[Coworking] Re: Cowork Network
steven - search the google group for coworkination. there are links to the google code page. -hh Steven Heath wrote: 2008/10/28 axon [EMAIL PROTECTED]: I'd be up for occasional concalls. I have a WebEx account we can use if that's of interest. --Ax On Oct 27, 11:12 am, Jacob Sayles [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'd be down for a regular conference call. Even if it was just to shoot the shit, it would be great to talk with folks and see how things are going. Talking of 'shoot the shit'. Someone posted couple of weeks ago saying they were hoping to open source release some coworking related software around resource booking. Can that person give an update, I think that is one of the biggest tangible areas that we can work together (along with advice and comments etc). PS I would be interested in an initial conf call but we would need to think abotu what the outcome is other than for me to listen to all your funky accents :-) --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Cowork Network
I'd be up for occasional concalls. I have a WebEx account we can use if that's of interest. --Ax On Oct 27, 11:12 am, Jacob Sayles [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'd be down for a regular conference call. Even if it was just to shoot the shit, it would be great to talk with folks and see how things are going. Jacob On Wed, Oct 22, 2008 at 9:05 PM, felicity at cubes [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Just to add my two cents... I have been part of this coworking group for about 8 months ago. The best part as far as I can tell is that we have the wiki, the blog, this group and a general pool of resources that everyone shares. Does it need more organization? Maybe. I think a lot gets repeated and certain questions that are universal to coworking space owners like liability agreements have come up quite a bit. Still the organic nature of it all works well. One thought...kind of along the lines of a salon, would be to do a periodic (we determine) in person or conference call type session where we focus on a topic within coworking spaces or ownership. It is up to each person who participates to decide how or if to take away anything from the salon to apply to their own space. It maybe the best of both worlds. We keep the starfish in that it stays an organic movement with each space existing with its own personality and knowledge, but it allows us to vocalize ideas, resources, etc. It connects coworking spaces without placing them in a spiderweb so to speak. Just a thought... Felicity CubesCrayons Space:www.cubesandcrayons.com Blog: cubes.typepad.com/blog Personal thoughts: cubes.typepad.com/cake On Oct 9, 9:26 am, Tara Hunt [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I guess I don't understand the benefits of making coworking an organization. Or, at the very least, I see a few benefits that are eclipsed by the costs of it. On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 9:24 AM, Jacob Sayles [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'm excited by the idea and share many of the same concerns. It's a pattern we've seen before in the open source world. There are a lot of open source projects that developed organically, and then some entity decides they wanted to kick it up a notch. Sometimes this works out well, sometimes it is disastrous. The trick is going to be keeping a tuned eye on the process to make sure it's not a spiderifying the starfish. We've identified that concern, but how do we navigate around it? Jacob -- Office Nomads - Individuality without Isolation http://www.officenomads.com- (206) 323-6500 On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 9:02 AM, Tony Bacigalupo [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I do think that external organizations can/will/should exist to service different segments; for instance, I think there's a ton of potential for an organization that aims to service cafes that host (co)working folks. Many cafes are struggling with the onslaught of laptops, as their business models count on people getting their coffee and leaving quick to make room for the next guy. If an organization came along that helped cafes tweak their business models to take advantage of this shift, everyone would benefit. (More on that another time.) The Cowork Network, as envisioned above, looks to be leaning towards helping people establish and run dedicated workspaces. Providing a knowledge base, access to technology, and potentially even seed funding, could all be very useful services for folks to partake in. Karen, it sounds like your game plan is a good one-- gather together the people interested in this concept and start to identify the market and its needs. That'll provide a framework for ensuing discussions. Tony -- -- tara 'missrogue' hunt Book: The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business (http://www.amazon.com/Whuffie-Factor-Capital-Winning-Communities/dp/0... ) Company: Citizen Agency (http://www.citizenagency.com) Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing Uncommon (http://www.horsepigcow.com) Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/missrogue phone: 415-694-1951 fax: 415-727-5335 -- Office Nomads - Individuality without Isolationhttp://www.officenomads.com- (206) 323-6500 --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Cowork Network
Just to add my two cents... I have been part of this coworking group for about 8 months ago. The best part as far as I can tell is that we have the wiki, the blog, this group and a general pool of resources that everyone shares. Does it need more organization? Maybe. I think a lot gets repeated and certain questions that are universal to coworking space owners like liability agreements have come up quite a bit. Still the organic nature of it all works well. One thought...kind of along the lines of a salon, would be to do a periodic (we determine) in person or conference call type session where we focus on a topic within coworking spaces or ownership. It is up to each person who participates to decide how or if to take away anything from the salon to apply to their own space. It maybe the best of both worlds. We keep the starfish in that it stays an organic movement with each space existing with its own personality and knowledge, but it allows us to vocalize ideas, resources, etc. It connects coworking spaces without placing them in a spiderweb so to speak. Just a thought... Felicity CubesCrayons Space: