Locus Workspace

FREE coworking around the world for Locus members and other independent workers in Prague

2012-08-07T08:19:00.000+02:00

One of the cool things about coworking is that a lot of people who decide to get involved in it really care about the idea and the value it has to offer, and not just about the business as a business. Sam Spurlin's several recent posts on this blog attest to this. Another sign of it comes from the grass roots cooperation across thousands of coworking spaces around the world that have contributed to coworking.com. The particular example I want to write about now are four options for free office sharing options across coworking spaces around the world: (1) the Coworking Visa, (2) The Prague Coworking Visa, (3) Loosecubes, and (4) Jelly.

1. The Coworking Visa.

The coworking visa is one of the greatest largely-unknown sources of added value to participating coworking spaces, and also one of the most impressive examples of value-added cooperation across competing businesses I know of in any industry. If you're a member of Locus or of another coworking space that participates in the visa program, you may know about it already. This is an informal group of about 500 coworking spaces around the world that have agreed to let members of other "Visa"-participant coworking spaces use their space for free (usually for up to 3 days, but the terms depend on the space; Locus is free for up to a month, but limited by the terms of the other coworking space). Here's a link for details with the list of participating spaces and their terms, organized geographically.

The coworking visa was the fortunate brain-child of two of the women leaders of the coworking movement, Julie Duryea of Souk in Portland, Oregon (now run by someone else and maybe under a different name) and Susan Evans of Office Nomads in Seattle, Washington. They proposed it on a google group to a network of people running coworking spaces around the world, and it was almost immediately successful.

2. The Prague Coworking Visa.
A group of coworking spaces in Prague (including Locus) were inspired by this visa program to create a Prague version of the visa that allows members of each space to use the other spaces for up to 25% of their membership time. See details here.

3. Loosecubes

Loosecubes is a corporate alternative to the Coworking Visa and it remains to be seen whether their intentions are pure and how well the system will work, but as it stands it looks very promising. It is an invite-only workspace-sharing network of about a thousand coworking spaces and other shared offices around the world. Right now (and from what they've told me, this is their permanent business model), their system is absolutely free for members of the network (including Locus Workspace members). This means you can use any of the other spaces on the Loosecubes network for free, though each space has its terms in terms of number of free days. So if you're traveling abroad and want to cowork in most major cities around the world (though biased towards Western Europe and North America), you'll have a coworking space to work at for free. Loosecubes also provides a software backend and a user-interface that make it easy to use and (it seems at least) perhaps more reliable than the Coworking Visa.

4. Jelly

Jelly is informal coworking that started around the same time as the coworking movement itself with a group of freelancers in New York City who decided they'd rather work alongside other people than alone in their home office or at a cafe. They starting meeting as a group at each other's homes or cafes, they created a wiki, and Jelly grew into a movement, with groups meeting to work together rather than alone around the world. Here's a sample list of Jellies around the world on Meetup.com.

The group of collaborating coworking spaces in Prague mentioned earlier hosts a rotating series of jellies across their three spaces, which means people who don't work in a coworking space (and may not want to) can experience some of the benefits of coworking for free every two weeks, and get to know a few of the coworking spaces in the city in the process.

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To me the added value that comes from sharing membership across coworking spaces (and with the public)--not just for independent workers and coworking space members, but also for the coworking spaces themselves--is immense. For the members, of course, it means they can literally work their way around the world (as long as they stick to major cities), for the price of the coworking space membership they already have at their home city. For coworking space owners, it means a wonderful influx of interesting visitors who add spice to the host spaces and use resources that were mostly available and going unused anyway!

Broadening and Building in Coworking

2012-07-30T08:00:00.000+02:00

It seems that many people who join a coworking space find the experience to be overwhelmingly positive. Much of the growth of this movement can be credited to the fact that people who partake in it are often the most vociferous proponents of its continued existence. How can this phenomenon be explained? What is it about coworking spaces that makes them so overwhelmingly positive for people?

Psychologist Barbara Fredrickson has developed a theory known as broaden-and-build which may help explain it. It's easiest to explain broaden-and-build by contrasting it with what we experience due to negative emotions. In times of fear, our bodies react in a very narrow and focused way in order to help us escape or vanquish the threat (fight or flight). Negative emotions generally produce a very intense and narrow repertoire of actions and thought. Evolutionarily, this makes sense. Negative emotions are usually accompanied by things that could possibly kill us, generally something we are looking to avoid.

