How are the coworkers and the coworking spaces going to attract this “Financial Capital”? It is the “Social Capital” that attracts it! What is the “Social Capital” in terms of a coworking community? Coworkers love the work they do. They love the people they work with. They believe in cooperation, teamwork and last but not least they believe that there are more good people around than bad!!! Why is that important?

Because this touches a frame of mind that many people have. Many people believe that good intention is a scarce resource. The contrary is true. Check with yourself and adjust if necessary. Translated to work and work output we find the following: To produce and distribute excellent services and products you need a special quality of cooperation. Only people who love what they do and who can work with the people they love can provide this. Coworking spaces can provide these excellent services and products more often and with a higher likelihood the more widespread “Free Coworking” will become. The key is an evolution of every party involved in the process. Only trust, openness, dedication, patience, fairness, sweat, fun and love will lead to “Free Coworking”. And the great thing is that it will work!!! It will not only work in one or two places, it will grow and grow.

The number of coworking spaces is rapidly going to increase because people just want to work this way!!! “Going to work” will have a totally new, fresh and positive connotation. Whereas before people dreaded to go to work because they had to do something they did not really like in an environment they felt not particularly comfortable in, now in a coworking space it is just the opposite. You can choose the people you work with and the work you do. How is that possible?

“Free Coworking” means working in teams and a community you choose. To be productive and happy you have to be able to say yes to everyone in your team and environment from the bottom of your heart including yourself. In many instances this will require an evolution for everyone involved. But once the team starts to evolve it does not take very long for it to become a “dream team”. Imagine the experience of working in a “dream team” once! This is great, but imagine you can do it again. Another day another “dream team” is going to form and more people are going to learn what it takes. And this goes on and on and everyday the social capital grows.

Still in doubt whether this might work? At the moment the setting up of a coworking space is largely a process of “Pull”. You tell people how great coworking is and you hope to convince them to come along and try it. This can be quite trying at times and aims to fill your space nothing more. Imagine people could work for free in your space and a “Push” process would start. People would want to push into your space. For someone to enter the coworking space for free, he or she would have to go through a certain “registration” process. This process would involve setting up a profile for this new coworker. What are the skills, experiences, interests and projects of this person. What would be an ideal team for this coworker etc.

Thanks to an internet platform coworkers could indicate when and where they were available and interested to participate in a project. The client and/or the project representative would invite the coworkers in the coworking space or the area of the coworking space reserved for “Free Coworking”. The team building and the project could start.

This is how I see “Free Coworking” to develop in practical steps. There will be existing coworking spaces that will offer some areas of their operation for “Free Coworking”, while there will also be some new spaces that will start with “Free Coworking” from the word go. To support both types we will set up an additional coworking directory called the “Free CoWorking Directory”.

If you look at the enthusiasm for the upcoming Jellyweek (16th to 22nd of January) you get a good indication that the time for “Free Coworking” has definitely come. If you want to lend your support to “Free Coworking” beyond the Jellyweek join our Facebook Group “Free Coworking“. The aim of the Facebook Group is to raise in excess of 15.000.000 € in Social Capital which equates in my calculation to more than 10.000 committed members to this cause. Join and spread the word for “Free Coworking”!!!

If you are still in doubt whether this might work get inspiration from the video below.

A proponent of this style of natural shades is the photographer Paul Barbera. On his site “Where they create” he presents pictures of creative environments of mostly artists and designers. You can take the natural approach even further when you look at the work of Patrick Blanc with his Vertical Garden. A conceptual opponent with a complete artificial creative environment would be something like Second Life. Second Life translated in the real world would probably look something like Google Office. No, I am just kidding, it is not about right or wrong, nice or ugly. It is not about personal taste. What is most important is that the environment fits the task and the people involved.

I would also like to invite your participation. Suggest your favourite creative coworking space or describe the creative elements in your coworking space that you like best. Comment below or send an email with pictures that we can publish in one of our next articles in this series to redaktion@coworking-news.de .

Working at home this exercise can take a day, for others it might take a week, or even longer. If  you have the time, that is fine, but if you need quicker results, consider the “fast track”. Being at home you can feel and search your soul for a long time, but what you will not get is a fast and “multi-dimensional” feedback. Being in a coworking space is completely different. You will get almost instant feedback and not only that you will also get the latest news and, if you care for it, the latest gossip.

