Getting involved – The Global Coworking Blog

The Coworking Wiki: Building The Movement Together

Post Author: Kevin Skiena.

Imagine what would happen if McDonalds and Burger King shared recipes and business models, or if Comcast and Verizon viewed each other as allies in their efforts to bring cable and high-speed internet to everyone. In a capitalistic society, where competition is branded as the best way to keep prices low and the customer happy, openness and collaboration can work against your business interests. Why give away your advantages?

Enter coworking. The values of coworking are openness, collaboration, accessibility, sustainability, and community. These qualities may seem to fly in the face of capitalism. Why should we share? How can my business thrive if someone else is diluting my presence in the marketplace by offering the same services?

We can easily forget that two companies marketing the same service are, in a sense, marketing for each other. What our community has to offer – the exact reason why collaboration suits us better than competing – is the individuality and uniqueness of the communities we create. Space owners and operators recognize that chief among their goals is to foster feelings of support and camaraderie. They may do this using particular techniques or activities, but even if another owner adopts the same practices, it would be impossible to produce the same results. Coworking works as a business model because of our intense desire to feel part of a community, and no matter how much of our techniques we share, every community will be different. Jacob Sayles, Coworking Wiki Upgrade Project Director and Co-founder of Office Nomads, thinks of new coworking space owners in his area as business partners. “When I hear that a new coworking space is opening in Seattle, I want to meet the people opening it,” he says. “I want to buy them drinks.”

A Platform for Growth and Collaboration

The Coworking Wiki was formed as a way to grow the movement and share our values. It’s a free, community-owned and operated web tool meant to help anyone looking to start, find, and run a coworking space. It offers shared business plans and advice. It has links to well-researched press about the movement. It showcases collaborative efforts between spaces, like the Coworking Visa program, which allows a freelancer or small business entrepreneur the use of an office while traveling in another city. The wiki allows us to aggregate and organize all of these resources in one place while reviewing its content and ensuring its neutrality. Today it is one of the top 3 web search results for “coworking” (behind Wikipedia and coworking.com). It’s highly visible, averaging about 500 hits a day, and it’s often one of the first places people new to coworking will go to learn about the movement. But there’s a problem . . .

Until now, the wiki’s content has been moderated by a small group of dedicated volunteers. The movement has grown exponentially, and the demands of keeping the wiki organized and up-to-date have simply become too much for the same level of commitment. Many links on the wiki are broken or misleading. Section heads are missing content, and contact information is outdated. Many wiki visitors feel overwhelmed or lost. It doesn’t have to be this way.

The Upgrade Project

The wiki has amazing potential to help new space catalysts, owners, and bring new people to the movement, and we want to help it live up to that promise. A small team of Seattle-based coordinators are working on a plan to improve the wiki’s content while creating a framework to keep it organized and maintained long into the future. We’ve identified the wiki’s key stakeholders, and we want to restructure the site using the concerns of these groups as a guide. We are working for discounted rates and volunteering our time in order to make this happen, but we can’t do it alone.

How You Can Help

Volunteer

Are you great an organizing and consolidating information? Maybe you’re more of a people-person. Our volunteer coordinator, Sarah Cox of Cospace, is assembling a list of is coordinating wiki volunteers and would love to hear from you if you have some time to chip in.

Join the Team

Going forward, the wiki will be moderated and organized by small team of coworking space employees. Their work on the project will become part of their regular job functions (no overtime necessary), and we expect wiki obligations to occupy no longer than 5 hours/week. We are looking for at least 3 more team members willing to make a one-year commitment. If you are an employee of a coworking space, or run a coworking space and are willing to dedicate up to 5 hours/week of your paid time to the project, we’d love to talk to you about joining the effort.

Donate

Your contributions allow for the recruitment and training of new team members, community outreach efforts, and the development of a map-based, searchable Coworking Directory. Our passionate team is fully committed to seeing this through, and they can’t do it without your financial support. Please think about how you could benefit from the shared resources of an upgraded Coworking Wiki and, if you’re able, consider making a contribution.

Spread the Word, and Give Us Feedback

First and foremost in our minds is that this is a community project. Please subscribe to our blog or follow us on twitter. Track our progress, share this information with other community members, and don’t hesitate to let us know what you think.