www.cubesandcrayons.com Blog: cubes.typepad.com/blog Personal thoughts: cubes.typepad.com/cake On Oct 9, 9:26 am, Tara Hunt [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I guess I don't understand the benefits of making coworking an organization. Or, at the very least, I see a few benefits that are eclipsed by the costs of it. On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 9:24 AM, Jacob Sayles [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'm excited by the idea and share many of the same concerns. It's a pattern we've seen before in the open source world. There are a lot of open source projects that developed organically, and then some entity decides they wanted to kick it up a notch. Sometimes this works out well, sometimes it is disastrous. The trick is going to be keeping a tuned eye on the process to make sure it's not a spiderifying the starfish. We've identified that concern, but how do we navigate around it? Jacob -- Office Nomads - Individuality without Isolation http://www.officenomads.com- (206) 323-6500 On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 9:02 AM, Tony Bacigalupo [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I do think that external organizations can/will/should exist to service different segments; for instance, I think there's a ton of potential for an organization that aims to service cafes that host (co)working folks. Many cafes are struggling with the onslaught of laptops, as their business models count on people getting their coffee and leaving quick to make room for the next guy. If an organization came along that helped cafes tweak their business models to take advantage of this shift, everyone would benefit. (More on that another time.) The Cowork Network, as envisioned above, looks to be leaning towards helping people establish and run dedicated workspaces. Providing a knowledge base, access to technology, and potentially even seed funding, could all be very useful services for folks to partake in. Karen, it sounds like your game plan is a good one-- gather together the people interested in this concept and start to identify the market and its needs. That'll provide a framework for ensuing discussions. Tony -- -- tara 'missrogue' hunt Book: The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business (http://www.amazon.com/Whuffie-Factor-Capital-Winning-Communities/dp/0... ) Company: Citizen Agency (http://www.citizenagency.com) Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing Uncommon (http://www.horsepigcow.com) Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/missrogue phone: 415-694-1951 fax: 415-727-5335 --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Cowork Network
Thanks, all, for your input and comments. There's a lot of energy and smarts on this list. I need to put this idea of the back burner for a while since my paying project management gig just got canceled. Will restart the discussion and/or reach out for more specific input when my schedule (and pocketbook) allows. Best, Karen On Oct 11, 8:48 am, MattCoop [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I noted that the idea that has resonated most in this discussion is the unified set of tools. How do we overcome interoperability issues without building a central governing entity? How do we ensure that the nice folks who are paying to host those tools right now don't pull the plug, without just setting up another entity that can also die/be co-opted/turn evil? I just happen to be working on a project that's solving similar issues:http://iyear.us Below is some text about how we're using a trust to keep the web platform completely community-driven. Trusts are funny legal entities, with a lot of space for innovation in how they're governed. Please do read on. I think the implications for this conversation will be clear, so I won't parse them myself. -Matt --- The Independence Year Trust A trust is unlike any other legal entity authorized to hold assets: it's little more than a file in a trust company's office. The Independence Year Trust is an Internet Services Irrevocable Non- corporeal Trust. Like most trusts, it has no management board and no managers but, unlike most trusts, the Trust is not permitted to hold tangible assets: no cash, bank accounts, nothing that's attractive to a potential buyer. So, while the Trust is the owner of the web service, there is no way it can pay for the service, and has no way to control it. Without a business or money or a management board, it has no way to sell itself. Like the Internet itself, the Independence Year Trust is not a thing, it's simply an agreement. But the iYear Web Host(s) and Domain Name Registrar(s) must be paid or they will stop supporting it and the site will die. So each contractor has a payment page at iYear, where the iYear community can voluntarily donate in order to ensure that the site stays up. Because of the Trust's limitations, there's no profit in buying it (and no one to make an offer to). As long as its members pay its costs, the only way to shut it down would be if the Government seizes its servers or if the web Host violated its contract. By July 4th, 2009, the service will be mirrored so thoroughly that it will be virtually impossible for a single entity to shut down this American People's Government Management Service. On Oct 10, 1:00 pm, Dawn C. Hayes [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: LOL! Noted. -- dawn im: realrainmaker skype: unitedcommunityventurepartners -- ...sent from my iPod Touch via wifi ;- ) On Oct 10, 2008, at 12:19 PM, Tara Hunt [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: One thing I would love to 'regulate' is that coworking does not have a hyphen. ;) Just a joke, but I do try to correct ppl when possible - especially reporters. Not that I'm the queen of naming or anything. It's just consistent. :) T On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 6:47 AM, Dawn Hayes [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I didn't have any exclusive vision on geographic locations, keeping in mind that this list is global and I'd love to be able to dialog and interact more with those outside of U.S. borders. Cross-border interaction is key to anything fostering collaboration (in my opinion) and by cross-border I mean it in the widest sense: from Philly to Seattle, Rochester to East London or Miami to Goa (India). If the usual suspects are the first to show up, great. If others get involved from the start, even better. There's always got to