Author: Community Contribution

The first European Jelly week is ready to start

Hub Vilnius joined over 30 other coworking centers from across Europe for the first coworking Jelly week. Come to Hub Vilnius on the 21st of January for Jelly there.

Jellies are occasional meetings at which a small group of people come together to collaborate in an informal atmosphere. Unlike coworking spaces, no membership is required, they cost nothing and take place in a variety of locations. They offer the opportunity to exchange ideas, with no commitments or costs. And at the same time, they allow a community to build that can eventually lead to the development of an institution like a coworking space. With these two benefits in mind, Anni Roolf, a communication designer from Wuppertal, has organized the first European Jelly Week. It will take place from January 17 to 23 in many cities across Europe.

First Jelly in Hub Vilnius, November 2010

Jelly coworking by Mokolabs
Jelly coworking in San Diego by Mokolabs

The name “jelly” was chosen by a group in New York in 2006, taking inspiration from jelly beans. In the end it is simply a fun name, one which is yet to surface in Wikipedia. “These meetings are probably too unstructured and not organized enough for it. Many meetings in spontaneous locations could qualify as a jelly. But even so, somebody could have written an article about it on Wikipedia. The concept has existed now for five years, after all,” Anni said.

Jelly at PAX Coworking Japan

“The coworking movement also existed before it had a name. Many people discovered the concept for themselves, without having to describe it in one word. However using a known label can allow people to better grasp the concept and help it to achieve greater awareness.”

As well as the first Jelly Week, Anni has also initiated the development of the first coworking space in her home town. Jelly meetings can act as a temporary coworking meeting, even if no fixed premises have yet been found. It also helps spread the coworking movement to new places.

The idea grew out of the Coworking Europe conference in Brussels at the end of 2010. Anni wanted to find a way to carry on the productive spirit of the conference, and to demonstrate “how fast things can be created, with few resources but many legs.”

Another reason is to help spread the word about the coworking movment and foster a pan-European dimension to encourage international exchanges and attract more media attention.

How each Jelly looks and functions is entirely up to the creativity and knowledge of each individual organiser. “We only create the basis, and it is up to the people to visualize what they can make from it.” For herself, Anni hopes to develop the initiative for a coworking space in Wuppertal, and to network with people in other locations.

So far, 30 organizations from 14 countries have signed up to host meetings, many of them coworking spaces. A central site will help all participating jelly meetings communicate with each other, as well as a Twitter wall using the hashtag #jellyweek. Jelly Week offers a good opportunity for the strengthening of the European coworking community. To participate, simply contact Anni.

Here is the map of coworking Jelly week:

http://maps.google.de/maps/ms?hl=de&ie=UTF8&msa=33&msid=214542866132762196409.00049642f3ada26d5bd18&abauth=f9f5b684:-oaP_knfllI6hCMyBBTuhkGzqig

Japanese coworkers has joined it as well:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pfjk/sets/72157625832025260/detail/

from www.deskmag.com

Growing Your Business By Keepin’ It Real

Coworking Out of Bounds

The new year is here and that means many freelancers and small business owners are setting challenging goals for themselves, both personally and professionally. When challenging yourself to earn, create, or accomplish more, remember that although you may not answer to anyone else, it doesn’t mean you should take advantage of yourself by creating situations in which your time and talent will be overextended.

We talk a lot about engaging and making ourselves available for the coworking community and community at large, but agreeing to projects beyond your limit is an easy way to breed frustration and apathy–two traits that are deadly for the independent professional.

This year, pledge to remember that you’re only human. Stop saying yes when in your head you’re scrambling to think of a way that you’ll get it done in time. Refrain from agreeing to that aggressive deadline or early morning meeting when you know that your other work will suffer because of it. Be honest with clients and coworkers about how much you can handle, and know that the most beneficial growth, both as a person and a business owner, is that which occurs at a sustainable pace.

You’ll feel more pride about the high quality work accomplished when you operate within your limits, and the anxiety about income goals and number of clients fades naturally as people are attracted to the calm, organized, professional manner in which you do business.

Have you ever said yes to a project or deadline when you should have said no? Share your experience in a comment!

Image Credit: Flickr – Phillip

4 Creativity Resources for Freelancers

Sometimes we all need a kick in the pants. A kick in the creativity pants, that is.

From working on a client project, to rethinking your niche, or in thinking up new ways to seek out clients, at times we need a creativity boost to get our minds thinking in fresh ways. One of the key benefits of coworking is collaborating and ideating with others—or, in other words, being creative with others. Whether you’re a designer, a writer, web developer, or consultant, here are some fun resources to get your creative juices flowing.

  • TED
    “Ideas Worth Spreading”
    Chances are good that you’re already familiar with TED, so this is no shocker. Have you explored Tedx (local) events—perhaps even one that might be near where you live? Hunt through the TED site, and you’re bound to bump into an inspiring talk.
    Tip: Try searching a keyword related to a project you’re currently working on. Watch the video and take notes. You never know how watching a video might infuse a new idea into your project!

  • Ideas Project 
    “The home of big ideas about the future of communication and technology.”
    This well-designed site offers a place for people to share ideas about technology and communication. The site is a fascinating, creative way to map out ideas.
    Tip: Be sure to check out the Ideas Map – an incredible visualization of ideas.

  • Brainpicker
    “Curating eclectic interestingness from culture’s collective brain”
    Brainpicker is visually and mentally stimulating site that highlights innovative, fresh ideas. If you have a little bit of time to read, scout around this site or sign up for the weekly “best of” email.
    Tip: Surprisingly, even many of the ads along the sidebar link to interesting, worthwhile sites—so be sure to look at the ads, too. (When is THAT ever a tip?!)

  • The 99%
    “It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.”
    Developed by The Behance Network, The 99% is an information-rich source for ideas and articles about how to make ideas happen. It’s particularly focused on freelancers and small businesses.
    Tip: Click on “Tips” and browse articles by category. They’re also hosting a conference the first week in May in New York City–talk about a creativity brain melt!

This, of course, is a short list of sources for creative inspiration on the web. Do you have a go-to website when you need a creative kick in the pants? Share in the comments!

Image Credit: Flickr – creativedc

How Coworking and Community Translate into Dollars

Money - Jeff Belmonte

“Coworking” isn’t just a buzzword, although I may be preaching to the choir if you’re reading this blog. While the idea of sharing office space isn’t new, the idea of purposefully building a community of independent workers in a workspace–in other words, coworking–is growing like gangbusters. Many people recognize various benefits of coworking (such as the chance to get out of the house/cafe or to meet other creative professionals).

But a key aspect of coworking that is sometimes overlooked is the way coworking can boost income (for independents) and stimulate the economy (in a local area).

Coworking helps freelancers and independents make more money.

The first global coworking survey was recently completed, and more than 600 people from 24 countries participated. The results confirmed what many of us already experience in coworking: it’s a collaborative and community-oriented space that helps independents genuinely grow their business. As many coworking blogs have highlighted from the survey, 42% of survey respondents reported earning more money after joining a coworking space. And more than half said they work in teams more often since joining a coworking space.

Coworking helps the local economy.

The various ways that independents, freelancers and small business owners help boost and sustain a local economy can hardly be covered in a bullet point (I’ll save that discussion for another post, perhaps). But it’s true: a coworking space can help its local community’s economy. A soon-to-be coworking space in Portlandoriginated from a developer’s need to creatively solve certain economic challenges in his industry. When Peter Bass, the developer, learned about coworking, he also saw the importance of community. “‘We’re trying to build a community,’ Bass said, ‘not just a place to go to work.’”

When it comes down to it, coworking isn’t about plopping together a bunch of laptop-toting freelancers under one roof. Coworking is about community. And “community” isn’t just a fuzzy, feel-good term: it’s critical to a thriving coworking space. For proof, see how often “community” is mentioned by coworkers, freelancers and entrepreneurs at coworking space New Work City in this video.

I’m curious… whether you’re a coworker or coworking space owner, have you witnessed other ways in which the coworking community has boosted income or the economy? Leave me a comment below!

Image Credit: Flickr – Jeff Belmonte

Top Coworking Resources

It’s time to get your bookmarks and RSS reader ready: here’s the shortlist of mega-helpful, super-fantastic online coworking links.