On the other hand, broaden-and-build posits that positive emotions like contentment, joy, interest, and love, allow us to have a broader thought-action repertoire which leads to increasing physical, personal, psychological, intellectual, and social resources. For example, Fredrickson looks at animal research which shows activities exhibited during play by young mammals, such as throwing oneself onto a sapling and being catapulted in an unexpected direction, is only ever shown in adults faced with threat. Building these important resources can lead to better outcomes in future threatened situations.

What does this mean for coworkers and coworking spaces?

Coworking spaces can, and should, be environments where positive emotions are cultivated and shared. Interacting with positive people, building relationships, being in an aesthetically pleasing environment, and doing good work can all lead to positive emotions. These positive emotions, in turn, lead to important adaptations like increased creativity, being more open to information, being more flexible, and increased efficiency. Most independent workers would argue that these characteristics are important to doing good work.

Not only do positive emotions lead to better outcomes, but the better outcomes can lead to more positive emotions. It is a cyclical process that can "build" on itself in what has been described as an upward spiral. For example, a member of a coworking space builds relationships with her fellow coworkers which leads to an increase in positive emotions, these positive emotions allow her to think more broadly and creatively on a project she's working on, her client is very pleased with the quality of her work and recommends her services to a friend which leads to another well-paying job for our fictional coworker. This obviously elicits more positive emotions which in turn lead to more positive outcomes. It's a reciprocal and self-feeding cycle that can lead to very high levels of well-being.

Coworking spaces can provide excellent environments for this positive upward spiral to begin. By providing a pleasing environment to do work, opportunities to meet interesting new people and collaborate on new projects, and by providing a way for an independent worker to feel like he or she belongs to a group, the stage is set for increasing positive emotions and the positive outcomes that accompany those emotions.

Reference: Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: the Broaden-and-Build Theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56, 218-226.

Academic Coworking

2012-07-23T21:00:00.000+02:00

A major project I've been working on during my time at Locus has been developing a proposal for an academic coworking space to introduce to my university. Not only is coworking itself a young movement, but the subgroup of academic coworking spaces is even younger. I think a lot of the benefits freelancers and entrepreneurs get from joining coworking spaces is relevant to academic independent workers. Students share a lot of the same needs as more traditional independent workers and an academic coworking space could go a long way for helping rectify those needs as well as introduce new opportunities to students, faculty, and the general community.

The constant struggle versus the environment

For many students, deciding where to work on a given day can be a major struggle. There are usually a couple of choices available such as the library, a coffee shop, an empty classroom, or home. In each of these locations there are usually a wide array of stimuli to learn how to ignore. A coworking space isn't a sanctuary of non-distraction, but at least the environment it fosters is one that supports great work. Instead of having to resist an environment that isn't very good for the type of work you're trying to complete, a coworking space can be expressly designed and developed to support the type of work students are likely to be doing. Cafés are designed to consume coffee. Classrooms are designed for attending or teaching classes. Libraries are designed to hold resource materials (and if you're lucky, give you somewhere to study). A coworking space can be designed expressly for the purpose of supporting great work.

The importance of collaboration

Collaboration is vital in academia. As an undergrad you can easily get through your degree without having to do anything too transdisciplinary or collaborative. Sure, you'll have group projects but that is a very surface-level type of collaborative work. In graduate school, the purpose is not to just get through the course work. Your success in graduate school largely depends on what you're able to do outside of the classroom. The focus is on developing creative new projects, lines of research, and ideas. Providing students from different schools or programs but within the same university a space where they can meet each other and collaborate on ideas is very important. I want to be able to go somewhere where I know I'll be working side by side with economics or public policy or education students. Of course, that's true in the library. However, the difference is in the environment that is fostered. In the library, you have proximity to students in other programs but the environment is not supportive of collaboration. You'd never go up to someone you didn't know in the library and just ask them what they're working on. In a well-functioning academic coworking space, that should be the norm.

A supportive place to do something other than great coursework

If you're in graduate school, completing classwork is not your ultimate goal. It's something you have to do so you don't get booted from the program, but it's not why you're there. The self-generated projects and research, the entrepreneurial efforts and the relationships that are developed are what really matter. None of these things are optimally supported by any of the spaces currently provided by the university. There is nowhere I can go to work on a side project and be surrounded by people who are tinkering with their own side projects or, at the very least, are interested in hearing my ideas or frustrations with my own project. I want somewhere I can go to find my classmates who are most interested in something other than getting an A on the next exam -- something like changing the world for the better.