be a place to begin with, no? In fact, it seems that there are a few regular voices on this list and some of their thoughts have clearly drawn in others to connect that might usually stick to quiet observation (that's usually me, really!). I believe Co-working is shaped by the vision and efforts of its actors at large and will maintain that as I develop initiatives directly in line with it or at least parallel to it. With that said, I am less interested in fussing over titles, catch-phrases and whether something is actually Co-working or not. I'm much more interested in the results of folks working together (or not) to benefit their communities, whether it is simply providing a good space to work from or a bit more. d On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 9:12 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'm with Tony, Alex and Tara (nothing new there) on the first reaction to Karen's post, starfish please. The parallel services approach seems interesting though and Karen's precisions do seem more in line with my thinking than the original understanding I had. As for
[Coworking] Re: Cowork Network
I noted that the idea that has resonated most in this discussion is the unified set of tools. How do we overcome interoperability issues without building a central governing entity? How do we ensure that the nice folks who are paying to host those tools right now don't pull the plug, without just setting up another entity that can also die/be co-opted/turn evil? I just happen to be working on a project that's solving similar issues: http://iyear.us Below is some text about how we're using a trust to keep the web platform completely community-driven. Trusts are funny legal entities, with a lot of space for innovation in how they're governed. Please do read on. I think the implications for this conversation will be clear, so I won't parse them myself. -Matt --- The Independence Year Trust A trust is unlike any other legal entity authorized to hold assets: it's little more than a file in a trust company's office. The Independence Year Trust is an Internet Services Irrevocable Non- corporeal Trust. Like most trusts, it has no management board and no managers but, unlike most trusts, the Trust is not permitted to hold tangible assets: no cash, bank accounts, nothing that's attractive to a potential buyer. So, while the Trust is the owner of the web service, there is no way it can pay for the service, and has no way to control it. Without a business or money or a management board, it has no way to sell itself. Like the Internet itself, the Independence Year Trust is not a thing, it's simply an agreement. But the iYear Web Host(s) and Domain Name Registrar(s) must be paid or they will stop supporting it and the site will die. So each contractor has a payment page at iYear, where the iYear community can voluntarily donate in order to ensure that the site stays up. Because of the Trust's limitations, there's no profit in buying it (and no one to make an offer to). As long as its members pay its costs, the only way to shut it down would be if the Government seizes its servers or if the web Host violated its contract. By July 4th, 2009, the service will be mirrored so thoroughly that it will be virtually impossible for a single entity to shut down this American People's Government Management Service. On Oct 10, 1:00 pm, Dawn C. Hayes [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: LOL! Noted. -- dawn im: realrainmaker skype: unitedcommunityventurepartners -- ...sent from my iPod Touch via wifi ;- ) On Oct 10, 2008, at 12:19 PM, Tara Hunt [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: One thing I would love to 'regulate' is that coworking does not have a hyphen. ;) Just a joke, but I do try to correct ppl when possible - especially reporters. Not that I'm the queen of naming or anything. It's just consistent. :) T On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 6:47 AM, Dawn Hayes [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I didn't have any exclusive vision on geographic locations, keeping in mind that this list is global and I'd love to be able to dialog and interact more with those outside of U.S. borders. Cross-border interaction is key to anything fostering collaboration (in my opinion) and by cross-border I mean it in the widest sense: from Philly to Seattle, Rochester to East London or Miami to Goa (India). If the usual suspects are the first to show up, great. If others get involved from the start, even better. There's always got to be a place to begin with, no? In fact, it seems that there are a few regular voices on this list and some of their thoughts have clearly drawn in others to connect that might usually stick to quiet observation (that's usually me, really!). I believe Co-working is shaped by the vision and efforts of its actors at large and will maintain that as I develop initiatives directly in line with it or at least parallel to it. With that said, I am less interested in fussing over titles, catch-phrases and whether something is actually Co-working or not. I'm much more interested in the results of folks working together (or not) to benefit their communities, whether it is simply providing a good space to work from or a bit more. d On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 9:12 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'm with Tony, Alex and Tara (nothing new there) on the first reaction to Karen's post, starfish please. The parallel services approach seems interesting though and Karen's precisions do seem more in line with my thinking than the original understanding I had. As for the potential non profit and the salon, I'd like to remind everyone that although people from spaces in the US are VASTLY more numerous and active here, this is still an international movement and non profits based in the US and salons held there are either (depending on structure) not useful (different laws/requirements and such) for others and wayyy more expensive to get to. The salon idea is interesting but will gather largely the same few people who
[Coworking] Re: Cowork Network
