Earlier today Polly LaBarre was interviewed on CNN about coworking. Her summary of the movement- and it is a movement- is quite well done. Very much worth a listen if you get a chance.
Almost as interesting as Polly's overview of coworking and Jelly was the passing comment made by the interviewer (don't know the dude's name but recognize the face) when, after a spell, he said something like:
Kind of reminds me of the 1960s...I was at George Washington University the other day, and saw some frat boys outside landscaping the yard, with Led Zepplin playing, and with a bong sitting out on the front porch.
Handling this beautifully, Polly said 'I don't know about the bong, but there is a communal spirit there.' She went on to talk about the importance of collaboration and sharing ideas, and the increased potential for serendipity. For those of us in and around the coworking space already, this is nothing new. This is a story for newcomers...
At the same time, I think the tone of the interview does nail the scene rather well. In a conversation with Tony Bacigalupo, resident of House 2.0 (where Jelly NY was founded and sometimes meets) organizer and ring leader of Jelly NY, Coworking NY, and Cooper Bricolage, and writer here at NotAnMBA, a similar theme permeated our conversation. (Polly interviewed Tony at House 2.0 for the CNN piece). We talked about why the exodus from corporate cube farms and employment predictability, sameness, security, etc., in favor of freedom, communities of our own choosing, and free-form collaboration as both an end in itself (for communal reasons) and as a way to get things done (for business reasons).
A Counter Cultural Work Revolution
This sits at the center of the cultural movement that is coworking. Large firms, and their values, have an unprecedented grip on the content and context of contemporary culture. Coworking rejects that grip, and is building its own unique life-way around work. Unlike the 60's, in a very important respect, this does not entail a dropping out; rather, it is a manifestly new way to plug in. Plugging in with our own rules.
Coworking is, for the most part, about BUSINESS. Most of us are building and selling things/applications/services, to others in the larger business ecosystem. It is not anti-Business. It is decidedly pro-Business, but pro-Business with a core sense of shared values. Check out the coworking philosophy at Citizen Space (in San Fran).
On the subject of the corporatization of everyday life that agitates many of us, Tony off-handedly said:
Maybe it will get SO bad that rock 'n roll will come back!
Apparently, at that frat house at GWU, it already has.
That's A Whole Lotta Love...
The Butcher
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