Instead of making you dig through the library stacks for coworking resources, I’ve compiled a list for you. Whether you’re a would-be coworking space catalyst, a coworker or simply interested in the idea of coworking, the following resources will give you a good idea about coworking, the people involved and how to get started.

It’s time to get your bookmarks and RSS reader ready: here’s the shortlist of mega-helpful, super-fantastic online coworking links.

Instead of making you dig through the library stacks for coworking resources, I’ve compiled a list for you. Whether you’re a would-be coworking space catalyst, a coworker or simply interested in the idea of coworking, the following resources will give you a good idea about coworking, the people involved and how to get started.

Know other great blogs or resources? Leave a comment below!

Image Credit: Flicker – heather

Working Alone and Together

By Rachel Botsman

In 2005, Brad Neuberg was a thirty-one-year-old freelance open source software programmer living in San Francisco. He had just left a tech start-up to work for himself. Neuberg enjoyed working from home, yet the experience was also isolating. He tried the de facto techie office, a coffee shop, but found it too noisy and distracting and devoid of meaningful interactions. Despite his complaints about the monotony and conformity of the nine-to-five cube-working culture, Neuberg discovered that he missed the social camaraderie of an office. To his surprise, water cooler conversations served a purpose. “It seemed I could either have a job that would give me structure and community,” he recalls, “or I could be freelance and have freedom and independence. Why couldn’t I have both?”

Neuberg had been inventing collaborative software systems since 1998, including a Web software named Open Portal and a distributed Web browser named Paper Airplane. He started thinking about the key ingredients that made these platforms work so well—community,creativity, and structure—and how he could apply these elements to his current working dilemma. He wondered, “How could I have the kind of community and the cool people around me that I would have at a place like Google without having to join a big company?”

whats_mine_is_yours_coverHe rallied three fellow techies who had also been talking about the solitary tensions of working independently. They rented a space called the Spiral Muse for two days a week in the Mission and set up a few folding tables, wireless Internet, and a printer and created a basic meeting space. Neuberg had no idea he was starting what would become a global movement he coined “coworking.” After the friends hosted a coworking Meetup, word spread of the concept. Soon other free-agent techies, researchers, writers, filmmakers, and entrepreneurs began dropping in wanting pay-as-you go usage of the space for a few hours or a few days. All these people were working for themselves and had sworn never to return to a traditional office and the politics that go with it, but they also yearned for some form of working community where they could cross-pollinate ideas face-to-face. As Stephen Humphrey, a professor of management at Florida State University’s business school, who spent more than forty years researching social interaction at work and telecommuting, says, “We suddenly start to realize, we miss socializing—and we need it.” Eventually Neuberg left the Spiral Muse group and, ironically, took a job at Google, but with some of the original participants, including Chris Messina and Tara Hunt, he went on to start another successful coworking space called the Hat Factory. Today, coworking “offices” are being set up across America (Sandbox Suites, Citizen Space), and the phenomenon is rapidly spreading around the world “I urged people to steal the idea,” Neuberg says.

The growth of this movement is not surprising, given that it’s estimated that one-fifth of the workforce, or 30 million people, are working on their own in some form or another in the United States alone. And many of these people, including Stan Stalnaker (who as part of Hub Culture runs a collection of coworking pavilions around the world), are, as Stalnaker puts it, “global, heavily wired, eco-conscious and cost-cutting workers who were looking for a hip yet conscientious temporary coworking environment in their home cities as well as on the road.”

Coworkers describe what their shared workspaces mean to them not in pragmatic terms but with emotional expressions such as “hubs of interactions” or “fraternities of mutual interests.” The spaces themselves vary in terms of perks and culture, but they are all based on combining the best elements of a coffee shop (social, energetic, creative) and the best elements of a workspace (productive, functional). As Dominique Cardon and Christoph Aguiton, French social science researchers on communications and cooperation, say, coworking creates a “third place.” “Something which is neither a desk in a company nor the domicile of the person; it is a kind of public place you can join when you want, with the guarantee of finding some social life and the chance of a useful exchange.”

Co-working is one of hundreds of innovative examples that are part of a new culture and economy called Collaborative Consumption transforming business, consumerism, and the way we live. It is explored for the first time in the must read book What’s Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption.