I'm with Tony, Alex and Tara (nothing new there) on the first reaction to Karen's post, starfish please. The parallel services approach seems interesting though and Karen's precisions do seem more in line with my thinking than the original understanding I had. As for the potential non profit and the salon, I'd like to remind everyone that although people from spaces in the US are VASTLY more numerous and active here, this is still an international movement and non profits based in the US and salons held there are either (depending on structure) not useful (different laws/requirements and such) for others and wayyy more expensive to get to. The salon idea is interesting but will gather largely the same few people who are already traveling a lot and can match their travels with meetings or travel on points or whatever. I don't mind per se, I'll use the stream and keep an eye on northeast action in case I can make it but I just thought I'd throw it in there to keep in the back of your mind ;). In the same vein, I'd encourage international coworking spaces to pipe up more often on the list, I know for those on different timezones on other continents it might feel like the discussion is over and everything's been said by the time you get to the messages but please, throw in your opinions and votes more often. Patrick station-c.com --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Cowork Network
One thing I would love to 'regulate' is that coworking does not have a hyphen. ;) Just a joke, but I do try to correct ppl when possible - especially reporters. Not that I'm the queen of naming or anything. It's just consistent. :) T On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 6:47 AM, Dawn Hayes [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I didn't have any exclusive vision on geographic locations, keeping in mind that this list is global and I'd love to be able to dialog and interact more with those outside of U.S. borders. Cross-border interaction is key to anything fostering collaboration (in my opinion) and by cross-border I mean it in the widest sense: from Philly to Seattle, Rochester to East London or Miami to Goa (India). If the usual suspects are the first to show up, great. If others get involved from the start, even better. There's always got to be a place to begin with, no? In fact, it seems that there are a few regular voices on this list and some of their thoughts have clearly drawn in others to connect that might usually stick to quiet observation (that's usually me, really!). I believe Co-working is shaped by the vision and efforts of its actors at large and will maintain that as I develop initiatives directly in line with it or at least parallel to it. With that said, I am less interested in fussing over titles, catch-phrases and whether something is actually Co-working or not. I'm much more interested in the results of folks working together (or not) to benefit their communities, whether it is simply providing a good space to work from or a bit more. d On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 9:12 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'm with Tony, Alex and Tara (nothing new there) on the first reaction to Karen's post, starfish please. The parallel services approach seems interesting though and Karen's precisions do seem more in line with my thinking than the original understanding I had. As for the potential non profit and the salon, I'd like to remind everyone that although people from spaces in the US are VASTLY more numerous and active here, this is still an international movement and non profits based in the US and salons held there are either (depending on structure) not useful (different laws/requirements and such) for others and wayyy more expensive to get to. The salon idea is interesting but will gather largely the same few people who are already traveling a lot and can match their travels with meetings or travel on points or whatever. I don't mind per se, I'll use the stream and keep an eye on northeast action in case I can make it but I just thought I'd throw it in there to keep in the back of your mind ;). In the same vein, I'd encourage international coworking spaces to pipe up more often on the list, I know for those on different timezones on other continents it might feel like the discussion is over and everything's been said by the time you get to the messages but please, throw in your opinions and votes more often. Patrick station-c.com -- We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but we are spiritual beings having a human experience.--Pierre Teilhard de Chardin -- -- tara 'missrogue' hunt Book: The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business ( http://www.amazon.com/Whuffie-Factor-Capital-Winning-Communities/dp/0307409503?ie=UTF8 ) Company: Citizen Agency (http://www.citizenagency.com) Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing Uncommon (http://www.horsepigcow.com) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/missrogue phone: 415-694-1951 fax: 415-727-5335 --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Cowork Network
Hi Karen, There are a lot of great and diverse ideas here; for the moment I'm going to think on a big-picture level and try to provide a counterbalance which I hope will help define how best to proceed. * Puts on Starfish hat * (This hat is really uncomfortable and pointy) Okay, so as many of us well know, the Coworking movement is a starfish organization, which is to say, it's a decentralized entity of people who share a belief in a central concept. Ori Brafman Rod Becksrom's book, *The Starfish and the Spider*, does a fantastic job detailing why such organizations are so powerful. Perhaps my favorite chapter, though, is the one that describes how to *kill* a starfish. I don't have a copy of the book on me, but I'll try to get the gist of it here. One way that they described was Turn the starfish into a spider. That is, centralize that which was once decentralized. The chapter detailed the story of a starfish movement that was wildly successful, and very innocently and with the best intentions established a central fund to help more people interested in the movement get on their feet. The problem? The central fund was a huge success. Millions of dollars poured in, and this fund ended up needing a huge staff of people to figure out who gets what amounts of money. The constituents were less empowered, and hierarchies formed, and the strengths and flexibilities that the organization once had were lost. * Takes off starfish hat * Okay, so that being said, does that mean we do nothing? No. But it means we act carefully and responsibly so as to ensure we maintain the accessibility and flexibility of the movement. So how to proceed? I'm not sure exactly, but I'm forming an idea. I think the ideal goal would be to establish an entity which **services** the