.) of the industry. 3. Possibly a survey of coworking facility users to see what they think. 4. Interviews with both coworking facility owners/managers and users. 5. Possibly a forecast of where this heading. We won't know if we can do this until we are farther along. If we go forward with this study, we would make our full results publically available. As you can tell, we are just starting to scope this study. Some questions I have for this group are: 1. Would this be useful and would you be willing to fill out our survey? 2. Is anyone else already doing this? No need to reinvent the wheel. 3. Do you have some suggestions as to what we might cover or include in the survey/research? Thanks for the help. Steve -- 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 . -- 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] Clarification
I haven't been ignoring this thread, or the other related to the coworking.com purchase, I've just been in a conference all day :) I'm going to need some time to catch up. Thanks y'all. /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Tue, Feb 16, 2010 at 3:25 PM, Steven Heath she...@gmail.com wrote: I don't know what the answer is, but I'm pretty sure the answer is not do nothing. I also think we are all smart and capable people able to come up with an answer that works well if we put our heads together on the matter. Lead us. I was one of the ones saying we needed 'something' to hold this name. However, it very quickly became apparent that we did did not agree on what that 'something' was. I very strongly said I would rather have Alex hold the name in trust for ever rather than having a USA LLC or non profit company created. Some of the reasons are legal (USA law is an arse when it comes to non citizens as shareholders) and some of it is watching creatures like ICANN (use USA law against its own directors) and the other is we are not sure what direction is going to occur. We can wait. All those that have paid up trust Alex to do the right thing. Lets do the deal, bed in an initial website and then decide from that point what to do. -- Steven Heath Director, Foxbane Consulting Founder, AltSpace Cell: +64 21 706-067 www.foxbane.co.nz Level 22 Plimmer Towers 2 Gilmer Terrace Wellington AltSpace.co.nz - Shared office space in Wellington for home based workers, freelancers, or nimble companies -- 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.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
RE: [Coworking] Clarification
As we are putting together our coworking space here in St Cloud, MN, I sit back and read all the threads by you 'coworking gurus' and get so impressed by how this movement is just taking off. I thought I was getting into something that was just a simple concept of getting like minded individuals (those who don't like to work alone, but work there own business in the company of others), but now is turning into this huge steam roller of ideas. It really is cool to see the collaboration take place. I still find the hardest part of this, is drumming up other like minded individuals in our community who want to jump on board with the enthusiasm of a coworker. I know it all takes time patients. Keep up the awesome work, Scott Anderson Statewide Property Inspections 320-761-2100 Web www.statewidepropertyinspections.com http://www.statewidepropertyinspections.com/ Blog http://statewide-homeinspections.blogspot.com/ _ From: coworking@googlegroups.com [mailto:cowork...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Alex Hillman Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 3:07 PM To: coworking@googlegroups.com Subject: Re: [Coworking] Clarification I haven't been ignoring this thread, or the other related to the coworking.com purchase, I've just been in a conference all day :) I'm going to need some time to catch up. Thanks y'all. /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Tue, Feb 16, 2010 at 3:25 PM, Steven Heath she...@gmail.com wrote: I don't know what the answer is, but I'm pretty sure the answer is not do nothing. I also think we are all smart and capable people able to come up with an answer that works well if we put our heads together on the matter. Lead us. I was one of the ones saying we needed 'something' to hold this name. However, it very quickly became apparent that we did did not agree on what that 'something' was. I very strongly said I would rather have Alex hold the name in trust for ever rather than having a USA LLC or non profit company created. Some of the reasons are legal (USA law is an arse when it comes to non citizens as shareholders) and some of it is watching creatures like ICANN (use USA law against its own directors) and the other is we are not sure what direction is going to occur. We can wait. All those that have paid up trust Alex to do the right thing. Lets do the deal, bed in an initial website and then decide from that point what to do. -- Steven Heath Director, Foxbane Consulting Founder, AltSpace Cell: +64 21 706-067 www.foxbane.co.nz Level 22 Plimmer Towers 2 Gilmer Terrace Wellington AltSpace.co.nz - Shared office space in Wellington for home based workers, freelancers, or nimble companies -- 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 mailto:coworking%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.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.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. image002.jpg