Five Reasons Lonely Freelancers Should Try Coworking

For every freelancer that sings the praises of coworking, there are five that are wondering whether they should give it a try. Here’s a short list you can use to convince them!

1. Pants are required. We know, we know, the greatest thing about working for yourself is that pants are optional. Your blog post or design project can’t tell whether you’re still wearing pajamas at 2 pm, so why bother? If it’s been a while since you’ve held yourself to a dress code stricter than stretchy pants and your favorite hoodie, you may have forgotten how motivating it can be to don a fresh pair of pants. There’s just something about getting dressed that says, “Ok, I’m ready; bring on the day!” Coworkers know that sometimes, putting on your pants and being in public is the biggest victory of the day. So toss those sweats, zip that fly, and come on down. We’ve got your victory coffee waiting.

2. You’re pretty interesting. There are some things about working from your home office or even the coffee shop that can’t be beat: it’s your home turf, you’re comfortable, and most importantly, it’s fairly free from distraction. Unfortunately, free from distraction often means free from interaction, which can be a slippery slope for freelancers that usually prefer a screen to a face anyway. One of the best parts of the coworking community is cameraderie. We think you’re pretty interesting. We want to know what you’re working on. We’ll talk about coding, or blogging, or marketing all day long. Try us.

3. The coffee is free. And tea. And sometimes snacks. ‘Nuff said?

4. It gives you an excuse to clean your laptop. Take a glance at your keyboard. If you can identify the remnants of more than one meal from the past three days…gross. Bust out your duster, your electronic-safe wipes, or hell, just turn the thing over and shake. You might be surprised at how much easier it is to work when you’re not typing around a crumb buffet.

5. It’s fun! I know, I know…you’re all about the productivity and working in a crowded room of freelancers doesn’t sound like the best way to break through your writer’s block or finally finish that proposal that’s been keeping you up at night. Or, does it? Who knows, maybe that problem that’s been bugging you is something another coworker solved last week. Or maybe there’s another freelancer here who’s got the perfect suggestion for your stalled project? Or, who knows, maybe just getting out of the house, and having a conversation with some like-minded people is just what you needed to breath new life into your career.

It can’t hurt to give it a try, right? If you’re ready search HERE for a space near you.

Image Credit: Flickr – ben sutherland

Reposted from the Cohere Community Blog

Coworking Gifts For Your Smartphone (and You!)

The collective creativeness that is the coworking community has been hard at work creating a few apps that can enrich your experience!

Giant Smart Phone

‘Tis the season to indulge in gadgets, and for those of you that depend on a smartphone to get you through the day, that means treating yourself to an app or two.

How fortunate that the collective creativeness that is the coworking community has already been hard at work creating a few apps that can enrich your experience!

Coworking for iPhone – by @parisoma

Cost: FREE

Want to keep coworking while you’re away from home, but don’t have the time to research available spaces? Now, there’s an app for that.

The “Coworking” app- made for coworkers, by coworkers, in a coworking space- is now available in the iTunes store.

The app is designed to:
1. Be a mobile database of over 400 coworking spaces worldwide
2. Allow people to find coworking spaces in their city or in cities they visit
3. Help coworking spaces find new members

This app was designed by coworkers at pariSoma Innovation Loft in the San Francisco Bay area. If you download this app, the folks at pariSoma would love to hear your feedback! Send suggestions about how to improve the app or ideas about other potentials for it to coworkingapp [at] gmail.com.

Coworking Lite For Android Coworking for Android – by App Hoshies

Cost: $1.95 for full version, Lite version is FREE

“Coworking” is a social location-based app that is all about finding and sharing Coworking locations (download here).

This app is designed to:
1. Create new locations
2. Find other coworkers in your area
3. Follow where others are currently working.

The app comes with hundreds of worldwide locations. The Lite version comes with ads but has no limitations.

And if you really want to turn your smartphone into a powerful coworking machine, check out this long list of mobile apps for entrepreneurs!