Coworking movement, but is its own separate organization. This organization does have the ability to have a central structure and a bank account and so on, but does not have authority over the movement as a whole. So, perhaps, the Cowork Network would identify a particular segment of the Coworking movement that it chooses to service, and it could become a very successful entity that services that segment while still maintaining the movement on the whole. That's entirely doable, and I'm happy to help however I can in fleshing that out... because finding a way to help provide a lot of the resources you suggested would be fantastic. I think there will be many successful companies organizations which will service the people who have adopted the concept of coworking, and now is a great time to start forming them. Karen, I think we're in for a really good discussion today, and hopefully by the end of it we'll have a much better idea of where to go next. Thanks for stirring it up! Best, Tony New Work City On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 6:52 AM, Karen Origlio [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Over the past few weeks I've met/emailed several group members to discuss the idea of creating a non-profit organization to support coworking space owners and members. The idea is to have an organization whose mission is to help spaces start and sustain themselves, and link them together. Imagine a knowledge base of information and resources for a space catalyst, or collaborating with members in other locations via video conferencing or finding the specific expertise you need for your latest project through a member directory... Coworking will be an industry, not just a movement. This organization can also assist the independent worker and entrepreneurial spirit found in so many members...I'd love to connect members with affordable and much-needed medical or disability insurance... There seems to be some interest in this idea. What do YOU think? Good idea? Let's discuss. If yes, I see two next steps: 1. Form a Board of Advisors to define the mission and vision of the organization and contribute their expertise and knowledge. Not sure of the time commitment needed - probably minimal - perhaps an hour conference call in the next few weeks. 2. Define a list of projects for the Cowork Network and help identify people to assist. Would love to hear your opinions pro or con, on list or off. Thanks, Karen Origlio [EMAIL PROTECTED] --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Cowork Network
I'm glad Tony said everything i wanted to, so I didn't have to. Bottom line is, de-starfishing the starfish isn't going to work. Having a unified set of tools that are at our disposal, though...I imagine that would get a fair amount of use. Think of it just like the wiki and the blog and the google group...but for business services instead of communication. Everything is opt-in. -- - -- - Alex Hillman im always developing something digital: [EMAIL PROTECTED] visual: www.dangerouslyawesome.com local: www.indyhall.org On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 10:49 AM, Tony Bacigalupo [EMAIL PROTECTED]wrote: Hi Karen, There are a lot of great and diverse ideas here; for the moment I'm going to think on a big-picture level and try to provide a counterbalance which I hope will help define how best to proceed. * Puts on Starfish hat * (This hat is really uncomfortable and pointy) Okay, so as many of us well know, the Coworking movement is a starfish organization, which is to say, it's a decentralized entity of people who share a belief in a central concept. Ori Brafman Rod Becksrom's book, *The Starfish and the Spider*, does a fantastic job detailing why such organizations are so powerful. Perhaps my favorite chapter, though, is the one that describes how to *kill* a starfish. I don't have a copy of the book on me, but I'll try to get the gist of it here. One way that they described was Turn the starfish into a spider. That is, centralize that which was once decentralized. The chapter detailed the story of a starfish movement that was wildly successful, and very innocently and with the best intentions established a central fund to help more people interested in the movement get on their feet. The problem? The central fund was a huge success. Millions of dollars poured in, and this fund ended up needing a huge staff of people to figure out who gets what amounts of money. The constituents were less empowered, and hierarchies formed, and the strengths and flexibilities that the organization once had were lost. * Takes off starfish hat * Okay, so that being said, does that mean we do nothing? No. But it means we act carefully and responsibly so as to ensure we maintain the accessibility and flexibility of the movement. So how to proceed? I'm not sure exactly, but I'm forming an idea. I think the ideal goal would be to establish an entity which **services** the Coworking movement, but is its own separate organization. This organization does have the ability to have a central structure and a bank account and so on, but does not have authority over the movement as a whole. So, perhaps, the Cowork Network would identify a particular segment of the Coworking movement that it chooses to service, and it could become a very successful entity that services that segment while still maintaining the movement on the whole. That's entirely doable, and I'm happy to help however I can in fleshing that out... because finding a way to help provide a lot of the resources you suggested would be fantastic. I think there will be many successful companies organizations which will service the people who have adopted the concept of coworking, and now is a great time to start forming them. Karen, I think we're in for a really good discussion today, and hopefully by the end of it we'll have a much better idea of where to go next. Thanks for stirring it up! Best, Tony New Work City On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 6:52 AM, Karen Origlio [EMAIL PROTECTED]wrote: Over the past few weeks I've met/emailed several group members to discuss the idea of creating a non-profit organization to support coworking space owners and members. The idea is to have an organization whose mission is to help spaces start and sustain themselves, and link them together. Imagine a knowledge base of information and resources for a space catalyst, or collaborating with members in other locations via video conferencing or finding the specific expertise you need for your latest project through a member directory... Coworking will be an industry, not just a movement. This organization can also assist the independent worker and entrepreneurial spirit found in so many members...I'd love to connect members with affordable and much-needed medical or disability insurance... There seems to be some interest in this idea. What do YOU think? Good idea? Let's discuss. If yes, I see two next steps: 1. Form a Board of Advisors to define the mission and vision of the organization and contribute their expertise and knowledge. Not sure of the time commitment needed - probably minimal - perhaps an hour conference call in the next few weeks. 2. Define a list of projects for the Cowork Network and help identify people to assist. Would love to hear your opinions pro or con, on list or off. Thanks, Karen Origlio [EMAIL PROTECTED] --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You
[Coworking] Re: Cowork Network
Some colleagues on this list and I met to think about this approach. As I skimmed some of the responses to your post, I think an open approach is to borrow a bit from the established lines of thinking as well as innovative, novel perspectives. Rather than debating over corporation types (non-profit vs. for profit) or whether a single approach does or does not seem viable, I am interested in focusing on building a business or venture model that facilitates our work openly and collaboratively. In other words the model dictates the incorporation type (would love to be in Vermont right now). As part of that model, I am personally seeking to explore, document and implement ways to connect early pipeline innovators and entrepreneurs to the greater wealth of resources often and primarily available to VC targets and incubators. We have a ton of like-minded, yet diverse folks that are connected by many facets of Co-working. How about we begin to translate our online discussions into a rotating offline salon between all of the spaces currently operating? We can stream gatherings online to afford full, active participation when we can't make it to a designated venue. One month we're in San Francisco and another we are in Philly. We can start by learning who is in the room and how we can help each other. I think it starts as simply as that, provided we can agree to come in with an understanding that the goal is not to influence anyone to do things one way, but to resource build through discussion and collaborative interaction where it makes sense (and please let that be by a broad definition of what makes sense). I am happy to meet with folks to explore further (of course we will document online to keep things democratic). Anyone want to Skype in and gather in person next week? I am in NYC and can secure a venue if one isn't suggested first. Cheers, d Forgive any typos-- shopping and typing presents challenges. -- dawn im: realrainmaker skype: unitedcommunityventurepartners -- ...sent from my iPod Touch via wifi ;- ) On Oct 9, 2008, at 6:52 AM, Karen Origlio [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Over the past few weeks I've met/emailed several group members to discuss the idea of creating a non-profit organization to support coworking space owners and members. The idea is to have an organization whose mission is to help spaces start and sustain themselves, and link them together. Imagine a knowledge base of information and resources for a space catalyst, or collaborating with members in other locations via video conferencing or finding the specific expertise you need for your latest project through a member directory... Coworking will be an industry, not just a movement. This organization can also assist the independent worker and entrepreneurial spirit found in so many members...I'd love to connect members with affordable and much-needed medical or disability insurance... There seems to be some interest in this idea. What do YOU think? Good idea? Let's discuss. If yes, I see two next steps: 1. Form a Board of Advisors to define the mission and vision of the organization and contribute their expertise and knowledge. Not sure of the time commitment needed - probably minimal - perhaps an hour conference call in the next few weeks. 2. Define a list of projects for the Cowork Network and help identify people to assist. Would love to hear your opinions pro or con, on list or off. Thanks, Karen Origlio [EMAIL PROTECTED] --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Cowork Network
I'm excited by the idea and share many of the same concerns. It's a pattern we've seen before in the open source world. There are a lot of open source projects that developed organically, and then some entity decides they wanted to kick it up a notch. Sometimes this works out well, sometimes it is disastrous. The trick is going to be keeping a tuned eye on the process to make sure it's not a spiderifying the starfish. We've identified that concern, but how do we navigate around it? Jacob -- Office Nomads - Individuality without Isolation http://www.officenomads.com - (206) 323-6500 On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 9:02 AM, Tony Bacigalupo [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I do think that external organizations can/will/should exist to service different segments; for instance, I think there's a ton of potential for an organization that aims to service cafes that host (co)working folks. Many cafes are struggling with the onslaught of laptops, as their business models count on people getting their coffee and leaving quick to make room for the next guy. If an organization came along that helped cafes tweak their business models to take advantage of this shift, everyone would benefit. (More on that another time.) The Cowork Network, as envisioned above, looks to be leaning towards helping people establish and run dedicated workspaces. Providing a knowledge base, access to technology, and potentially even seed funding, could all be very useful services for folks to partake in. Karen, it sounds like your game plan is a good one-- gather together the people interested in this concept and start to identify the market and its needs. That'll provide a framework for ensuing discussions. Tony --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Cowork Network