Re: [Coworking] Clarification
Mike, Good points all around; there's much to be gleaned from the open source movement and what happened to it. I wasn't aware of the Open Source Initiative. Do you know more about how they have helped the world of open source? The phrase still gets co-opted and misused left and right, but I suppose to some extent that can't be helped. Similar to the notion of open source, I hold that coworking is a concept that represents a set of needs and values that nobody can control or own. It simply is what it is. The best we can do is represent that concept the best we can, so that others may more easily and effectively participate. So regardless of what constructs we create, the concept will always exist outside of them. If somebody forms some sort of organization, it should be formed with that fact in mind. Tony - New Work City - Work with, not for. Web: http://nwcny.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/nwc Email: t...@nwcny.com Phone: (888) 823-3494 On Tue, Feb 16, 2010 at 2:36 PM, Mike Schinkel mikeschin...@newclarity.netwrote: On Feb 16, 2010, at 2:08 PM, Tony Bacigalupo wrote: Serious stuff here. Let's take a step back for a second. I agree with you in principle, but not as black white. Do you see the Open Source Initiative as harmful? They did it in part to control the branding of open source which is essentially what acquiring a domain is about, branding. This doesn't have to be able running a conference, but it should be about branding, IMO. When you get people with shared interest in an initiative together it works when the number is small (see Dunbar's number as reference) but as the number grows and new people come in without the crystal clear ethos of the original members things turn to chaos without some way to manage it. Sadly it's human nature and wanting it to stay the same won't make it so. Worse, someone who does manage it well will be able to co-op the initiative (i.e. the exec suites industry in this case) if it isn't managed by the existing thought leaders and I'd put you, Alex, Tara and a lot of others online here in that group. I don't know what the answer is, but I'm pretty sure the answer is not do nothing. I also think we are all smart and capable people able to come up with an answer that works well if we put our heads together on the matter. Lead us. -Mike Schinkel Ignition Alley Atlanta Coworking http://ignitionalley.com -- 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.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
Re: [Coworking] Clarification
I've been fascinated how this discussion has evolved. There are a number of very real issues being addressed, and this is anything but a bad thing. I remain firm on a couple of aspects of the discussion so far: - the model used to collect the funds to buy the domain was done with the purpose of just that: to buy the domain. we overshot, a good problem to have. once the final costs have been established, a technique to either return, or appropriately distribute the funds to a domain-related projects (design/development, hosting, etc). The people who contributed could have chosen not to do so if they didn't trust me to be responsible with their hard earned money - more importantly, I'm in complete agreement that the model used to collect the funds to acquire the domain is *decidedly not ideal* moving forward. It was effective for accomplishing the goal, but at the same time it is closed, exclusionary, and doesn't fairly represent this community. Once the domain has been acquired, I think we can come up with a better mechanism, and that mechanism may even involve returning some portion of the raised funds to the ~20 funders that stepped up. - the discussion around a coworking entity has crept back in. *I'm not opposed to* the researching of entity creation, the creation of an entity, associating with with an entity, or anything else that's been tossed on the table. *What I AM opposed to* is the idea that an entity solves the problem of how this group makes decisions. The fact of the matter is that a group this large makes it hard to make decisions. An entity in any of the proposed formats (LLC, Non-profit, co-op, collective, etc) that I've read would not be any better at making decisions. We're basically talking about an *informal* clusterf*ck (I say that in the kindest way possible) and making it a *formal* clusterf*ck. Either way, I've yet to meet a clusterfuck that's good at making decisions. - I do think that an organizational model can, and will, emerge. That model will be good at making decisions, and act in the best interests of the community it represents. It may or may not include everybody. It