Dusty I agree with the spirit of what you are saying and mentioning Jelly is a good idea because yes, I would agree Jelly is a great part of coworking and no they aren't linked to a specific permanent place. I think the Cream Cheese sessions were also a great example of coworking with no specific space. I think you can have a great community that coworks without a space.
However, I think (and would love to be proven wrong) that you are trying to change it to solely a verb so that you can extract the part you like. Coworking, from it's inception, has been about a community that works and collaborates and socializes and meets up for community building (eesh, that sounds too much like team building in big cos., not the same ;) events. It's possible to take the simpler definition and see it in a different light but the spirit behind it is, I believe, what I just described. Jelly and Cream Cheese, not being location based were making the act of coworking be the community event. The secret sauce is/was the act of going there together and working and more. When you have a space, you can hold other events, foster community in more ways. Whatever the model the fact remains that we are doing more than just working and randomly talking with people who are there. I think making it a verb and trying to make it "individuals working and interacting" is reductive, it takes away from what a coworking space wants to / should be building; a group, a community. Working next to someone and socialising is being a normal human with human contact needs. Working together and building something more together is coworking. The "place" can be a permanent physical place, it can be a place the group swarms to but the ulterior motives are more than just socializing because you happen to be next to each other. Finally, I think if this had come from someone hosting a coworking session that just happens to change location, it would have been better received. In this case it's a way of making a business center be able to sound like a coworking space. I think you have a great project ramping up, I also think the fact you are involved and trying to find a way to fit your model with the original vision of coworking shows you pretty much get what the thing is and want to be part of it. I'd suggest, if I may, finding ways to have people in your future space become a community and start putting emphasis on that instead of on the huge investment and responding to every hint of profit/non profit discussions. If you were always talking about the future workshops and Camps and such that you want to host, how you want to foster collaboration, how you are looking forward to seeing the group coming together, we wouldn't even notice the for profit model. I hope this doesn't sound too harsh, it's not meant to be but it's also because I think coworking as it is does work and is springing up everywhere without becoming just a verb. Patrick Station C --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