Sometimes the feedback will tell you that you are on the right track, sometimes you will find out that you are not. Now, apart from redesigning or rescheduling your plans you might consider getting advice or coaching. You will find that in most coworking spaces there are many consultants and coaches. I, in coworking spaces in Munich for example, offer a decision coaching, if you are unsure which path or option you want to follow. Use the opportunity to meet and talk to your local consultants and coaches. Get to know them and clarify the essence of your problem.

Whatever route you take, make sure that your heart is in it and your energy flows freely.

The reason for choosing  ”America’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs” as “Project of the Week” for “Week 26″ in 2011: Coworkers and Social Entrepreneurs are very similar. They share common values. They believe in collaboration and they take (or should take ;-) profits as seriously as  they take their missions. John Tozzi puts it very nicely: “Entrepreneurship has always been about solving problems. What distinguishes social entrepreneurs is how much their solutions improve people’s lives. They’re building companies to lift people out of poverty, improve global health, extend human rights, and protect the environment. They’re business people, too, and they take profits as seriously they take their missions. Social enterprises aren’t charities—they sustain themselves and grow because their customers pay for the value they create.” Howgh, coworkers listen up ;-)))

The following candidates can be voted for:

AllEarth Renewables: solar panels that move with the sun using GPS… ,  Website
Azavea: software that uses geographic data to improve civic life…,  Website
BioLite: fuel-efficient cook stove maker…,  Website
Change.org: “the petition” for the digital age…,  Website
Dalberg: consulting firm focused on solving social and environmental problems…, Website

Dimagi: open-source software to improve health care in developing countries…,  Website
Drop the Chalk: software for teachers to record students’ progress steadily…, Website
EcoScraps: EcoScraps recycles food etc…into fertilizer for home gardeners…,  Website
Ecovative Design: industrial food waste  to make bowls, insulation, packaging…,  Website
Emory Knoll Farms: green roofs…putting soil and plants on rooftops…,  Website

Freelancers Insurance Company: health insurance and retirement plans…,  Website
Greyston Bakery: empowering low-income people…,  Website
Intuary: iPad app that speaks words for users who are unable to talk…,  Website 
Maternova: tools & ideas that save mothers & newborns…, Website 
Mia Consulting Group: assisted-living center for elderly residents…, Website
 
Nest Collective: healthy food that’s as convenient as junk food alternatives…,  Website 
Next Street Financial: merchant bank focuses on for-profits and nonprofits…,  Website 
Preserve Products: toothbrushes etc… entirely of recycled plastics…, Website 
Promethean Power Systems: refrigeration systems that run on solar power…, Website 
Rethink Impact: connecting grant-seekers to foundations online…, Website

Re:Vision Architecture: buildings that are better for the environment…, Website
Social Imprints: helping at-risk adults for the long term…, Website 
StayClassy: software for nonprofits to raise money and organize supporters…, Website 
World Centric:  selling compostable alternatives to plastic and styrofoam…, Website 
YouRenew: sell or recycle your electronics…,  Website

Here you can vote.

When we started it was clear that CoWorking News can only be a collaborative effort. Not only does everyone of us have limited time resources but also limited knowledge and expertise. When Alexander, Florian and I (Felix) started two years ago this was key. Alexander the work.innovation blogger, Florian the creaffective blogger and me the founder of creativity-manager and practitioner of decision-coaching.  With changing workloads and changing professional challenges “our boat” is back in harbour, looking for new crew members.

Possible projects for new crew members:

With the launch of the Open International CoWorking Calendar in April 2011 I set up a forum that receives international contributions on a regular basis. The Calendar can be used to announce events, as well as to document events.  One example for the documentation are the fotos  for the event Jelly in April of Njambre Coworking in Rosario (Argentina). I believe there are at least 10 more good reasons and uses for the CoWorking Calendar.

Keeping the  ”European CoWorking Directory” up to date and improving the communication between spaces is another important task.

In Germany, I started the Coworking Incubator – CoWorking  Starter. It turned out to be very valuable and helpful for setting up new coworking spaces. I would like to launch this service for other countries as well.