should operate on coworking core values. - I am assuming the responsibility for the domain coworking.com in trust of this community. Should a new entity emerge that makes sense based on everything that's been said so far, and that entity would like to assume the responsibility from me, I'm 100% ok transferring the domain. until then, we'll keep the coworking.com related properties as focused and lightweight as possible. - To Mike (and subsequently Tony)'s points about Open Source: the most common open source projects are the ones that are code prototypes being put out into the wild with no leadership behind them, no stated goals, and no community of contributors; only a community of users. The *healthiest* open source projects adhere to the ideas behind open source, but have defined leadership that's able to make decisions that benefit the trunk project. Anyone can run a fork, but the trunk...the recognized trunk...is managed in every sense of the word. It's open to contributors, but to keep code stable and clean, those patch submissions go through several levels of approval before being merged in. Linux kernel, the worlds biggest and best known open source project, follows this process. *I AM NOT PROPOSING THIS*, I am simply citing the realities of how healthy open source projects are grown. What is an unhealthy open source project? In my opinion, it's one that is free (as in beer) but has an imbalanced ecosystem of contributors and users surrounding it, effectively making it unsustainable. Sustainability is in our core values to mean more than just being green. Being sustainable is also a reference to business models, practices, communications, and more. I'm going to say something controversial, but is largely true: operating with unsustainable practices is something that open source projects aren't much better at than anybody else. Opensville is a utopia, but nobody wants to pay the taxes. *Nestled between Proprietary and Freedomberg, Opensville is a utopia. Everyone who lives in the adjacent cities spends their free time in Opensville. The parks are beautiful, the shopping is amazing, and the nights are pure Vegas. Sounds like a great place, huh? One problem: no one actually wants to live there. No one wants to pay the taxes or put in the effort it takes to keep the city running. Welcome to Opensville, population zero. * - William Hurley, in his essay Welcome to Opensvillehttp://talk.bmc.com/blogs/blog-whurley/whurley/opensville/ . Awesome, healthy discussion here. I love hanging around so many smart people!! -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Tue, Feb 16, 2010 at 5:35 PM,
[Coworking] Re: Clarification
Great thoughts all around team. These are some incredibly important conversations, and I want to thank everyone for bringing their opinions, their honesty, and their understanding to the table. Jacob and I were just talking through some of this stuff yesterday. After our conversation and reading through more of these threads, I come away with two immediate thoughts: 1. There has never been better timing for these conversations (I say conversations specifically because there are multiple - I would also agree that the purchase of a domain and the creation of a large international organization are very, very different conversations) than to happen right now, just weeks before SXSWi when so many of us will gather and can have some of these conversations face to face. I am incredibly excited about the time we can share there, and to see what comes of those conversations. 2. The idea of creating THE coworking organization or THE coworking annual event brings with it more challenges than I think might be worth it. Instead, I think that we should focus on smaller, more locally-focused efforts in terms of being more formally organized, and keep coworking in the broader sense in the state it appears to be most successful in - as a collection of ideals we all subscribe to and organize around. As Tony so eloquently reminded us, the beauty of coworking lies in our inability to create walls around it. And as Jacob always loves to remind me, there is no quicker way to blow up the google group than to have someone ask the question What is coworking? We have about 1,000 definitions for what it is, and in that diversity lies our biggest strength. Coworking is not a concept to be hijacked and utilized for evil corporate profit - because it's not a thing that can be spun that way. And as such, I believe that we might just do ourselves more harm by trying to create some huge international body where there might just not be need for one. I see the possibilities for coworking organizations and gathering bodies to be much more possible on the local level - in your city, your county, or even your country. We have already begun to meet as Coworking Seattle here in Washington, and are seeing plenty of interest from individuals who want to work on defining what coworking is here in Seattle. I'd recommend that those who are interested in creating larger organizing bodies work first locally. Our work will most likely create the most amount of meaning on a smaller scale first. Sorry for being a bit rambly in my explanation there, but I hope it makes a bit of sense. I'm very excited to see so many people in March in Austin, and look forward to more productive conversations developing here on the list. In community, Susan __ Office Nomads officenomads.com On Feb 16, 2:59 pm, Tony Bacigalupo tonybacigal...