Image Credit Top: Flickr – @boetter

Why Problem-Solving in Groups is Useful in Coworking

Taking a cue from an NPR story, here are some ways problem-solving in groups might be useful in coworking.

by Angel Kwiatkowski

Group of people working

A story on NPR’s program All Things Considered talks about coworking. Okay. Not quite. But it does discuss one of the key components of successful coworking: collaboration.

Key in NPR’s study was the point that equal participation in problem-solving fostered more innovative solutions. The research points to why and how getting a group of people together to solve a problem is not so much about getting the “smartest” people together, but instead is about equal participation and multiple perspectives from people in the group.

A group of people. Equal participation and multiple perspectives. Hm…that sounds a lot like coworking.

Taking a cue from the NPR story, here are some ways problem-solving in groups might be useful in coworking:

You—the coworker—have a challenge in your work.
Can your coworkers help you overcome a client/work challenge? This is especially effective if you ask nicely.
You—the coworking space catalyst—have a challenge in your space.
Can the coworking community help you brainstorm solutions to that challenge? Or can you hop on the Coworking Google Group to ask your online coworking community for ideas?
You—the coworker OR coworking space catalyst—have a challenge in your local community.
Can coworkers go beyond their coworking space walls and contribute their smarts to a local challenge? This, of course, requires extra time and energy beyond work. But you never know what sorts of beneficial connections could be made in the local community (perhaps resulting in new clients, new work, new ideas!).
You—the interesting person.
Sometimes, it’s simply about getting interesting people together to see what interesting things they come up with. (And if that sounds vague—it should! The possibilities are as limitless when it comes to grouping together independent, creative, community-oriented coworkers.)

Although coworkers tend to be highly independent individuals, problem-solving in groups is where the real magic happens in coworking. This type of problem-solving has so many advantages—seen, for example, in the rise of collaborative consumption. So try problem-solving in a group—and let us know how it goes.

Image Credit: Flickr – Peter Samis

Can Coworking Help Build A Healthy Business Ecosystem?

Being different from the common vision of an “office” or a “job” doesn’t mean that coworkers should abandon the 9 – 5ers all together. Sometimes the bridges built between coworking spaces and the larger community are the most important for a healthy business ecosystem, and coworkers should be willing to put the first stepping stones in place.

By Angel Kwiatkowski

coworking builds a healthy business ecosystem

Coworking spaces (and their members) often spend time building connections with other coworking spaces or groups of technically creative people, but it’s important to remember that a coworking facility is still part of the larger, conventional business community (which happens to be struggling right now).

Host Classes/Workshops/Seminars That Are Open To Non-Members

Whether it’s tips from an outside tax expert or a workshop about how to network effectively, chances are that small business owners or even cubicle-dwellers could benefit from the knowledge as well. Opening up some of your functions to outside individuals is also a great way to give people a peek into everything they’re missing, and an easy way to bring in a few extra dollars of revenue.

Support Other Local Businesses

A group of dedicated, well-connected coworkers is a powerful market segment for any new business. Take the time to introduce yourself to the owners and managers of storefronts that you frequent, and be sure to mention that you’re there because you cowork nearby and you like to support local business. Not only will they become aware about a new way of working, it might even spark a discount for coworkers or create an opportunity for collaboration.

Develop A Resource Reputation

A room full of healthy, motivated, independent professionals is a dream come true for a future business owner. Instead of thumbing through a Chamber of Commerce directory or (gasp!) venturing into the wilds of Elance or Freelancer.com, a coworking space provides the business ecosystem with a rich pool of pre-approved talent. All you have to do is find a way to let your community know that this talent exists and is ready to help.

What other ways does your coworking space contribute to the health of the larger business ecosystem?

Image Credit: Flickr – Intersection Consulting

3 Ways To Cultivate A More Vibrant Coworking Community

Just like you can’t just toss a sack of seeds into the dirt and expect to get a garden, you can’t sit in your seat with your headphones on, waiting for the community to nurture you.

By Angel Kwiatkowski

People talk a lot about all the ways that coworking can energize your small business or keep you from looking like a hack. Coworking communities are unique collections of people that can provide just enough sun, rain, and fertilizer for your ideas to grow and bloom.

However, just like you can’t just toss a sack of seeds into the dirt and expect to get a garden, you can’t sit silently in your seat waiting for the community to nurture you.