A picture tells you more than a thousand words, and a film or video thousands more ;-) The video tour of coworking spaces started in February 2011 is another service useful in itself, but even more valuable in combination with the coworking directories on CoWorking News.

Last, but not least I am looking for coworking correspondents across every continent. Coworking never sleeps, so we should have correspondents in every time zone. With CoWorking News International there is already an English language version. With programs like Google translator, we could certainly look for more contributors and readers in other languages.

For me, and I guess many others, coworking is about collaboration and personal responsibility. Please get in touch with CoWorking News to enjoy and celebrate what has been achieved up to now and contribute and shape the future of CoWorking News to come.

Yours, Felix Schürholz, 2. June 2011

Ich gehe davon aus, dass der Autor vom 9. Februar 2011 wahrscheinlich nicht weiß, dass eben jener Wikipedia-Eintrag zu Coworking in der ersten Fassung von Inspiraluna vom 7. November 2009, eines der wichtigen Resultate des Treffens vom 5. Oktober 2009 in Meiningen war. Ich halte diesen Sachverhalt für sehr wichtig, da er zeigt, dass Coworking nicht erfunden wurde, sondern gewachsen ist. Ja, Coworking hat mit Kreativität zu tun. Ja, Coworking ist im Kontext von sozialer und technologischer Entwicklung, beginnend mit dem Ende der 90er Jahre bis heute, sowohl  eine neue Form der Arbeit, als auch eine neue Form und des Zusammenarbeitens. Und ja, Coworking hat eine Geschichte.

Als Bernie DeKoven in den Jahren 1999/2000 den Begriff “Coworking” zuerst nutzte lag sein Fokus bei der virtuellen Vernetzung  (Celebrating Virtual Connectivity). Ein “Fokus-Shift” läßt sich mit der Nutzung des Coworking Begriffs durch Brad Neuberg im Jahre 2005 beobachten. Hier ging es jetzt mehr um die Arbeit an einem gemeinsamen physischen Ort, einem sogenannten “Coworking Space”.

Seitdem ist Coworking international und besonders im deutschsprachigen Raum gewachsen und hat sich weiter vernetzt. Mit zur Zeit über 400 Coworking Spaces in den USA und Europa zusammen, sowie über 100 Meetup Coworking Gruppen weltweit ist eine beachtliche Bewegung entstanden.

Viele, viele Menschen haben einen Beitrag zu dieser Entwicklung geleistet. Von Bernie DeKoven und Brad Neuberg, über die ersten Coworking Spaces in den USA und Europa. Genauso wichtig waren die Vernetzungen und der Austausch der Spaces untereinander wie das Hallenprojekt in Deutschland, die “Coworking Europe” Konferenz oder die U.S. CoWorking Unconference, um nur einige zu nennen.

In Deutschland ist eine Veranstaltung wie die Coworking Week (Bericht), meiner Meinung nach, durch das erste  Treffen in Meiningen erst möglich geworden. Hier wurden die ersten Verbindungen geknüpft und eine Basis für weitere Treffen geschaffen.

Die Entwicklung geht weiter und ich hoffe, dass das nächste Treffen der Coworking Space Betreiber und Initiativen am 15. Mai 2011 in Hamburg (siehe auch CoWorking Calendar) auf der guten Basis der vorhergehenden Treffen in Meiningen, Berlin, Stuttgart, Köln, Leipzig und München aufbauen kann.

Coworking wird wahrscheinlich jeden Tag neu “erfunden” und doch steht diese “Erfindung” immer in einem aktuellen und historischen Kontext. Es ist die Geschichte der Coworker und der “Coworking-Aktivisten”.

If you run a coworking space , join our “space journey”.  To list your coming events, just send us your email address for registration at calendar@coworking-news.de . As soon as you are registered you can enter your events.

Hopefully next year, we have our own film about the story of the  ”Open International CoWorking Calendar” until then we borrow this one for inspiration.

• You only enter and change your own events
• You preferably enter events that are relevant to and interesting for the whole coworking community  
• Make good use. That is all ;-)

The “Open International CoWorking Calendar” will officially start on the 1st of April 2011. March 2011 events that have not been listed here yet, can of course be listed as soon as you have access.

Please feel free to comment below to further develop the Open International CoWorking Calendar.