I think convincing a school to invest in an academic coworking space is going to take a couple different approaches. First of all, they have to be convinced that the spaces already supplied on campus (library, classrooms, lounge, etc.) are not the same thing as a true coworking space. Part of that process is being very clear about what can happen in a coworking space that is currently not happening in these other locations. Additionally, they must be convinced that it is in the best interest of the university to provide a space where people can be doing these things that fall outside the realm of basic course work.

As more students graduate from programs like mine and get into some kind of independent work, whether as a contractor, freelancer, consultant, or some other type of self-employment, I think universities would like to be seen as being on the leading edge of a new movement.

What it comes down to, in the end, is that I want a space to do great work in surrounded by great people. I want a space that fosters a sense of true collaboration and community with a perspective greater than tomorrow's term paper. Sometimes it can be hard to explain why coworking is so great to someone who has never experienced it. That's what is making writing this proposal so hard. I can clearly see how coworking could be adapted to an academic environment but making other people see it is difficult. Through the force of my writing and my speaking I hope I'm able to convince the university that creating an academic coworking space is in their best interest.

Hopefully I can report back with positive news in a couple months.

Coworking As a Hub of Positive Psychology

2012-07-17T17:40:00.002+02:00

I throw around the term "coworking as a hub of positive psychology" a lot when I'm explaining to people why I'm interested in this concept of coworking. I've always had a rough idea of what I mean when I say this in my head, but I'd like to explore the idea a little bit more deeply. I think this article will expose me as the complete idealist that I am -- but I'm okay with that. A movement as young as coworking has not even come close to meeting its full potential. Here are my thoughts on where that potential might be.

First, the rest of this article is built upon a couple assumptions that I should probably get out as soon as possible. I'm assuming that the growth of independent work is going to continue. According to everything I've read about the economy and the shifts it's experiencing worldwide, I think that is a safe assumption. More and more people are either going to find themselves working independently (against their will) and more and more will choose to embark on a career of independent work. Secondly, as independent work becomes more normal, I think the idea that personal development falls under personal responsibility will become more normal. For a long time, personal development outside of a job context was not something people spent a lot of time thinking about. Jobs provided opportunities for you to grow as a person because your continued promotion through the ranks required this growth. Jobs also provided the structure for extracurricular activities like volunteering as a company for various causes or retreats that focused on something such as team-building or creativity. Less and less people are working in jobs that feature this kind of security and support nowadays and I think taking a more direct interest in personal development and philanthropy will become much more normal.

With those two assumptions out of the way, here's what I mean when I describe coworking as a hub of positive psychology.

Coworking spaces can become spaces in the community where events, activities, and education can happen. Obviously, the primary use of any coworking space is going to be for the members completing their work. However, I don't think coworking can, or should, end there. The people who are members at coworking spaces have a wealth of knowledge that many other people can benefit from (even beyond just other members of the space). I'd love to see coworking spaces create regular workshop series that introduce topics of interest to the general public. I know many have already done this but I think even more can be done. I think more membership plans that allow people to be involved in the extracurricular and community aspect of a coworking space are needed.

Secondly, my utopian view of a coworking space involves a sense of belonging to a team that is interested in more than just each individual's business. I'd want to be a member of a space where each member feels like their work is contributing to a larger purpose. Where it feels like each of the members is doing something that can be beneficial to society as a whole. That doesn't mean a space has to be filled with entrepreneurs trying to save the world, but it does mean that there is a certain level of focus beyond making a buck. It'd be completely possible to have a normal job (if there is such a thing at a coworking space) and still be interested in volunteering, as a team, for good causes or creating something positive together as a space in our collective free time.

I'd love to see coworking spaces become centers of collaboration, communication, and education for the general public. A place where someone who is interested in bettering themselves in some way can go and be surrounded by people who are interested in the same thing. Where someone who has a normal 9-5 job can come after work and spend a couple hours working on a personal project in the company of people who are supportive and willing to share ideas.

When I first started thinking about the idea of coworking, before I even knew what coworking was, I had a different phrase stuck in my head: "personal development gym." I wanted to find, or create, somewhere I could go and work on improving myself as a person. If I want to become physically stronger I could join a regular gym and if I wanted to know more about a specific topic I could take a community college class or find some kind of tutor. But where could I go if I just wanted to find other people who were passionate about doing something to improve themselves and the world? Where could I go to work on a project around other people who are also doing interesting projects?