Rachel Botsman (@rachelbotsman//twitter) is a social innovator who consults, writes, and speaks on the power of collaboration and sharing. Roo Rogers is a serial entrepreneur and is currently the director of Redscout Ventures.

Coworking: Road Trip to Ikea

By Angel Kwiatkowski

I recently saw a picasa album of coworking spaces and about 80% of us furnished our spaces with Ikea wares. I dug up this post for you about our epic trip to Ikea and thought you would enjoy reading about (or commiserating) with our experience.

Road Trip To Ikea: #rt2i

Day 1: In order to save money and have an excuse to take an epic road trip we decided to travel the 527 miles to Draper, UT to the nearest Ikea store.  Accompanying me on the journey is my best, good friend Chris.  We are a match made in heaven: I brought snacks and she brought a loaded ipod. We departed Colorado at 4pm on Thursday and made it to Rawlins, Wyo.  Last hour in terrible conditions-foggy, slick roads and could only go 45 mph.

Day 2: Awoke early, had trucker breakfast at Penny’s Diner.  Screaming deal since we got free vouchers to eat there from the hotel which we totally deserved b/c they are the only hotel that cleans the rooms in the middle of the effing night.  Didn’t get to sleep until 3am after I went out and pleaded with the housekeeper to please stop vacuuming the room next to ours and to please stop slamming a door every 23 seconds b/c it literally rattled the bed frame every time.  Anyway, it was an awesome breakfast.

Drove solidly through the 5 hours to Salt Lake City.  Turns out that Salt Lake, Provo, Draper and 14 others towns are really just one town.  Did you also know that this conglomeration is completely surrounded by mountains on all sides?  Very cool scenery and totally worth the 5 hours of butt numbing driving.

Went straight to a hotel and caught a quick nap.  Drove 1 mile to Ikea <squeeee>.  Luckily, I had printed out the instructions on how to shop at Ikea.  Turns out the assembly directions for their furniture are no easier to understand than how to properly “shop” at Ikea.  You really do have to follow the directions or the ultra chic staff people in yellow polos (circa 1991) look at you like you are *so* dumb (think bubble gum chewing, skinny jeans wearing-looking teenager who wishes they didn’t live in Salt Lake).

Spun around the showroom for almost 3 hours.  Yes, that’s just about how long it takes to get around the whole store and that was with a minimal amount of oooing and awing.  Headed down to the “self serve warehouse,”  which isn’t as much fun as you would think.  Turns out that a lot of Ikea’s furniture is quite heavy and I have genetically weak arms.

Purchased a few of our lighter/accessory type items and started panicking about what size uhaul to rent.  Renting a uhaul on a whim at the end of the month is a terrible idea.  I guess a bunch of landlords kick people out at the end of the month b/c we had to drive 25 minutes to find a dealer that had a trailer that was smaller than a semi truck.  Stopped off at a delightful Thai place and decompressed over Pad Thai and Spring Rolls that were absolutely awesome.  Discovered that Iced Thai Tea is really not MY cup of tea.

Returned to hotel.  While Chris got into her stretchy pants and snuggled down, there was no rest for @CohereLLC.   Here’s what my night looked like:

1.       Phoned husband for last minute instructions on how to use a uhaul.

2.       Bucked up and decided to throw down an extra $700 on furniture that the coworkers would actually like, not some cheap-o crappy looking stuff.

3.       Re-re checked my online shopping cart at www.target.com to re-re make sure that I definitely want/need that furniture (I do).

4.       Texted 12 times with interior designer to okay a few last minute, on the fly choices

5.       Mopped brow

6.       Made a new Ikea shopping list

7.       Tweeted some stuff

8.      Ate a girl scout cookie

9.       Thought about how great it is to be in a hotel that cleans the rooms in the morning

10.   Collapsed

Day 3: Rose early to let Chris sleep in, had not so great, but again, free continental breakfast.  Drove to uhaul place and waited in line for 30 minutes behind all the people who got kicked out of their apartments.  Got trailer hooked up and drove away.  Arrived at Ikea just in time for opening.