Tara, I think we have different visions. I wouldn't have paraphrased this conversation as making coworking an organization and I don't consider cost as an obstacle as by design whatever this becomes would have to stand on it's own. I'd love to paint a clearer picture of what I'm thinking but the day job is calling so I need to put this down. I love the salon idea but my travel is limited with just the part time job as income. I've got SxSW in March and maybe NYC in a few weeks. Jacob On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 9:26 AM, Tara Hunt [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I guess I don't understand the benefits of making coworking an organization. Or, at the very least, I see a few benefits that are eclipsed by the costs of it. On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 9:24 AM, Jacob Sayles [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'm excited by the idea and share many of the same concerns. It's a pattern we've seen before in the open source world. There are a lot of open source projects that developed organically, and then some entity decides they wanted to kick it up a notch. Sometimes this works out well, sometimes it is disastrous. The trick is going to be keeping a tuned eye on the process to make sure it's not a spiderifying the starfish. We've identified that concern, but how do we navigate around it? Jacob -- Office Nomads - Individuality without Isolation http://www.officenomads.com - (206) 323-6500 On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 9:02 AM, Tony Bacigalupo [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I do think that external organizations can/will/should exist to service different segments; for instance, I think there's a ton of potential for an organization that aims to service cafes that host (co)working folks. Many cafes are struggling with the onslaught of laptops, as their business models count on people getting their coffee and leaving quick to make room for the next guy. If an organization came along that helped cafes tweak their business models to take advantage of this shift, everyone would benefit. (More on that another time.) The Cowork Network, as envisioned above, looks to be leaning towards helping people establish and run dedicated workspaces. Providing a knowledge base, access to technology, and potentially even seed funding, could all be very useful services for folks to partake in. Karen, it sounds like your game plan is a good one-- gather together the people interested in this concept and start to identify the market and its needs. That'll provide a framework for ensuing discussions. Tony -- -- tara 'missrogue' hunt Book: The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business (http://www.amazon.com/Whuffie-Factor-Capital-Winning-Communities/dp/0307409503?ie=UTF8) Company: Citizen Agency (http://www.citizenagency.com) Blog: HorsePigCow: Marketing Uncommon (http://www.horsepigcow.com) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/missrogue phone: 415-694-1951 fax: 415-727-5335 -- Office Nomads - Individuality without Isolation http://www.officenomads.com - (206) 323-6500 --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ 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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[Coworking] Re: Cowork Network
Yep. There seems to be enough of us spread around the nation and globe to make it work. I agree that Co-working is more about an effort than an organization, although organizations and ventures seeking to address some of the resource gaps are welcome to capture and translate offerings in the spirit of Co-working. For the time-constrained folks (most of us on this list), the beauty of the rotating salon is that it enables you to come to it when and where you can AND that you have a give and take opportunity to benefit from the dialogs fostered in this group. I am always interested the translation of ideas into action both online and offline and we have good traction along with diversity of opinions and perspectives to support such. If nothing else, we will at least have a venue to reach out to the open circle in the physical world. By streaming and archiving the salons, participation is as you are available, and of course, interested. -- dawn im: realrainmaker skype: unitedcommunityventurepartners -- ...sent from my iPod Touch via wifi ;- ) On Oct 9, 2008, at 12:24 PM, Tara Hunt [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Nice idea! So, the idea is to travel and meet face to face in these salons? On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 9:18 AM, Dawn C. Hayes [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Some colleagues on this list and I met to think about this approach. As I skimmed some of the responses to your post, I think an open approach is to borrow a bit from the established lines of thinking as well as innovative, novel perspectives. Rather than debating over corporation types (non-profit vs. for profit) or whether a single approach does or does not seem viable, I am interested in focusing on building a business or venture model that facilitates our work openly and collaboratively. In other words the model dictates the incorporation type (would love to be in Vermont right now). As part of that model, I am personally seeking to explore, document and implement ways to connect early pipeline innovators and entrepreneurs to the greater wealth of resources often and primarily available to VC targets and incubators. We have a ton of like-minded, yet diverse folks that are connected by many facets of Co-working. How about we begin to translate our online discussions into a rotating offline salon between all of the spaces currently operating? We can stream gatherings online to afford full, active participation when we can't make it to a designated venue. One month we're in San Francisco and another we are in Philly. We can start by learning who is in the room and how we can help each other. I think it starts as simply as that, provided we can agree to come in with an understanding that the goal is not to influence anyone to do things one way, but to resource build through discussion and collaborative interaction where it makes sense (and please let that be by a broad definition of what makes sense). I am happy to meet with folks to explore further (of course we will document online to keep things democratic). Anyone want to Skype in and gather in person next week? I am in NYC and can secure a venue if one isn't suggested first. Cheers, d Forgive any typos-- shopping and typing presents challenges. -- dawn im: realrainmaker skype: unitedcommunityventurepartners -- ...sent from my iPod Touch via wifi ;- ) On Oct 9, 2008, at 6:52 AM, Karen Origlio [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Over the past few weeks I've met/emailed several group members to discuss the idea of creating a non-profit organization to support coworking space owners and members. The idea is to have an organization whose mission is to help spaces start and sustain themselves, and link them together. Imagine a knowledge base of information and resources for a space catalyst, or collaborating with members in other locations via video conferencing or finding the specific expertise you need for your latest project through a member directory... Coworking will be an industry, not just a movement. This organization can also assist the independent worker and entrepreneurial spirit found in so many members...I'd love to connect members with affordable and much-needed medical or disability insurance... There seems to be some interest in this idea. What do YOU think? Good idea? Let's discuss. If yes, I see two next steps: 1. Form a Board of Advisors to define the mission and vision of the organization and contribute their expertise and knowledge. Not sure of the time commitment needed - probably minimal - perhaps an hour conference call in the next few weeks. 2. Define a list of projects for the Cowork Network and help identify people to assist. Would love to hear your opinions pro or con, on list or off. Thanks, Karen Origlio [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- -- tara 'missrogue' hunt Book: The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of
[Coworking] Re: Cowork Network
That IS more clear...thanks Karen. I think many of the spaces have set a vision, mission and services on their own pages and some of us have shared them here, borrowed from others and mixed and matched at will. Perhaps the best thing to do is to create a page or a couple of pages with sample vision, missions and lists of services? What do you think? I know we offer something different than Office Nomads who offers something different from Caroline Collective, etc., but in setting this stuff up, having a baseline would probably be helpful to people just starting out. T On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 12:33 PM, Karen Origlio [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Wow - it seems like my poorly chosen words like board of advisors and organizationreally rubbed some people the wrong way! Please understand my intentions are not to take over, centralize, organize and put everything in its place. I am not trying to spiderize y'all! I would just like to see coworking expand and was looking for a way to contribute my skills, experience and energy in a meaningful way without necessarily opening my own space. I thought the vision, mission and services on the cowork network would be determined by this group. It that more clear? Karen On Oct 9, 2:27 pm, Dawn C. Hayes [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Yep. There seems to be enough of us spread around the nation and globe to make it work. I agree that Co-working is more about an effort than an organization, although organizations and ventures seeking to address some of the resource gaps are welcome to capture and translate offerings in the spirit of Co-working. For the time-constrained folks (most of us on this list), the beauty of the rotating salon is that it enables you to come to it when and where you can AND that you have a give and take opportunity to benefit from the dialogs fostered in this group. I am always interested the translation of ideas into action both online and offline and we have good traction along with diversity of opinions and perspectives to support such. If nothing else, we will at least have a venue to reach out to the open circle in the physical world. By streaming and archiving the salons, participation is as you are available, and of course, interested. -- dawn im: realrainmaker skype: unitedcommunityventurepartners -- ...sent from my iPod Touch via wifi ;- ) On Oct 9, 2008, at 12:24 PM, Tara Hunt [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Nice idea! So, the idea is to travel and meet face to face in these salons? On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 9:18 AM, Dawn C. Hayes [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Some colleagues on this list and I met to think about this approach. As I skimmed some of the responses to your post, I think an open approach is to borrow a bit from the established lines of thinking as well as innovative, novel perspectives. Rather than debating over corporation types (non-profit vs. for profit) or whether a single approach does or does not seem viable, I am interested in focusing on building a business or venture model that facilitates our work openly and collaboratively. In other words the model dictates the incorporation type (would love to be in Vermont right now). As part of that model, I am personally seeking to explore, document and implement ways to connect early pipeline innovators and entrepreneurs to the greater wealth of resources often and primarily available to VC targets and incubators. We have a ton of like-minded, yet diverse folks that are connected by many facets of Co-working. How about we begin to translate our online discussions into a rotating offline salon between all of the spaces currently operating? We can stream gatherings online to afford full, active participation when we can't make it to a designated venue. One month we're in San Francisco and another we are in Philly. We can start by learning who is in the room and how we can help each other. I think it starts as simply as that, provided we can agree to come in with an understanding that the goal is not to influence anyone to do things one way, but to resource build through discussion and collaborative interaction where it makes sense (and please let that be by a broad definition of what makes sense). I am happy to meet with folks to explore further (of course we will document online to keep things democratic). Anyone want to Skype in and gather in person next week? I am in NYC and can secure a venue if one isn't suggested first. Cheers, d Forgive any typos-- shopping and typing presents challenges. -- dawn im: realrainmaker skype: unitedcommunityventurepartners -- ...sent from my iPod Touch via wifi ;- ) On Oct 9, 2008, at 6:52 AM, Karen Origlio [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Over the past few weeks I've met/emailed several group members to discuss the idea of