I think coworking spaces can be that "personal development gym" I envisioned several years ago. Many spaces already seem to be moving rapidly toward that description. I understand that not every coworking space will become this. There will always be people who are mostly interested in a cheap space to rent where they can do their job in peace and then go home at the end of the day. I don't begrudge anyone who wants that kind of coworking experience and there will always be spaces that will cater to that type of person. I think, however, there will be a growing niche of coworking spaces that cater to this desire to be a part of a team that has a focus outside of itself. A growing niche for spaces that are interested in personal development as a general concept and not just a place to get free coffee and a good Internet connection.

I'm not 100% sure how to create something like this, but I think it's worth the effort. I'd love to hear your thoughts, especially if you have a similar vision or ideas for how to make it happen, in the comments below.

Sam Spurlin is an American graduate student studying the intersection between developmental and organizational psychology. He writes and coaches at SamSpurlin.com and is spending the summer in Prague working in Locus Workspace. He'll be sharing his thoughts and observations about coworking here for the next couple of months. You can follow him on Twitter (@samspurlin) or send him an email (samspurlin AT gmail DOT com).

The Positive Psychology of Coworking

2012-07-09T08:00:00.000+02:00

One of the main reasons coworking has expanded so quickly over the past few years is the desire for independent workers to cultivate and be a part of a community. Of course, having an aesthetically pleasing place to work that makes you feel good to be in it certainly doesn't hurt -- but it's not the main draw. I think the best explanation for the success, and the continued success, of coworking is best understood through positive psychology.

Positive psychology is a relatively new focus of psychology that aims to better understand what makes life worth living. Traditionally, the discipline of psychology has done a great job helping people with mental sicknesses diagnose their problems and help restore them to normality. This is a noble and worthwhile goal, to be sure. Positive psychology, however, argues that we have neglected the positive mental conditions and behaviors that make life worth living. Things like peak performance, optimal experience, flow, happiness, joy, passion -- do we understand what these are and under what conditions they can be facilitated? Positive psychologists want to know if it's possible to do more for people than restore them to normality. Can we help people reach a level above average?

I think coworking provides an excellent environment for many components of positive psychology to be explored and nurtured.

Flow

One of the two "fathers" of positive psychology, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, has made his career on what he describes as "flow." In the 1970's he began studying people who do things apparently for no reason other than for the enjoyment of the activity. Some of these individuals became so absorbed in what they were doing they would forget to eat, use the bathroom, or completely lose track of time. You've probably experienced what he ended up calling flow when you were super engaged in some kind of work that you found challenging, yet doable, and at least somewhat interesting. His further work into this concept showed that engaging in activities that let you experience flow is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have. While most people don't report that they're happy or having fun when in the midst of the flow activity (they're way too "in it" at the time), almost all look back on it and wish they could do it again. Coworking spaces can be a great environment to help facilitate flow. In my own experience, being around other people who are engaged with their work makes it easier for me to be engaged as well. The more we can find flow in our work, the more likely we are to enjoy the work we do.

Positive Relationships

Christopher Peterson, an important individual in the positive psychology field, has succinctly summarized his view of the most important lessons of positive psychology as, "Other people matter." Much of our individual happiness and well-being is tied to the relationships that we have with other people. Many entrepreneurs and freelancers cite the social isolation as one of the main reasons they pursued joining a coworking space. It can be tough to spend the majority of your time working in almost complete isolation. Coworking provides an arena to cultivate the interpersonal relationships that are so important to making life worth living. Everybody is quick to point out the networking possibilities of a coworking space -- a claim I won't deny. However, let's not forget that simply cultivating relationships, even friendships, with people at your coworking space is even more important than business contacts. Very simply, your coworkers and the relationships you build with them can help you have a more complete and healthy existence as a human being.

Happiness & Positive Emotions

Most people who have heard of positive psychology tend to think of it as the science of happiness. Or, as positive psychologist cringe when they hear, "happiology." Serious positive psychology researchers shun this label because positive psychology encapsulates much more than understanding happiness. Regardless, cultivating our understanding of happiness and positive emotions (which are not necessarily the same thing) has been a major aim of positive psychology since its inception. For example, Barbara Fredrickson coined a theory known as broaden-and-build to understand why and how positive emotions have been important in human evolution. Almost a foil to the fight-or-flight impulse in response to threat that most of us are very familiar with, broaden-and-build is our response to positive experiences. Whereas fight-or-flight narrows our response options in a panicked effort to keep us alive (adrenaline and narrowed vision to help us escape a dangerous situation), positive experiences broaden our response repertoire and therefore helps us expand important internal resources that are important for survival later on. For example, her theory explains play as a broaden-and-build activity that helps teach and prepare young animals (including humans) how to flee or respond to threats later in life. Instead of narrowing potential responses to a stimulus, positive experiences allow the individual a broader array of possible responses. When you pair this idea with the concept of a positive affect spiral (basically, being positive and happy will make the people you come into contact with positive and happy, thus instigating an upward spiral of emotions in a community or organization), a coworking space suddenly becomes a haven of positive emotions and happiness.

