Hi all. I've had fantasies of starting a co-working here in North Alabama but haven't a clue as how to get started. There is NOTHING like that here.
On Sun, Dec 28, 2008 at 3:43 PM, Bryce <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi all — I introduced myself to the group almost a year ago, when > James Bentley (originator of the once-awesome, now... absent? > Coworking Map) were holding a series of public meetups to discuss > coworking options here in Columbus. I thought I'd check back in an > update anyone who's listening as 2009 is shaping up to be a year with > much progress in coworking for our fair city. > > The following is a cleaned-up-for-formatting reproduction of an entry > on my blog: > http://soldierant.net/archives/2008/12/coworking_in_columbu_1.html > > If you're particularly interested in this thread, I'd recommend > reading this on the blog, as there are links and just a couple of > images over there. > > Best regards, > Bryce > > -------------------------------- > > COWORKING IN COLUMBUS. AN UPDATE. > > *** Open Discussions > > We kicked the coworking-in-Columbus discussion off with a couple of > open forums, one in November of 2007 and a second one in March of this > year. While a number of plans were presented, and promises made, I > think the most significant outcome of those meetings was to get the > conversations started and we established a semi-organized 'casual > coworking' group that met on Fridays throughout most of the Spring and > Summer of this year. > > *** Casual Coworking Was Fun While It Lasted > > From our inaugural run upstairs at the North Market (verdict—decent > Wifi, awesome lunchbreak, but we all left smelling like the rafters in > a smokehouse) to the eventual groove we settled into at Cafe Apropos, > these sessions were a lot of fun for me personally. > > Most weeks we had decent turnout, some weeks excellent turnout (I > think our record was 13 for one Friday at Luck Brothers Coffee.) In > fact, we struggled with a problem that I can only imagine all > coworking arrangements have to deal with at some point: the fine > balance between working together and socializing. (Most weeks, we were > a little more 'co' than 'working.') > > What finally ended up killing these gatherings? I'm not 100% sure. I'd > like to say that it was simple attrition: group morale suffered when > coworking favorites Issac Kelly and Jim Cropcho moved away from our > fair city (Issac has since moved back—In your face, North Carolina!) > But in reality, I think it was simple sloppy planning and > coordination. Venues not published until the night before. 10am start- > times that actually were closer to 1pm. That kinda stuff. > > But we had fun, and a bunch of us got to meet face-to-face and > bootstrap a little community. > > *** Choices, Choices > > There've been a handful of space-options in town over this past year. > Some of the Friday coworkers and I checked out CoSpace on Brickel, in > the Short North. I'm not sure how much of a 'pure play' coworking > space this was intended to be (desks were limited, and after talking > with proprietor Chris Hamrick, it felt more like a 'subsidize our > extra space' arrangement.) I've since lost touch with Chris, but—if > anyone's worked out of CoSpace (or, Chris if you're listening!) I'd > love to hear about your experience. Please leave a comment. > > Another group of folks have proffered up space at "The Garage" at 1st > & High for free drop-ins as well as a membership arrangement. Yury > Tsukerman was a regular attendee at our casual Fridays, and has worked > out of The Garage space since early summer. > > It never felt like a good fit for me, personally (as I read it, the > space has more of a 'business incubator' vibe that my BigCo- > telecommuting self couldn't partake in) but I understand that the > folks involved have plans to expand the operation and push across High > Street to what looks like a pretty cool location, so we'll see—it > could be a great resource for coworking in the coming year. We've > invited the folks behind that space to come and talk at the info- > session we're hosting on Jan. 13th (more on that below.) > > *** Corkboard > > For me, the ambition is and has always been to have a place to build a > coworking community. Though I sometimes feel it more than other times, > one thing has remained constant for much of the past two years: I > don't enjoy the greatest work environment from my home. So, yeah, I'd > like to establish a workday beach-head somewhere. Somewhere not a > cafe. > > And—with various folks at various times throughout the year—I've been > working to just that end. I won't bore you with all the ups and downs > of the project, but I will say that "It's still on" and we're working > to make early 2009 an eventful one. > > Andrew Hunn came to one of those original public meetups, was a > regular attendee at the casual coworking events throughout the Spring, > and told me, straight up, that he was interested in establishing a > space and would make active use of it himself. (Andy's the "Head Jerk" > over at gaming site Elitist Jerks.) > > Andy and I have a lease on a space on E. Long Street, and will be > holding a coworking information session on January 13th (a Tuesday.) > Totally informal (we won't have chairs yet!) Hopefully just a > conversation—going two ways—about what folks would find valuable in a > coworking space in Columbus. > > We're trying to get the space ready for a late-January move-in. I > personally have some crushing deadlines coming up early this next > year, and every last one of them will be assisted greatly be having > access to a quiet-but-energetic, friendly, casual workspace. To be > honest, if it's just me and Andy working in there for a couple of > months, that'll be fine with me. > > But I know, from a number of inquiries on Twitter, through email and > more than a couple of face-to-face conversations, that there's a lot > of interest in coworking in and around Columbus. I look for a number > of spaces to start up in the coming year. There's just too much > demand, spread across a wide geographic area (Dublin coworking, > anyone? Hilliard?) > > One of the things we had wanted to discuss at the 13th session was the > formation of another casual coworking group. And—wouldn't you know it— > someone beat us to it! > > ***Jelly Columbus > > Which, we're actually very happy about—it was our hope all along to > encourage a group to formulate under the Jelly moniker, but neither > Andy nor I find ourselves with much spare time lately to think about > coordinating such a group. > > Fortunately, at last week's co\elaborate unconference, it seems as if > coworking was on people's minds. (I bet the conversation was helped > along by the afore-mentioned Issac Kelly, who attended #ce08.) The > outcome of that breakout group? Columbus has a Jelly chapter! They're > meeting on January 15th at the Columbus Metro Library (the main one.) > You can bet I'll be there! (Doesn't hurt that it's only about a mile > from my house! If it's not toe-eating cold, I may even try to walk > that day.) > > *** And It Gets Better! > > In the midst of all this momentum (and perhaps caught up in the good > will of the holidays?) Mark Henson has opened up the (extremely cool) > Sparkspace for a couple of weeks of free coworking! I've been to a > couple of seminars at Sparkspace, and I always enjoy the experience. > Not just the space, but the friendly familial vibe has to be > experience to be believed. (Check out Mark's latest project, btw—he's > challenged himself and his staff to come up with 100 "Sparks" or ways > to please and delight their customers. Yeah, that's the kind of ship > that Mark runs over there.) > > So tomorrow afternoon, you'll find me at Sparkspace, gettin' some work > done! I'm officially on vacation from Yahoo! this week, but there's > always book stuff… or Corkboard… or blog-entries, or… > > > > -- c.a. Marks girlpoliticized.blogspot.com southernsinfulbliss.com Where Dolce & Gabbana Meet Smith & Wesson --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. 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