@gmail.com wrote: Mike, Good points all around; there's much to be gleaned from the open source movement and what happened to it. I wasn't aware of the Open Source Initiative. Do you know more about how they have helped the world of open source? The phrase still gets co-opted and misused left and right, but I suppose to some extent that can't be helped. Similar to the notion of open source, I hold that coworking is a concept that represents a set of needs and values that nobody can control or own. It simply is what it is. The best we can do is represent that concept the best we can, so that others may more easily and effectively participate. So regardless of what constructs we create, the concept will always exist outside of them. If somebody forms some sort of organization, it should be formed with that fact in mind. Tony - New Work City - Work with, not for. Web: http://nwcny.com Twitter:http://twitter.com/nwc Email: t...@nwcny.com Phone: (888) 823-3494 On Tue, Feb 16, 2010 at 2:36 PM, Mike Schinkel mikeschin...@newclarity.netwrote: On Feb 16, 2010, at 2:08 PM, Tony Bacigalupo wrote: Serious stuff here. Let's take a step back for a second. I agree with you in principle, but not as black white. Do you see the Open Source Initiative as harmful? They did it in part to control the branding of open source which is essentially what acquiring a domain is about, branding. This doesn't have to be able running a conference, but it should be about branding, IMO. When you get people with shared interest in an initiative together it works when the number is small (see Dunbar's number as reference) but as the number grows and new people come in without the crystal clear ethos of the original members things turn to chaos without some way to manage it. Sadly it's human nature and wanting it to stay the same won't make it so. Worse, someone who does manage it well will be able to co-op the initiative (i.e. the exec suites industry in this case) if it isn't managed by the existing thought
Re: [Coworking] Clarification
On Feb 16, 2010, at 3:25 PM, Steven Heath wrote: I don't know what the answer is, but I'm pretty sure the answer is not do nothing. I also think we are all smart and capable people able to come up with an answer that works well if we put our heads together on the matter. I was one of the ones saying we needed 'something' to hold this name. However, it very quickly became apparent that we did did not agree on what that 'something' was. Just to be clear, I wasn't disagreeing with any something other than not doing anything. I was calling for discussing aimed at a resolution. I very strongly said I would rather have Alex hold the name in trust for ever rather than having a USA LLC or non profit company created. A trust would be something. But that is a legal entity, also covered by some countries laws, and a trust requires details to be addressed that have not yet been address. And until your email a trust hasn't been explicitly proposed (at least I don't think one has.) All I'm asking is that we stop debating what *not* to do and start discussing what *to* do. On Feb 16, 2010, at 5:59 PM, Tony Bacigalupo wrote: Good points all around; there's much to be gleaned from the open source movement and what happened to it. I wasn't aware of the Open Source Initiative. Do you know more about how they have helped the world of open source? The phrase still gets co-opted and misused left and right, but I suppose to some extent that can't be helped. Great questions. I subconsciously assume people who are on mailing lists know about the OSI but that's clearly a myopic view of mine. Sorry. :) The term Open Source is a definition for a type of software license. So it's a legal term more than it is a statement about free availability of source code. Public domain source code is open and freely available, but it's not Open Source. Similar to the notion of open source, I hold that coworking is a concept that represents a set of needs and values that nobody can control or own. It simply is what it is. The best we can do is represent that concept the best we can, so that others may more easily and effectively participate. Actually, people collectively came together to define open source, hence the Open Source initiative. Without us agreeing on a definition then it will come to be defined by anyone and everyone who want to pervert it for their own ends much like deciding not to decide is a decision too. Anyway, here is the definition of Open Source: http://www.opensource.org/docs/osd And here are trademark and logo usage guidelines for Open Source: http://www.opensource.org/trademark Here is a list of open source licenses by category: http://www.opensource.org/licenses/category Here's the license review process: http://www.opensource.org/approval So regardless of what constructs we create, the concept will always exist outside of them. If somebody forms some sort of organization, it should be formed with that fact in mind. I think I disagree with that. IMO Coworking is defined implicitly by what all the people on the list and the wiki make it to mean. If we collectively now define it explicitly then we can establish that meaning instead of having its meaning co-opted by others. Let me give you a counter example. Someone who owns an executive suites business changes nothing and rechristens themselves Coworking and thus tarnishes the concept in the minds of all the people they reach. Without doing something like what the OSI did for open source there will be no way to say that those opportunists are not doing coworking. I get that many of you want to avoid the status quo by defining it but 1.) we can define it to include the ethos you cherish and 2.) if we don't define it others will and, mark my words, you won't like it. Reading between the lines it seems some think we can't define Coworking in a similar manner as did the OSI for Open Source. However those of you how know the open source community will almost certainly agree that there are few others communities that are more like herding cats than the open source community. If they could agree on Open Source then us agreeing on the definition of Coworking should be comparatively easy. On Feb 16, 2010, at 6:26 PM, Susan Evans wrote: 1. There has never been better timing for these conversations (I say conversations specifically because there are multiple - I would also agree that the purchase of a domain and the creation of a large international organization are very, very different conversations) than to happen right now, just weeks before SXSWi when so many of us will gather and can have some of these conversations face to face. Very sad that I can't be there. :-( 2. The idea of creating THE coworking organization or THE coworking annual event brings with it more challenges than I think might be worth it. Minimally, since there is only one domain I believe that implies
Re: [Coworking] Clarification
We're now talking about THREE separate but related issues: 1. How to pay for/who owns the domain, long term 2. What kind of entity could exist 3. The definition of coworking Just for those keeping track :) /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Tue, Feb 16, 2010 at 6:48 PM, Mike Schinkel mikeschin...@newclarity.netwrote: On Feb 16, 2010, at 3:25 PM, Steven Heath wrote: I don't know what the answer is, but I'm pretty sure the answer is not do nothing. I also think we are all smart and capable people able to come up with an answer that works well if we put our heads together on the matter. I was one of the ones saying we needed 'something' to hold this name. However, it very quickly became apparent that we did did not agree on what that 'something' was. Just to be clear, I wasn't disagreeing with any something other than not doing anything. I was calling for discussing aimed at a resolution. I very strongly said I would rather have Alex hold the name in trust for ever rather than having a USA LLC or non profit company created. A trust would be something. But that is a legal entity, also covered by some countries laws, and a trust requires details to be addressed that have not yet been address. And until your email a trust hasn't been explicitly proposed (at least I don't think one has.) All I'm asking is that we stop debating what *not* to do and start discussing what *to* do. On Feb 16, 2010, at 5:59 PM, Tony Bacigalupo wrote: Good points all around; there's much to be gleaned from the open source movement and what happened to it. I wasn't aware of the Open Source Initiative. Do you know more about how they have helped the world of open source? The phrase still gets co-opted and misused left and right, but I suppose to some extent that can't be helped. Great questions. I subconsciously assume people who are on mailing lists know about the OSI but that's clearly a myopic view of mine. Sorry. :) The term Open Source is a definition for a type of software license. So it's a legal term more than it is a statement about free availability of source code. Public domain source code is open and freely available, but it's not Open Source. Similar to the notion of open source, I hold that coworking is a concept that represents a set of needs and values that nobody can control or own. It simply is what it is. The best we can do is represent that concept the best we can, so that others may more easily and effectively participate. Actually, people collectively came together to define open source, hence the Open Source initiative. Without us agreeing on a definition then it will come to be defined by anyone and everyone who want to pervert it for their own ends much like deciding not to decide is a decision too. Anyway, here is the