[Coworking] Re: Open / Closed Status for your space
Sean, Very good post. I am commenting from my experience at Hat Factory. "attracting drop-ins" is an answer, not a question. What problem are you trying solve by having more drop-ins? On 9/26/07, Sean O'Steen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > This is a question for any of the coworking spaces who do not keep > regular hours and who want to attract drop-in community members. How > have you been letting your community know when you are open and when > you are closed? >From my year experience with Hat Factory, what you are asking for is not possible: you will need regular hours to encourage drop-ins. Think about a coffee shop that had irregular hours. Would you be inclined to drop by on a regular basis if you were never sure it would be open? Or might close soon after you arrived? Failing regular hours, you need someone who is there all the time, which is almost the same thing. > Here at Berkeley Coworking, we went around the room, and came up with > lots of ideas, most of which involved writing code or hacking some > electronics, none of which we're opposed to mind you. However, we > quickly realized we were trying to build the equivalent of a space pen > that can write in zero gravity, when a simple pencil might do the > trick. > > Currently we're posting our status on a twitter account and have that > display on our website www.berkeleycoworking,com. That way anyone > who's interested in coming by could conveivably follow us on twitter Yes, Hat Factory also has a twitter account. This could help if every single person was absolutely committed to keeping twitter up to date. > and get some form of a ping from us whenever we're in the house. It's > simple, and it has worked so far. However, we really can't use that > to show our availability in the future... you know for those who > actually plan their day in advance ;-) > We've also investigated using a Google GrandCentral account to setup a > central phone number that will ring one or more of our anchors (the > ones with the keys to the joint). At this time though, GrandCentral > doesn't let you register your real phone numbers to more than one > account. As a result, I can't receive calls for a coworking > information line, since I use GrandCentral for other purposes. > GrandCentral says that this feature is on their development roadmap, > but didn't give a time estimate. You are looking for technical solutions to a social problem. > > So, I thought I'd throw this out to the community for discussion. What > have you all tried and what seems to work? Based on my experience, attracting drop-ins without having standard hours is not effective. It's good money (your productive time) chasing bad money (low revenue from drop-ins). This is what was tried at Hat Factory, and it was always a *huge* effort to attract and retain good people to ground the community (recruiting was our motivation). A better idea is figuring out what your motivation for drop-ins. Recruitment? Larger community? More revenue? Boil it down to your real underlying motivation. "Seems like a good idea" ultimately won't work. Even if it *is* a good idea to accommodate drop-ins, knowing *why* you want this capability will let you really nail it. It's really a conundrum. The part I enjoy about coworking is the flexibility. But actually running a coworking space successfully apparently requires giving up a lot of that flexibility. Which makes sense in a certain kind of way. > Kindest Regards, > > Sean O'Steen > http://berkeleycoworking.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: Open / Closed Status for your space
David, Thank you. Awesome comments and observations! And yes, I recognize my tendencies to try technical solutions for what may be social concerns... it's what I do. Yes, attracting drop-ins is one of our answers for how to build community AND how to recruit potential anchors. Which one is more important depends on who you talk to. For me it's the community. Trying to build a community is one of the main reasons I joined in. Fiscally speaking, I'm a minority stakeholder in Berkeley Coworking. I'm not on the hook for our P&L at this time. If you were to ask one of the people who are, I suspect they might lean towards filling the seats. As I'm still fairly new to this newsgroup, I didn't want lead off with a how to create community question, I thought I'd try for something specific, hence the narrowly scoped open / closed thread. I agree that drop-ins leads to a larger discussion about community and revenue, but I honestly don't know how to scope it. Thank you for your feedback! Sean --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ 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: Open / Closed Status for your space
I'm sure you're looking for non-technical solutions (since that sounds like that's what most of the ideas were), but what about writing a small bit of code that looks at the mac addresses on your wifi. Then you could have the status posted on your website. It could be tied to specific mac addresses if you only want dropins when anchors are around or if anyone is on your wifi (assuming you can only get to the wifi if you're in the office). On Sep 27, 12:31 am, Sean O'Steen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > David, > > Thank you. Awesome comments and observations! And yes, I recognize my > tendencies to try technical solutions for what may be social > concerns... it's what I do. > > Yes, attracting drop-ins is one of our answers for how to build > community AND how to recruit potential anchors. Which one is more > important depends on who you talk to. For me it's the community. > Trying to build a community is one of the main reasons I joined in. > Fiscally speaking, I'm a minority stakeholder in Berkeley Coworking. > I'm not on the hook for our P&L at this time. If you were to ask one > of the people who are, I suspect they might lean towards filling the > seats. > > As I'm still fairly new to this newsgroup, I didn't want lead off with > a how to create community question, I thought I'd try for something > specific, hence the narrowly scoped open / closed thread. I agree that > drop-ins leads to a larger discussion about community and revenue, but > I honestly don't know how to scope it. > > Thank you for your feedback! > Sean --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ 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: Open / Closed Status for your space
Whatever you do, make sure that when you post that the space is open, make sure you post for how long it will be open. Otherwise, potential drop-ins run the risk of checking the status, getting on BART or whatever, then arriving after everyone just left for a long lunch at Breads of India (or whatever). On 9/27/07, Adam W. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I'm sure you're looking for non-technical solutions (since that sounds > like that's what most of the ideas were), but what about writing a > small bit of code that looks at the mac addresses on your wifi. Then > you could have the status posted on your website. It could be tied to > specific mac addresses if you only want dropins when anchors are > around or if anyone is on your wifi (assuming you can only get to the > wifi if you're in the office). > > > On Sep 27, 12:31 am, Sean O'Steen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > David, > > > > Thank you. Awesome comments and observations! And yes, I recognize my > > tendencies to try technical solutions for what may be social > > concerns... it's what I do. > > > > Yes, attracting drop-ins is one of our answers for how to build > > community AND how to recruit potential anchors. Which one is more > > important depends on who you talk to. For me it's the community. > > Trying to build a community is one of the main reasons I joined in. > > Fiscally speaking, I'm a minority stakeholder in Berkeley Coworking. > > I'm not on the hook for our P&L at this time. If you were to ask one > > of the people who are, I suspect they might lean towards filling the > > seats. > > > > As I'm still fairly new to this newsgroup, I didn't want lead off with > > a how to create community question, I thought I'd try for something > > specific, hence the narrowly scoped open / closed thread. I agree that > > drop-ins leads to a larger discussion about community and revenue, but > > I honestly don't know how to scope it. > > > > Thank you for your feedback! > > Sean > > > > > --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ 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: Open / Closed Status for your space
Sean, On the technical end of things, we have been talking to someone about creating a key card system that plugs into a web app (kind of like Zipcard with an API) that will show when people are there. But it will also allow coworking places to sell cards to trusted members and dropins so that a card holder can drop in when nobody is around. Security-wise, their entry will be logged, so they are responsible for that time spent there. We kind of imagine all participating coworking spaces to allow out of towner trusted coworkers to do the same someday. Then, as space owners, we can see what kind of usage the space is having at different hours, etc and plan accordingly. T On 9/27/07, David Doolin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Whatever you do, make sure that when you post > that the space is open, make sure you post > for how long it will be open. > > Otherwise, potential drop-ins run the risk of > checking the status, getting on BART or whatever, > then arriving after everyone just left for a long > lunch at Breads of India (or whatever). > > > > On 9/27/07, Adam W. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > I'm sure you're looking for non-technical solutions (since that sounds > > like that's what most of the ideas were), but what about writing a > > small bit of code that looks at the mac addresses on your wifi. Then > > you could have the status posted on your website. It could be tied to > > specific mac addresses if you only want dropins when anchors are > > around or if anyone is on your wifi (assuming you can only get to the > > wifi if you're in the office). > > > > > > On Sep 27, 12:31 am, Sean O'Steen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > David, > > > > > > Thank you. Awesome comments and observations! And yes, I recognize my > > > tendencies to try technical solutions for what may be social > > > concerns... it's what I do. > > > > > > Yes, attracting drop-ins is one of our answers for how to