1. Admit You Need Help

Most coworking communities are collections of pretty talented, organized, and all around amazing people. If you’re new to the group, you might be intimidated by all this excellence, and feel that you have to put on a capable face when inside you’re really losing it. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The wealth of knowledge your community contains is there for you to take advantage of. Be honest about your weaknesses, and make them available when other people are in need.

2. Ask What People Are Working On

When Monday morning dawns, all fresh and full of emails, it can be tempting to get plugged in and working as fast as possible. But there’s nothing nurturing or vibrant about a community where people don’t make eye-contact. Take just a minute or two to say good-morning to the room, ask what your neighbor’s working on, or share the challenges you’re trying to tackle that work week. Not only will this set a positive tone for the rest of your day, you might just uncover a partnership possibility or a new contact that will prove indispensable in the future.

3. Commence Goofing Off

You can’t spell coworking without work, and it’s true, the most important reason that people are attracted to coworking communities is because they can be more productive there. But you don’t always have to be hunched over with your headphones, oblivious to the rest of the room. The next time someone’s piping up about a problem in their business, or a funny YouTube video that’s burning a hole in their inbox, take a second to crack a smile and indulge in some human-to-human conversation. You need a break from that screen anyway 🙂

What are other ways that you can help improve your community and create an environment that encourages success?

Image Credit: Flickr – OakleyOriginals

Two Ways to Be A Coworking Alchemist

Coworking is an alchemy of sorts: it takes independent people (who may work on wildly different projects and often do wildly different things) and puts them together in one physical space.

By Angel Kwiatkowski

space by Werkheim | Flickr
Bjark Ingels is an architect. He’s known for designing buildings that are expansive in scope—and that also solve real-world problems. A Ted.com Q&A with Ingels, “On architectural alchemy,” describes alchemy:

“What I like about the term alchemy is that you take traditional ingredients that would separately be just ‘normal this’ and ‘normal that,’ and when you combine them, because of symbiotic relationships, you get much more out of the mix than if you were to leave them separate.“

Ingels is looking at alchemy through the lens of architecture, but isn’t this definition of alchemy applicable to coworking? Coworking is an alchemy of sorts: it takes independent people (who may work on wildly different projects and often do wildly different things) and puts them together in one physical space.

So, the “normal freelancer that does this” and the “normal independent business owner who does that” can collaborate to create something so much more than if they had been left separate. And it happens because the two people are working in the same physical space.

So how can you, the coworker, be an alchemist at your coworking space? Here are two simple ways:

1. Work in various spaces: If your computer set-up permits, work in different areas of your coworking space. Try doing your brainstorming in the lounge, or sit at a desk you don’t normally sit at. You may spark a new conversation or idea simply by choosing to work in a different location.

2. Opposites attract: Pick another coworker who does something completely different than you—and ask if they’d share their perspective on a project or challenge you’re working on. Offer to do the same for him/her.

There are likely many other ways to create “alchemy” in your work. What experiences have you had in coworking where two distinct ideas/people came together to create something bigger and better?

Image Credit: Flickr – Werkheim

Story-Telling – An Easy Way to Build Community

Stories can also enhance the connectedness of coworking communities. We all have stories—whether our own personal story or the story of our business. However you’re involved in coworking, tell your story. Here are a few suggestions.

By Angel Kwiatkowski

Storytelling - An Easy Way to Build Coworking Community

People thrive on stories. Whether fact, fiction or (as is most often the case) a little of both, stories are what bind us together—as friends, families, companies, religious group, political sway or country. Stories can also enhance the connectedness of coworking communities. We all have stories—whether our own personal story or the story of our business.

However you’re involved in coworking, tell your story. Here are a few suggestions:

If you’re a coworker:

Do your fellow coworkers know who you are and what your business is? Tell them! Through your own blog (if you have one), while grabbing a cup of coffee, or by showcasing the work you do. The more that coworkers share their stories with each other, the more that the all-important community elements of trust, openness and collaboration will thrive.

If you’re a would-be coworking space catalyst:

So you want to start a coworking community? Don’t seek real estate and fancy desks as your first step. Instead, start telling your story—within the coworking wiki, at local meet-up groups, with past colleagues and with anyone in your area that might be interested in coworking. Tell the story of why you’re starting a coworking space. You’d be surprised how much more effectively you’ll build a coworking community.