definition of Open Source: http://www.opensource.org/docs/osd And here are trademark and logo usage guidelines for Open Source: http://www.opensource.org/trademark Here is a list of open source licenses by category: http://www.opensource.org/licenses/category Here's the license review process: http://www.opensource.org/approval So regardless of what constructs we create, the concept will always exist outside of them. If somebody forms some sort of organization, it should be formed with that fact in mind. I think I disagree with that. IMO Coworking is defined implicitly by what all the people on the list and the wiki make it to mean. If we collectively now define it explicitly then we can establish that meaning instead of having its meaning co-opted by others. Let me give you a counter example. Someone who owns an executive suites business changes nothing and rechristens themselves Coworking and thus tarnishes the concept in the minds of all the people they reach. Without doing something like what the OSI did for open source there will be no way to say that those opportunists are not doing coworking. I get that many of you want to avoid the status quo by defining it but 1.) we can define it to include the ethos you cherish and 2.) if we don't define it others will and, mark my words, you won't like it. Reading between the lines it seems some think we can't define Coworking in a similar manner as did the OSI for Open Source. However those of you how know the open source community will almost certainly agree that there are few others communities that are more like herding cats than the open source community. If they could agree on Open Source then us agreeing on the definition of Coworking should be comparatively easy. On Feb 16, 2010, at 6:26 PM, Susan Evans wrote: 1. There has never been better timing for these conversations (I say conversations specifically because there are multiple - I would also agree that the purchase of a domain and the creation of a large international organization are very, very different conversations) than
Re: [Coworking] Clarification
Oh, and as far as in trust relating to a legal entity of a trust, I wasn't. I was referring to trust, the noun, Firm reliance on the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing. Stupid english language and multiple meanings for a word! /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Tue, Feb 16, 2010 at 6:57 PM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.comwrote: We're now talking about THREE separate but related issues: 1. How to pay for/who owns the domain, long term 2. What kind of entity could exist 3. The definition of coworking Just for those keeping track :) /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia On Tue, Feb 16, 2010 at 6:48 PM, Mike Schinkel mikeschin...@newclarity.net wrote: On Feb 16, 2010, at 3:25 PM, Steven Heath wrote: I don't know what the answer is, but I'm pretty sure the answer is not do nothing. I also think we are all smart and capable people able to come up with an answer that works well if we put our heads together on the matter. I was one of the ones saying we needed 'something' to hold this name. However, it very quickly became apparent that we did did not agree on what that 'something' was. Just to be clear, I wasn't disagreeing with any something other than not doing anything. I was calling for discussing aimed at a resolution. I very strongly said I would rather have Alex hold the name in trust for ever rather than having a USA LLC or non profit company created. A trust would be something. But that is a legal entity, also covered by some countries laws, and a trust requires details to be addressed that have not yet been address. And until your email a trust hasn't been explicitly proposed (at least I don't think one has.) All I'm asking is that we stop debating what *not* to do and start discussing what *to* do. On Feb 16, 2010, at 5:59 PM, Tony Bacigalupo wrote: Good points all around; there's much to be gleaned from the open source movement and what happened to it. I wasn't aware of the Open Source Initiative. Do you know more about how they have helped the world of open source? The phrase still gets co-opted and misused left and right, but I suppose to some extent that can't be helped. Great questions. I subconsciously assume people who are on mailing lists know about the OSI but that's clearly a myopic view of mine. Sorry. :) The term Open Source is a definition for a type of software license. So it's a legal term more than it is a statement about free availability of source code. Public domain source code is open and freely available, but it's not Open Source. Similar to the notion of open source, I hold that coworking is a concept that represents a set of needs and values that nobody can control or own. It simply is what it is. The best we can do is represent that concept the best we can, so that others may more easily and effectively participate. Actually, people collectively came together to define open source, hence the Open Source initiative. Without