Strengths, Values, Passion -- The List Goes On

This is only a small smattering of possible positive psychology concepts that I think are relevant to positive psychology. Others include the identification and development of character strengths and values, the development of sustainable motivation and passion, and a myriad of organizational ideas such as job design and self-management. When positive psychology was set as Martin Seligman's focus during his APA presidency term in 2000, a framework to help describe it was developed. Positive psychology can be thought of as having three pillars that are all interrelated; positive experiences, positive individual traits, and positive institutions. I think coworking spaces have the potential to be one of the most positive institutions for individual happiness and well-being that has been formed in recent memory.

Sam Spurlin is an American graduate student studying the intersection between developmental and organizational psychology. He writes and coaches at SamSpurlin.com and is spending the summer in Prague working in Locus Workspace. He'll be sharing his thoughts and observations about coworking here for the next couple of months. You can follow him on Twitter (@samspurlin) or send him an email (samspurlin AT gmail DOT com).

The Potential Energy in Coworking

2012-07-02T08:00:00.000+02:00

When I look at a coworking space I see potential energy. Remember that concept from middle school science class? Kinetic energy is what you have when things are in motion. However, potential energy is invisible. It's just sitting inside an object waiting to be released into kinetic energy. A tennis ball sitting on a table has potential energy, a tennis ball bouncing around a room has kinetic energy.

Don't get me wrong, there is certainly a lot of kinetic energy in a coworking space. The conversations, the typing, the laughing and all the work that happens day-in-and-day-out. Some days are quieter than others, the kinetic energy is a little bit lower, while other days it seems like the space isn't enough to hold all the action happening inside its walls.

Kinetic energy is great, but it's not what gets me excited about coworking. I'm interested in all the potential energy that is just waiting to be released. What does potential energy look like in a coworking space?

The serendipitous connections just waiting to be made: You're struggling with a coding problem that has you absolutely stumped. You haven't met the guy next to you, yet, but little do you know he just responded to a question on Quora that precisely relates to what's driving you crazy. Or, as you hold the door open for someone as you enter the space you realize she's wearing the t-shirt of the start-up your buddy just started and they're looking for a consultant. The opportunities are nearly endless for all of these connections to happen in a coworking space.
The member-led workshop that changes your business: You decide to sit in on a workshop that your coworking buddy is giving. Not because you're super interested in the topic, but more of a show of support. Little do you know he ends up saying something that solves a very specific, yet annoying problem, in your own business and/or life. Boom, potential energy turns into kinetic.
The beer with a coworker that solidifies a business deal: You head to happy hour with a friend you made at your local coworking space. You've built up a friendship over the past couple of months, have bounced ideas around with each other, and have landed on something you're both excited to pursue. What was once a small nibble of an idea in the back of your head has become an actual project.

You get the idea. A coworking space is as ripe a place as any you'll find to change potential energy into kinetic. What does it take, though? A tennis ball won't fall of the table by itself. It needs something; it needs a nudge.

Have You Answered The Nudge?

Your coworking space owner or manager may be the one who lands that successful nudge. I'm sure they're emailing you with announcements and opportunities all the time. Have you tuned them out or do you still read every email? Have you considered going to the after-hours get together or the lunch-hour brainstorm session -- just to see what it's like?

Maybe the nudge takes the form of one your coworkers convincing you to go to a workshop with them. Or maybe you convince someone to go with you. Maybe you can nudge yourself with the thought that with nothing ventured, nothing gained. The nice thing about stepping out of your comfort zone once (and potential energy IS comfortable, there's no doubt about it) is that it ends up taking much less effort the next time you want to do it. One small success acts as a catalyst for the next time you want to change some potential energy into kinetic. It's cumulative and exponential and you can act as the nudge to get the newest member involved in the process.

Potential energy has never changed the world. It's only when we release that potential that we begin making connections, making changes, and seeing positive change in ourselves, our spaces, and if I may be so bold, the world.