build > > > community AND how to recruit potential anchors. Which one is more > > > important depends on who you talk to. For me it's the community. > > > Trying to build a community is one of the main reasons I joined in. > > > Fiscally speaking, I'm a minority stakeholder in Berkeley Coworking. > > > I'm not on the hook for our P&L at this time. If you were to ask one > > > of the people who are, I suspect they might lean towards filling the > > > seats. > > > > > > As I'm still fairly new to this newsgroup, I didn't want lead off with > > > a how to create community question, I thought I'd try for something > > > specific, hence the narrowly scoped open / closed thread. I agree that > > > drop-ins leads to a larger discussion about community and revenue, but > > > I honestly don't know how to scope it. > > > > > > Thank you for your feedback! > > > Sean > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- tara 'miss rogue' hunt co-founder & CMO Citizen Agency (www.citizenagency.com) blog: www.horsepigcow.com 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: Open / Closed Status for your space
Great thread start, Sean. This is a tough issue because creating the opportunity for drop-ins is both a desireable piece of a coworking space as well as a potentially undesirable drag on the time and energy of space owners. We are planning to have regular office hours at Office Nomads in Seattle to facilitate drop-in coworkers. This was a decision that Jacob and I decided on with the understanding that it required one of us to be in the space at all times during those specific hours. We get to determine the hours themselves (nice to work with our personal schedules too!), but as we looked around we felt there wasn't a good technical answer to solve the drop-in question. We also tried to avoid putting the burden of managing drop-ins on our monthly members, as we want the space to feel like a place where they can come to work - not necessarily to do our work for us. We want to be able to meet drop-ins ourselves and to give them a good introduction to the space so they feel welcome, understood, and so we can figure out together whether the space is right for them. Having one of us there means that we can get a sense of a drop-in's needs, which is excellent. The bummer of the situation is that by splitting up the time to manage the space, Jacob and I might not see each other much, which means we are going to rely a bit more heavily on technology to manage our partnership! This post also begs the question - do you need drop-in hours? Office Nomads is preparing to have drop-ins, but if after a few months there does not appear to be any demand for drop-ins, we plan to change our structure a bit. It is clear that in the world of coworking, flexibility is key. Do you think that there are other ways you could go around introducing people to your space without having to make drop- ins an option? What other benefits do you see to having a drop-in option? Maybe just test out the drop-in option for a short amount of time, see how it goes, and if it seems to be working well (recruiting new members, allowing for greater flexibility, etc.) then keep it rolling. If not, then there's your answer. Thanks for starting up this thread - it is definitely pertinent for us at Office Nomads as we begin the coworking adventure out here in Seattle! All my best, Susan On Sep 26, 7:41 pm, Sean O'Steen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > This is a question for any of the coworking spaces who do not keep > regular hours and who want to attract drop-in community members. How > have you been letting your community know when you are open and when > you are closed? > > Here at Berkeley Coworking, we went around the room, and came up with > lots of ideas, most of which involved writing code or hacking some > electronics, none of which we're opposed to mind you. However, we > quickly realized we were trying to build the equivalent of a space pen > that can write in zero gravity, when a simple pencil might do the > trick. > > Currently we're posting our status on a twitter account and have that > display on our websitewww.berkeleycoworking,com. That way anyone > who's interested in coming by could conveivably follow us on twitter > and get some form of a ping from us whenever we're in the house. It's > simple, and it has worked so far. However, we really can't use that > to show our availability in the future... you know for those who > actually plan their day in advance ;-) > > We've also investigated using a Google GrandCentral account to setup a > central phone number that will ring one or more of our anchors (the > ones with the keys to the joint). At this time though, GrandCentral > doesn't let you register your real phone numbers to more than one > account. As a result, I can't receive calls for a coworking > information line, since I use GrandCentral for other purposes. > GrandCentral says that this feature is on their development roadmap, > but didn't give a time estimate. > > So, I thought I'd throw this out to the community for discussion. What > have you all tried and what seems to work? > > Kindest Regards, > > Sean O'Steenhttp://berkeleycoworking.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 -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