us agreeing on a definition then it will come to be defined by anyone and everyone who want to pervert it for their own ends much like deciding not to decide is a decision too. Anyway, here is the definition of Open Source: http://www.opensource.org/docs/osd And here are trademark and logo usage guidelines for Open Source: http://www.opensource.org/trademark Here is a list of open source licenses by category: http://www.opensource.org/licenses/category Here's the license review process: http://www.opensource.org/approval So regardless of what constructs we create, the concept will always exist outside of them. If somebody forms some sort of organization, it should be formed with that fact in mind. I think I disagree with that. IMO Coworking is defined implicitly by what all the people on the list and the wiki make it to mean. If we collectively now define it explicitly then we can establish that meaning instead of having its meaning co-opted by others. Let me give you a counter example. Someone who owns an executive suites business changes nothing and rechristens themselves Coworking and thus tarnishes the concept in the minds of all the people they reach. Without doing something like what the OSI did for open source there will be no way to say that those opportunists are not doing coworking. I get that many of you want to avoid the status quo by defining it but 1.) we can define it to include the ethos you cherish and 2.) if we don't define it others will and, mark my words, you won't like it. Reading between the lines it seems some think we can't define Coworking in a similar manner as did the OSI for Open Source. However those of you how know the open source community will almost certainly agree that there are few others communities that are more like herding cats than the open source community. If they could agree on Open Source then us agreeing on the
[Coworking] Re: Clarification
Thanks for all the thoughts, Mike. I just have one quick thought in reply which only addresses a small piece of what you wrote: You wrote But if you don't define it others will. In our years of experience here in Seattle, I have come away with the lesson that attempting to define coworking out of a fear that someone else will utilize the word for their own benefit hasn't been a worthwhile practice. Reacting out of perceived fear isn't always prudent. I am happy to continue talking about organizing for the benefit of coworking's sake, but not out of fear that if we don't define it some other entity will somehow snatch it from out underneath us. The probability that will happen is pretty darned low IMO. Susan On Feb 16, 3:48 pm, Mike Schinkel mikeschin...@newclarity.net wrote: On Feb 16, 2010, at 3:25 PM, Steven Heath wrote: I don't know what the answer is, but I'm pretty sure the answer is not do nothing. I also think we are all smart and capable people able to come up with an answer that works well if we put our heads together on the matter. I was one of the ones saying we needed 'something' to hold this name. However, it very quickly became apparent that we did did not agree on what that 'something' was. Just to be clear, I wasn't disagreeing with any something other than not doing anything. I was calling for discussing aimed at a resolution. I very strongly said I would rather have Alex hold the name in trust for ever rather than having a USA LLC or non profit company created. A trust would be something. But that is a legal entity, also covered by some countries laws, and a trust requires details to be addressed that have not yet been address. And until your email a trust hasn't been explicitly proposed (at least I don't think one has.) All I'm asking is that we stop debating what *not* to do and start discussing what *to* do. On Feb 16, 2010, at 5:59 PM, Tony Bacigalupo wrote: Good points all around; there's much to be gleaned from the open source movement and what happened to it. I wasn't aware of the Open Source Initiative. Do you know more about how they have helped the world of open source? The phrase still gets co-opted and misused left and right, but I suppose to some extent that can't be helped. Great questions. I subconsciously assume people who are on mailing lists know about the OSI but that's clearly a myopic view of mine. Sorry. :) The term Open Source is a definition for a type of software license. So it's a legal term more than it is a statement about free availability of source code. Public domain source code is open and freely available, but it's not Open Source. Similar to the notion of open source, I hold that coworking is a concept that represents a set of needs and values that nobody can control or own. It simply is what it is. The best we can do is represent that concept the best we can, so that others may more easily and effectively participate. Actually, people collectively came together to define open source, hence the Open Source initiative. Without us agreeing on a definition then it will come to be defined by anyone and everyone who want to pervert it for their own ends much