I've just done some coworking touring of my own, and I don't think it's fair to say it sucks. To the extent that it is essentially a real estate play, it's likely to suck. To the extent that it's a social capital network with a clubhouse, it's catalyzing.

During my tour last week, I got to visit a number of coworking spaces (including missrogue's Citizen Space; hi Tara ;-)), and the first thing I noticed was that they were, um, uninhabited. There were a couple people intent on task at their desks, some meetings taking place in the conference rooms, but mostly they were sort of empty. This was midday midweek.

And, of course, this began to make sense as I thought about it. I think there are four market segments (for want of a better term) for coworking. 1. Sole proprietors. They may have a bricks and mortar business, or some sort of services business (think financial services, mortgage broker, etc.) 2. Freelancers. Designers, programmers, tech writers, trainers, etc. 3. Remote field force. Sales reps and service techs, deployed in the host market. 4. True entrepreneurs trying to start growth companies.

I think these segments describe a pyramid, with the Sole Proprietors being roughly 40%, Freelancers about 30%, Field Force about 20%, and Entrepreneurs probably less than 10%. And with the exception of the entrepreneurs, most of these folks, if they are to be successful, need to spend most of their time in the field, on the road, or on their clients' premises. As such, they don't have a lot to offer in terms of collaborative energy, so their value within the coworking world is arguably minimal. But they still need the functionality, the fat pipe, the copy machine and the meeting rooms.

It that last segment, the true entrepreneur, who is strategically critical to the success of a coworking scene. Partly because they *need* more than simply a work surface and some technology support; they need a creative milieu inhabited by passionate, creative types to brainstorm with. This is why conventional incubators typically fail; not enough inventive critical mass to provoke breakthrough thinking.

For the typical freelancer, a coworking scene may or may not be suitable depending on whether they're just hired gun contractors or solution synthesizers. If you're just hacking code by the line, you're probably better off at home on your big dev box. If you're just slinging out templatized websites, then no, you're not going to find a genuinely collaborative community a very comfortable place to work.

But if your value to your clientele is your imagination, inventiveness, and ability to repurpose existing tools and techniques into new models, then yeah, it takes more than caffeine to get that done…

One thing I've noticed is that there doesn't seem to be a lot of 2.0 glue to these scenes. My hunch is that a coworking scene that also has a virtual dimension, so that members can strike sparks off each other even when they're not even in the center, will ultimately be the most successful. Because we're net-savvy, and because we do need to be out of the office most of the time to succeed, remote presence is critical, and embryonic, to this model.

Sorry for the long post; just a lot of ideas churning.

–Ax

massimo/cowo milano (italy)

ps – and don't forget to visit us, too!

T

I guess I am going to start having to do tours of coworking spaces.
Most of the spaces I have seen or read about seem to be more about
giving the wayward freelancer a place to set their butt and do some
work. Collaboration seemed to not occur.

I am happy to welcome that the space you discuss exist, I just havent
experienced one yet…

1. Openness
2. Collaboration
3. Community
4. Sustainability
5. Accessibility

This makes coworking a wider community of intent – the idea isn't to replace coffee shops or your living room even…although for some, they do come for that reason…the idea is to provide spaces for people with common goals to collaborate towards achieving them. I personally own a space, which I'm really proud of. It's a community service. It provides a hub for people from all over the world to come to. I don't think anyone is there for the address or to look like they are more professional. They are there because they support the idea of coworking and for the community. A fringe benefit those who participate get is the ability to collaborate with people who have complimentary talents (i.e. a developer meets a designer or a person with a business idea meets a developer, etc.). That's pretty sweet, too.

But then again, Micah, I know that you just like to stirr up stuff. ;)

The boom of “coworking” spaces has included many places (excluding Danny's in Denver, Alex's in Philly and Matthew's in Houston) that really amount to a “business center” rather than a collaborative working space, which is what makes a true coworking space unique.

I also apologize to those I might have directly offended (Matthew, Alex and others), I love the passion you guys put into the things you do, no matter if they dont appeal directly to me.

And yes Tara, you scare me. ;)