If you’re a coworking space owner/curator:

Alright, so you’ve already helped create a coworking community. Are you communicating the story of your coworking space via your website/blog, through email updates or even within the physical coworking space? Can potential coworkers, current members, and other businesses easily find the story of how your coworking space came to be? Try posting a community calendar of events/workshops, or a list of resources for freelancers and small businesses.

Stories help foster the very things that a community requires: trust of fellow members, shared values, an openness to sharing and collaboration, and a sense of stability.

How about you—do you find it difficult to share your story, or do you wave the banner of your story every chance you get (whether you’re a coworker and/or a coworking space owner)? Even better—share your story in the comments below!

Image Credit: GlobalPatriot.com via Creative Commons License

3 Reasons To Give Thanks For Coworking

As you gather with family, relax, and gorge yourself on delicious food this week, consider some of these blessings, and offer thanks to the community that provides them.

By Angel Kwiatkowski

‘Tis the season to be counting your blessings and appreciating the things in life that really matter. As coworkers (or those that are interested in trying it out) there are a lot of things, big and small, that coworking does to enhance our lives and businesses.

As you gather with family, relax, and gorge yourself on delicious food this week, consider some of these blessings, and offer thanks to the community that provides them.

1. A reason to hang up your suit and tie for good.

Being your own boss means that you make the rules, and coworking is definitely a movement that embraces the casual Friday look every day of the week. If you’ve spent all night working on a project, and skipped the shower- we won’t judge. If you’re having one of those days where pajama pants are the preferred fashion, we’ll still love you in the morning.

2. The ability to control your own destiny.

The economy is bad and people are desperate for jobs, but instead of complaining, coworking communities are getting to work. While the life of an independent professional might not always be glamorous, it takes your reliance off of some company and puts it where it belongs, on you. Tough days come and go, but you’ll never have to fear layoffs again.

3. The gift of free coffee.

Those that have spent time on the coffee shop circuit know the frustration of shelling out three bucks (or more) every time they need a WiFi connection and a clean surface. Finding a coworking community to call your own will not only eliminate the need for this extra expense, it will also remind you how much more productive you are when you don’t have to fight shoppers and soccer moms for your workspace.

Are you appreciative of something else that coworking provides, eliminates or facilitates? Give thanks in a comment!

Image Credit: www.makeandtakes.com

The Coworking Host – A Freelancer’s Resource

One of the keys to a successful coworking environment is conversation, collaboration and interaction with other coworkers. But have you also asked the host at your coworking space for their help and expertise?

Go ahead - just ask your coworking host!

By Angel Kwiatkowski

One of the keys to a successful coworking environment is conversation, collaboration and interaction with other coworkers. Hopefully you’ve tapped into the amazing resources and brains that surround you and have discovered ways that coworking helps your small business. But have you also asked the host at your coworking community for their help and expertise?

Whatever it’s called at your coworking space—community manager, community animator, host/hostess—there are more resources in your coworking space than you might imagine. Whether you have recently joined a coworking space or have been coworking since the dawn of time, don’t neglect the fantastic resource that is your host.

So, what might you ask your coworking space host? Here are some ideas to get you started:

Can you recommend a good (accountant/lawyer/executive coach/etc.)?
May I run this (demo/logo design/ad slogan/etc.) by you for honest feedback?
Could we brainstorm for 10 minutes about my new project?
Do you know any local meet-up groups or events related to my field?
How would you respond to a client in this situation?
Do you know any other coworkers or people in the community that I could collaborate with on this project?
Would you be willing to host a seminar/workshop about (contracting/managing tough clients/easy small business accounting/etc.)?

Your coworking host will bring their own experiences and skills to the table (and likely the feedback & war stories they’ve heard from other independents and freelancers as well!). Although they may not be able to answer all of your questions, chances are good that he or she can point you in a helpful direction. So go ahead—ask your coworking host to help you grow YOUR business!

Share with us: Do you have a story about how a coworking host has helped you in your business? Tell us in the comments!

Image Credit: Flicker – SMJJP