like deciding not to decide is a decision too. Anyway, here is the definition of Open Source: http://www.opensource.org/docs/osd And here are trademark and logo usage guidelines for Open Source: http://www.opensource.org/trademark Here is a list of open source licenses by category: http://www.opensource.org/licenses/category Here's the license review process: http://www.opensource.org/approval So regardless of what constructs we create, the concept will always exist outside of them. If somebody forms some sort of organization, it should be formed with that fact in mind. I think I disagree with that. IMO Coworking is defined implicitly by what all the people on the list and the wiki make it to mean. If we collectively now define it explicitly then we can establish that meaning instead of having its meaning co-opted by others. Let me give you a counter example. Someone who owns an executive suites business changes nothing and rechristens themselves Coworking and thus tarnishes the concept in the minds of all the people they reach. Without doing something like what the OSI did for open source there will be no way to say that those opportunists are not doing coworking. I get that many of you want to avoid the status quo by defining it but 1.) we can define it to include the ethos you cherish and 2.) if we don't define it others will and, mark my words, you won't like it. Reading between the lines it seems some think we can't define Coworking in a similar manner as did the OSI for Open Source. However those of you how know the open source community will almost certainly agree that there are few others communities that are more like herding cats
Re: [Coworking] Clarification
I very strongly said I would rather have Alex hold the name in trust for ever rather than having a USA LLC or non profit company created. A trust would be something. But that is a legal entity, also covered by some countries laws, and a trust requires details to be addressed that have not yet been address. And until your email a trust hasn't been explicitly proposed (at least I don't think one has.) It is like a contract, written contract is easier to prove than an oral one. English common law supports the concept of 'in trust' without a Trust Deed being created. I think however that the current set up is 'for now' which leads to your next point. All I'm asking is that we stop debating what *not* to do and start discussing what *to* do. I think we first need to decide on the problem before working on the solution. Alex posted that we seem to have three issues: 1, How to pay for/who owns the domain, long term 2, What kind of entity could exist 3, The definition of coworking I think it is actually bigger than this because as soon as you explore point 2 'entity' you need to review things like funding, membership/shares, voting, directors, legal compliance, yadda yadda yadda. I now present to you pandora's box. We are starting to open that box with this domain name... -- Steven Heath Director, Foxbane Consulting Founder, AltSpace Cell: +64 21 706-067 www.foxbane.co.nz Level 22 Plimmer Towers 2 Gilmer Terrace Wellington AltSpace.co.nz - Shared office space in Wellington for home based workers, freelancers, or nimble companies -- 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] Re: Clarification
On Feb 16, 2010, at 6:57 PM, Alex Hillman wrote: We're now talking about THREE separate but related issues: How to pay for/who owns the domain, long term What kind of entity could exist The definition of coworking Just for those keeping track :) +1 On Feb 16, 2010, at 7:02 PM, Susan Evans wrote: In our years of experience here in Seattle, I have come away with the lesson that attempting to define coworking out of a fear that someone else will utilize the word for their own benefit hasn't been a worthwhile practice. Reacting out of perceived fear isn't always prudent. I am happy to continue talking about organizing for the benefit of coworking's sake, but not out of fear that if we don't define it some other entity will somehow snatch it from out underneath us. The probability that will happen is pretty darned low IMO. Thanks. Is it possible to date that nobody has wanted to co-op the name? I believe the executive suites industry will very much try to co-op the name and will have the money to do so. I also think that the same debate about not being able to define Open Source happened many years ago but they defined it. Maybe we can start with a list of principles? Clearly we won't argue there are not some unifying principles, right? (But I'm not the best one to submit those ideas.) But again if everyone else really thinks it's unimportant, I will demure and we'll just see were the chips fall. -Mike Schinkel Ignition Alley Atlanta Coworking http://ignitionalley.com -- 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: Twitter Lists for coworking
Dear Ian, have a look at my international coworking list on Twitter. http://twitter.com/guttertec/coworking Best regards, Axel -- 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.
