I disagree with many of the assertions being made in this thread. Map all of this over the bar/restaurant industry and see how it compares. Do you think bars and restaurants need to unite or risk an outside force shutting down the industry? I think of coworking as equally ubiquitous. Each bar is unique and has it's own style and personality. There are chains, there are big name players, and there are also many small little outfits with their own, loyal clientele. I think there is a lot to be gleaned thinking of coworking this way.
And deep pockets don't scare me. If deep pockets could provide what people are looking for when they walk into Office Nomads then Office Nomads wouldn't need to exist. Instead we see the look on the eyes of people when they come in and realize they don't have to work alone anymore. We see strong friendships develop in the space, people going to each other's weddings and helping each other move. Big executive suites don't know how to do it, and they are too big to be ABLE to do it. The only reason we are able to do it is because Susan and I are in the space every day. I strongly believe it is not something that can scale beyond the personal touch given by the individuals poring their hearts into each space. Deep pockets can't match that. And most importantly, don't discount what we have done so far, and how we've gotten here. Jacob --- Office Nomads - Individuality without Isolation http://www.officenomads.com - (206) 323-6500 On Wed, Feb 17, 2010 at 7:38 AM, t...@c4workspace <[email protected]>wrote: > I agree that as soon as money changed hands the world changed, whether > we like it or not. That's done. To other's point, so now what do we > do? Nothing is not an option. As we've all seen, similar ideas keep > popping up on the list over the past few years and we have to work > them through as a community. > > I'm not sure I understand Susan's reference "As Tony so eloquently > reminded us, the beauty of coworking lies in our inability to create > walls around it." I couldn't find the context for that statement/idea > but at face value it scares the shit out of me. Sounds VERY > protectionist. Can someone help me understand? > > As noted all before coworking is defined differently everywhere so > keeping it to ourselves is not an option. It's in the wild, hence the > executive suite folks interest, and we just have to deal and > understand that coworking is not ours. The sooner we come up with a > VERY general description (not definition) the better. If the movement > continues to get press it will seem odd if every interview is > COMPLETELY different. A story requires a common thread. What is ours? > > Ya gotta love chaos because eventually the dust settles and something > new emerges. > > Cheers! > > Todd O'Neill > Catalyst/Partner > C4 Workspace > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<coworking%[email protected]> > . > 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 [email protected]. 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.
