Miles, fair points-- there are obviously huge forces at work when we talk about jobs and the global economy. I'm interested in focusing on that which we can do right now to help move things forward. Perhaps we can't singlehandedly fix everything, but I'm betting we can put a serious dent in things.
Joel, awesome. I'd posit that coworking space owners, simply by internalizing this perspective, can use it to guide the decisions they make about how they manage their spaces and the programming that takes place in them. If a space owner happens to also be interested in organizing something around this topic, great-- but they should also be up for accommodating others who'd be interested in doing the same. There are a lot of ways of looking at this-- part of why I'm sharing this now is to explore all the different ways we might approach the issue. Sabrina, thanks! Let's keep the conversation rolling :) On Thu, Oct 25, 2012 at 9:15 AM, Alex Hillman <dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com>wrote: > They have to pay the rent and worry about filling their desks, connecting > the wifi and selling coffee. > > Delegation, baby. *Delegation. * > > If you're more than a year into running your coworking space and you're > still the *only* person doing these things (I'm not just talking about > hired staff), you're right - there's no way you have the bandwidth to take > on a role like this. > > But I'd argue that if you're more than a year into running your coworking > space and you're still the *only* person doing these things (again, I'm > not just talking about hired staff), there's a much deeper problem present. > > -Alex > > -- > /ah > indyhall.org > coworking in philadelphia > building a community? http://masterclass.indyhall.org > > On Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 4:57 AM, Joel Dullroy wrote: > > *"I'm curious to see what kind of damage we could do if we made this an > explicit part of our agenda. Not just to do what we do, but to do what we > do with a shared ambition help more people work for themselves."* > > Tony, this is exactly the question I want to ask the coworking community! > > I also believe there is a huge role for coworking space to play in what I > call the freelancer rights movement. Coworking spaces can be: > > - The gathering points for independent people to find a shared identity > - The information distribution points for sending out important messages > and starting campaigns > - Nodes in a network of independent communities, bound by mutual economic > and social interest > > BUT.... > Coworking space managers also have a lot of other jobs to do! They have to > pay the rent and worry about filling their desks, connecting the wifi and > selling coffee. Are they ready and willing to take on an extra job --- a > quasi-political role of organizing independent workers to fight for their > rights and build new community structures? > > I honestly want to know! Are coworking space managers up for this extra > job? > > By the way, I talk more about how coworking spaces can play a major role > in the freelance rights movement in this short video: > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAsULd8q8yk > > Joel > PS: I've recently helped form the Verband der Gründer und Selbständigen > Deutschland, Germany's freelance rights group > > -- > Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com > > > > > -- > Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com > > > -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com
