From boingboing.net

Co-working facilities for social-hungry solo freelancers

Cool piece in Businessweek about the rising popularity of “co-working” spaces for independent, internet-age freelancers who are burnt out on working from their homes (cons: too isolating, makes you crazy, no work/life boundaries) and don’t want to just work out of Starbucks (cons: too public, not networking-conducive, laptop theft, rising price of lattes). Image above, hatfactory in dogpatch, San Francisco. Snip from story:

Over the past few years, co-working facilities—both grassroots, co-op-like versions and for-profit models—have started popping up across the country and the world, from Seattle to Copenhagen. A co-working wiki hosts pages for dozens of other cities with co-working initiatives in progress. And while the concept of shared office space is nothing new to entrepreneurs, an increasing number of them are signing on and finding that the community-building and networking benefits outweigh even the virtues of a shared fax machine.

In a recent report on the future of small business, the Silicon-Valley based Institute for the Future pegged co-working as a trend to watch over the next decade (see BusinessWeek.com, 1/31/07, “The Face of Entrepreneurship”). After co-working first took off with clusters of free-agent programmers and writers, its flexibility and low cost have also proven a good match for startups unwilling to sign a long-term lease. Because many of these facilities operate on a gym-membership model that doesn’t assign workers to specific desks, co-working is cheaper than most subleasing arrangements. And unlike traditional business incubators, co-working isn’t just for startups with high-growth potential.

The study’s lead author, Steve King, says the increasing popularity of co-working facilities reflects the rise of one-person “personal businesses” as well as a broader fluidity between virtual and real-world communities.

Link to “Where the Coffee Shop Meets the Cubicle,” by Kerry Miller. The online feature includes a neat slideshow of “co-work” spaces around the US and Canada (no photo credits, but I’ll gladly add one to this post if someone provides info!)

Update: Those of you in San Francisco may want to consider swinging by hatfactory for an open house they’re holding this Wednesday, Feb. 28:

On February 28, Wednesday, the Hat Factory Coworking space in San Francisco is throwing its doors open to welcome interested folks who want to give us a try, for free. Come and work with us during the day, from 11 AM to 5:00 PM. Bring your laptop and that manuscript, screenplay, or killer app you’ve been working on and leave the crowded, loud coffee shops behind. We’ll also be cooking a big meal starting around 5pm with free dinner served after 6pm. Come and eat with us! We’ll have a projector set up so everyone can show off their work.

(Thanks, Brad Neuberg)

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Uganda’s phone-charging station:
Cory Doctorow:

Nice Cool Tools piece about Uganda’s phone-charging entrepreneurs:

Uganda is a country coping with a severe energy crisis resulting in frequent power cuts. In addition, access to mains electricity in rural locations is limited. Given that mobile phones require power, and access to power can be unpredictable – how do people keep their mobile phones and other electrical devices charged? Last July a Nokia research team travelled to Uganda and explored this issue as part of a more in-depth study into shared phone use.

There are two forms of mobile phone battery charging services in Kampala – either offered as an additional service by phone kiosk operators or as a stand alone service. It costs 500 Ugandan Shillings (0.2 Euro) to have a battery recharged similar to the price of 2 or 3 phone calls. Whist both services appear to thrive there are a number of barriers to use: customers cannot use their phone whilst the battery is being charged; the customer risks, or perceives the risk that their battery being swapped for an inferior one; a perceived risk of phone theft – signs that suggest service providers are not responsible for loss or theft are evident.

Link

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