I never imagined when I started my journey into the Coworking world that three short years after opening my own space in Austin, TX, I would also put on the largest Coworking conference in the world for the 3rd year. It’s called the Global Coworking Unconference Conference in an ode to Stephen Colbert that at this point can’t be un-done. We call it ‘juicy’ for short because if you pronounce GCUC it sorta sounds like ‘juicy.’ You can find a… Read More »
It all started as a meet-up of people coming to SXSW with an interest in Coworking. The meet-ups were held in Austin in 2008 and 2009 and organized by a local Coworking enthusiast. In 2010 Loosecubes decided to turn it into an actual event—the first ever Coworking Unconference. Liz Elam of Link Coworking helped the Loosecubes team with logistics and finding sponsors. The half-day Unconference was a huge success and drew about 120 Coworking enthusiasts from around the world. In… Read More »
Last week 5 NextSpace teamsters, 1 baby, and one daddy of the baby, attended GCUC, the Global Coworking Unconference Conference. There were close to 300 people, and over 100 spaces represented. The conversation moved from Steve King (not THAT Steve King), sharing that coworking has crossed the chasm and is now a mainstream workplace option around the globe, to Benjamin Dyett from the Grind sharing that coworking is not just for the startup crowd, but for established professionals and can,… Read More »
Many people in the coworking community are already familiar with The Global Coworking Unconference Conference kicking off its second year in Austin, Texas March 5th-6th. Rayann and I have been gearing up for this event for a few months now. We teamed up with Liz Elm, the Executive Producer of GCUC, and owner of Link Coworking to help spread the word via the web of this awesome event. We are proud to be a part of the GCUC social media team and we are looking… Read More »
Coworking is about the community we create. Members from all walks of life - who share openness, curiosity, creative drive, entrepreneurship and perhaps even an elevated level of social consciousness - come together to spend their days (and nights) working and enjoying each others' company. It seems only natural that we cross-polliate with students and educators in our communities. Our coworking communities can benefit from their fresh ideas, youthful exuberance and desire to learn, while they are introduced to a… Read More »
I hope that you had a chance to read the recent article on coworking in IEDC's EDnow newsletter (It's only available to members, so if you are an IEDC member, you can grab it here). It goes into some depth on the phenomenon of coworking and what it means to economic development. If you don't already understand the concept of coworking, you can learn more by reading the article, checking out Deskmag, attending the Global Coworking Unconference Conference (shameless plug: I'll… Read More »
Yes, Marissa hit the panic button, and Yahoo’s new ban on “working from home” has ignited a huge firestorm from a long-smoldering debate over how to manage worklife balance and workplace productivity. However, pitting working from home against working from a central headquarters office misses the point. Neither the home office nor the centralized HQ is the complete answer anymore. Worklife, has become infinitely more interesting and requires a more thoughtful approach, since knowledge workers now choose how, when and… Read More »
Corporate leaders have started to pay attention to the buzz and research around culture and employee engagement, as they are seeing that these are critical to attracting and retaining talent, and they have a direct connection to their bottom line. The realization is that the sea of cubicles is not quite conducive to deep employee engagement and it’s time to evolve the open office space concept to fit a more dynamic digital economy. Most research happening around workspace design, collaboration… Read More »
ONE of the most crucial elements of a successful co-working space is the design. Like the people who use the environment, it needs to be flexible, fluid and creative. Still, it is a constant work in progress as the community moulds the physical surroundings from the inside out and it can be rearranged as needs change. Seven years’ experience has proven there are some key ideas that enhance the collaborative environment. This video, created by head architects of The Hub… Read More »
WHAT if you could be a co-worker and creative social innovator outside of the usual metropolitan mould? By taking the spirit of collaboration and the principal of co-working to regional communities, opportunities are injected into the equation, not removed. Traditionally the progressive business and entrepreneurial world has considered cities as meccas for the birth and development of new projects. Yet taking these people, ideas, attitudes and concepts to a country environment can be twice as beneficial. First by providing a… Read More »
