Currently I see two very important developments in coworking. One is the increase in collaboration between coworkers for example in the jelly coworking mode (example Jellyweek). Secondly I see more collaborations between spaces and coworking operators like in Prague and Seattle ( as described in this article below). Both developments use “Free Coworking” and help to bring about a more integrated and interconnected coworking community.
Starting on the 24th of February 2012, Next Space Santa Cruz is offering a monthly “Free Coworking” community day:
“This is our community coworking day, when we invite the greater Santa Cruz community to come in and cowork with us for free from 9-5. It’s a great time to meet the awesome people who make up the NextSpace community. The office is warm, the coffee is free and the wireless is very dependable. Come be a part of The (R)evolution of Work!”
“ I visited Gangplank on Friday [10th of February 2012] since my husband and I were travelling and both needed somewhere to work. And holy [... ;-)] : it is amazing.
One thing that I really loved about the free coworking is that it really lowers the barrier to entry. Anyone can come in and work, and seeing it in action just proved to me how this leads to a vibrant community.
In his talk on “Science and Practice of Cooperation” (see Video below thx David Hodgson for sharing) Harvard Professor Yochai Benkler develops the idea of systems of self-interest and systems of collaboration. In terms of computer hardware and software these systems could be identified with people like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates on the one hand and networks and developments like Linux and Open Source on the other. In terms of knowledge transfer they could have representatives like Encyclopaedia Britannica and Wikipedia. Yochai Benkler is not a complete critic of the system of self-interest although he presents ample evidence that systems of collaboration are not only feasible, but also more sustainable and human.
We are very happy that a number of coworking space operators have already commented on our “Free Coworking” Campaign and joined the “Free Coworking” Facebook group. One of them is Ronald van den Hoff (Author, Co-Founder and Trend Strategist of Seats2meet). Here we like to present his comment in full, he posted on CoWorking News:
“Let me indulge you with some background how we set up the operation of our Seats2meet.com co-working concept and dealt with the free co-working business model:
