As someone who loooves going to work to connect socially with colleagues, I’ve been recently fascinated by the coworking movement.
Coworking is “a movement to create a community of cafe-like collaboration spaces for developers, writers and independents”, as per the Coworking Community Blog. These community office spaces are tailor-made for independent consultants and entrepreneurs in the high-tech and creative/media industries - complete with the ambiance of exposed brick, percolating coffee, overstuffed couches and Wiis.
It’s also a big step up from the laptop-at-Starbucks freelancers’ schtick. The best spaces offer decked-out boardrooms and all the amenities of a modern office.
But the best part is the networking and collaboration potential. Imagine the benefits of a creative hotbed focused on sharing, encouragement and connection. Regular events, lecture series, even open mic can bring the community even closer.
Some Canadian examples include the Center for Social Innovation in Toronto, which focuses on social entrepreneurship and the Code Factory in Ottawa, which is a more generalized space for startup incubation. [For a great list of international spaces, see this wiki].
There is a lot of buzz and enthusiasm surrounding this movement. My masters program at Carleton has an association to Ottawa’s Code Factory and I’m hoping to make some closer connections… I love the energy and commitment of entrepreneurs I’ve already met.
That being said, I am pondering the realities of working in such a space… Would the presence of other community members be an issue wrt privacy, resource availability, competition? How would conflicts or disruptions be resolved? (Some spaces have elected a council to address these issues).
Nonetheless, in the spirit of the greater social media movement, I’m excited to see these coworking initiatives take off. I’d love to try it out someday.
* Update 2008-09-13: Another great example in LA - Blankspaces, who also put up a great promotional video series here.