This is where we kicked Ikea’s ass. We loaded 7 flat beds with stuff and trucked to the checkout.  We were definitely the “don’t get in line behind those yay-whos” people.  Do you have any idea how long it takes a 16 year old who really doesn’t like his job to scan 7 flatbeds worth of stuff?  About 20 minutes, no exaggerating.  Blew a hole in my Cohere Debit Card to the tune of $2223.74!  *EFF*  See photo of Hans, I mean Jared, holding my 2.5 foot receipt.

After you throw down that kind of cash, Ikea provides you with 2 boy slaves to load your uhaul.  As I was going out to retrieve said uhaul, discovered another Jeep with Colorado plates towing the same size uhaul was parked right next to us!  Perhaps we should have been more efficient with our resources.

We u-hauled ass back to CO in 9 hours.   Very proud of my little diesel Jeep that got 26mpg on the way back pulling one ton of Ikea + trailer.

Lessons learned on the #rt2i:

·         Choose a copilot who likes to chat, it will really help keep you awake in the middle of Wyoming and one who really only needs a cup of hot tea in return for hours and hours of circling the same store.

·         Really, really happy we had the instructions for how to shop at Ikea.

·         Call ahead to reserve your u-haul.

·         Ask to take your cashier’s photo for your blog.  It perks him/her right up.

·         Eat more fruits and vegetables.

·         Pick a hotel with a hot tub for aching ikea muscles (note to self for future).

Global Coworking Survey

Dear Coworking Community,

My name is Lukas De Pellegrin and I am a student of architecture at the Technical University of Berlin. I am currently working on my diploma thesis, which is focusing mainly on Coworking. Right now I am working together with Carsten Foertsch of deskmag.com, an online magazine about coworking and other new forms of work. We made a global survey about Coworking, which is available here:

http://ww2.unipark.de/uc/coworking/

Please help us by filling out the survey. Replies will be completely anonymous. We don’t at any point ask for your name, or the name of any coworking space. In addition, we are asking you for your help with promoting the survey by spreading this link via twitter, homepages, blogs, mailing lists and other channels. We want the survey to reach as many people as possible in order to have a bigger response from all around the world. A big response means more precise results, too.

We are supported by the following organizations, which will be presenting the evaluated results of the survey in January:
Deskmag – Coworking Magazine
Coworking Spain – Spanish Coworking Network
Coworking Europe / Enterprise Globale – European conference on Coworking 2010
Movebla – Brazilian Coworking Magazine
Cowo – Coworking Network Italy
Hallenprojekt – German Coworking Network
Coworking Labs – Coworking Research USA
Coworking JP – Coworking Blog Japan
moboff – Japanese Coworking Network
Deskwanted – Global Coworking Space Directory
Silicon Sentier – French Coworking Network
Coworking Sweden – Swedish Coworking Blog

Thank you for your support!

3 Coworking Questions: Answered

Angel Kwiatkowski, Madame of the Cohere Coworking Community, was recently asked to answer the following questions about coworking…

Original Story: at Rise of the Cubicle Farmer. “Rise of the Cubicle Farmer is a 25 45 60 day Road Trip devoted to capturing the stories of remarkable misfits who have managed to use technology to share their art with the world, and “rise up” from jobs and lives that didn’t fit them.”

What is a coworking space?
A coworking space is a physical location that fosters the following: the productive gathering of motivated people with the intent to create shared value for the benefit of their community.

What are the benefits (of coworking)?
The greatest benefit of coworking is feeling that you have finally found a tribe. It sounds a little hokey but I hear it time and time again from independents coming off the coffee shop circuit. Nearly everyone who has found their way into the Cohere community feels suddenly grounded and energized at once by finding a group of people who CARE about them and their work. Finding and being a part of a tight knit community of people like you makes the freelance way of life so much more bearable. You’ll have a built in group of supportive (real life) people to catch you if you stumble, point out the cliff you’re about to fall off of, or give you a high five when you succeed. You just can’t get that same caliber of community online or with a bunch of strangers at a coffee shop.

What should someone look for (in a space)?
I could bore you with a list of questions about what tangible amenities to ask about but the reality is, it’s more important to test out potential coworking communities for at least a week or more before joining. You’ll inevitably identify with some communities more than others. Don’t get hung up on WHAT the space has. Look more closely at WHO is there and WHY. You’ll be able to discover fairly quickly if it’s a community that resonates with you and your values.

Now it’s your turn. How would you answer the questions?