Hey Alex and Will, I often love telling people that coworking was pretty much stolen from artist that have been sharing resources and finding inspiration from each other for centuries. I think it is the finding inspiration and building camaraderie in a shared space in ancient artist communes that most resembles what coworking is about.
I recently was published on the a post on the blog.coworking.com about this subject called Evolved: Regus to Coworking. I discussed how the coworking movement learned some things from Regus and how technology advancements allowed for coworking to exsits and how those changes allowed for coworking managers to create a space that fosters a new type of relationship between the people and space. Craig Creative Density On Dec 8, 12:47 am, Alex Hillman <dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com> wrote: > Also, a had to remind myself as we consider this reaction that even within > our own community there is more than one "origin story" for coworking as we > know and embrace it. This was one of my major takeaways from the Coworking > EU conference: > > I led a Barcamp-style session at Coworking Europe called “Coworking History > > > > > > > > > > > 101″ where I kicked off by telling the origin story that I knew, as far > > back and as detailed as I could go. I then suggested that others in the > > room tell their origin stories, knowing full well that they would be > > different. Even in this self-selecting group – our experiences of “when > > coworking began” were varied. > > What was common, in some cases, was relative time period. What was common, > > in some cases, was the experience we had right before discovering > > coworking. And in some cases, specific people and times wove through our > > stories as if they were connected. > > My point was well illustrated: there’s no single history of coworking, and > > just like there is no single history of Rock and Roll. > > Music history does a good job of describing such histories, though and I > > think there’s lessons to be learned there. > > Much like coworking in the last decade, “Rock and Roll” was a disruptive > > force in the 1950s. And like coworking being a style of work, Rock and Roll > > is a style of music, with endless room for invention and reinvention, for > > classification and interpretation. > > Also like Rock and Roll, I believe that once coworking enters this > > collective consciousness, it’s here to stay and at the same time, will > > continue to evolve into countless additional genres. > > Reference:http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2011/11/sex-coworking-and-rock-n-roll/ > > -Alex > > /ah > indyhall.org > coworking in philadelphia > > On Wed, Dec 7, 2011 at 10:54 PM, Alex Hillman > <dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com>wrote: > > > > > > > > > One of my favorite interactions is when an artist visits Indy Hall and > > says "oh, I wish I had a place like this!" and my response is, "you do > > realize that we stole this idea from artists, right?" > > > Of course, lessons from arts communities, writing communities, and many > > others that have been around for centuries are baked into coworking. Steven > > Johnson's book "Where good ideas come from" points to the existence of > > unique and serendipitous "3rd places" during every period of innovation in > > history. Cafes, salons, and other casual gathering places weren't > > necessarily places of business, but became the rooted origins of many > > business innovations. (Got 10 mins? Watch this video version of the book > > for a quick redux: > >http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NugRZGDbPFU) > > > Point is, of *course* this isn't a new idea, which makes it hilarious > > that anyone defends it. > > > But it *is* a new way of executing it, led with different intents and > > purposes (or in some cases, less intents and purposes). > > > Further, it's not just one, but many, many new ways of executing it. > > >> Well that’s just great, and I have no doubt that New Work City is a > >> healthy development. *But it’s not for everyone* > > > It's interesting that he can say that about NWC, but not realize the same > > about his own company. I wonder what else is missing from his worldview > > that's impacting Regus' members, let alone Regus itself. > > > -Alex > > > /ah > > indyhall.org > > coworking in philadelphia > > > On Wed, Dec 7, 2011 at 10:40 PM, Will Bennis, Locus Workspace < > > wmben...@locusworkspace.com> wrote: > > >> Go New Work City, getting a rise out of the Man: > >>http://realbusiness.co.uk/news/lets-work-together > > >> The defensive undercurrent of the article aside, however, part of me > >> agrees with Dixon: Coworking isn't a new invention, it's been going on > >> for millenia, no doubt, and in many stellar examples in ways that many > >> coworking spaces can only long for. Arguing that coworking didn't > >> begin until 2005 because that's when the word was first used to > >> describe a particular set of values about how to cowork seems to me to > >> be a bit off the mark and to focus on labels over content (especially > >> since there are so many self-identified coworking spaces that have not > >> yet achieved their lofty ideals, my own space included). > > >> That said, Regus is clearly not one of those venues where coworking > >> (between independent workers or members of different organizations) > >> tends to happen. And if their way of "coworking" counts, then they > >> clearly aren't the first, since there have been business lounges since > >> long-before Regus was founded in 1989, I'm sure some airport or dozens > >> of hotel chains could make better claims to being the first. :) > > >> -- > >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > >> "Coworking" group. > >> To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. > >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > >> coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > >> For more options, visit this group at > >>http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to coworking@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