Research to Be Done

2012-06-25T13:29:00.000+02:00

All of us in the coworking movement realize this is still a very young phenomenon. As we continue to grow it will be important to have justification for the decisions made about how we run our spaces. A base of research can be very helpful in making those decisions as well as convincing a sometimes skeptical public about the benefits of this movement. Deskmag has kicked off the effort in the right direction with two Global Coworking Surveys. These surveys have collected a myriad of demographic and descriptive data that has helped us better understand what coworking spaces are like, who coworkers tend to be, and some of the habits and characteristics of both spaces and people. As we move forward as an industry, though, more nuanced research will have to be undertaken. As I see it, here are some of the main areas where future researchers will make major contributions to coworking.

Characteristics of Spaces

What characterizes a great space from a mediocre one? Are there physical characteristics of a space that makes it more conducive to work? More conducive to community building? What is the optimal density of workers? What amenities have measurable impacts on the well-being of the people who work in the space? Are there certain aesthetic choices that are important in designing a space? Where should spaces be located? What are the differences between urban and suburban spaces? Are these important differences?

There are answers to the questions I just posed (and by no means is this an exhaustive list). There are "rules of thumb" and "hunches" that guide many space owners but very little actual research addresses any of these questions. With good research into the characteristics of spaces perhaps certain amenities, design decisions, and physical characteristics of the space will emerge as the most important. When dealing with a limited budget this information will be very helpful to the space owner who wants to have the largest positive impact on his or her coworkers as possible. What if specific characteristics of coworking spaces can be identified as vital to worker well-being and then transplanted into corporate entities? While this could be viewed as cutting the pool of possible coworkers I prefer to see it as improving the lives of our fellow human beings that are not in a position to take advantage of a coworking space. Regardless, better understanding of the characteristics of coworking spaces can only lead to better spaces.

Characteristics of Workers

Are there certain personality types that benefit more from coworking? Do personality types and coworking space types effect each other? Are there certain types of work that will benefit from coworking spaces more than others? What style of productivity is best suited for coworking spaces? Is it possible to pre-screen prospective coworkers and make helpful suggestions about the type of coworking space they should seek out? How can the dynamics within a coworking space be improved? How can positive interpersonal relationships and a sense of community be stimulated within a space? Do certain types of spaces fit a certain type of worker better?

Better understanding the people who utilize coworking spaces will give owners and managers the information they need to improve their experience. This is the area that I think the Global Coworking Survey (especially the first one) really helped to shed light on. What else can we learn from and about the people in coworking spaces, though?

The Psychological Experience of Coworking

Does coworking increase well-being? Are coworkers happier than their counterparts in more traditional work environments? What aspects of coworking do coworkers like? Dislike? Is motivation affected by coworking? In what way? Does working in the vicinity of other people working on their own projects affect passion, motivation, well-being, happiness, etc.? What do coworkers tend to think about while they are in coworking spaces? Is that different for people that work in office buildings or coffee shops? Is it more or less focused?

These are the types of questions that really fascinate me as a positive psychology student. The psychological make ramifications of coworking seem to hold the most promise for expanding coworking to more people. If coworking is shown to have a net positive impact on people psychologically then there is more of a reason for people to investigate it. If coworking has measurable effects on happiness or well-being then we should strive to better understand why.

Obviously, there are lots of other types of non-psychology research questions that are relevant to coworking as well. Work needs to be done on the economic impact of coworking on the communities in which it is situated. Does coworking positive impact the surrounding community? How? Does coworking effect the productivity of workers? Does it have positive economic outcomes for workers? Where does coworking thrive and where does it struggle? Can we predict where successful coworking spaces should be established?

There's a whole lot of questions that should be answered about coworking. I don't see it as a daunting list of incompletes, but as an opportunity to better understand this thing we all love and to provide the information and facts to relay that information to the public.

Have you done or are you doing any research into some component of coworking? I'd love to hear more about it.

Sam Spurlin is an American graduate student studying the intersection between developmental and organizational psychology. He writes and coaches at SamSpurlin.com and is spending the summer in Prague working in Locus Workspace. He'll be sharing his thoughts and observations about coworking here for the next couple of months. You can follow him on Twitter (@samspurlin) or send him an email (samspurlin AT gmail DOT com).

Locus’s Community Workspace Reconceived as Stalin's Communist Workspace?

2012-06-22T15:16:00.001+02:00

I came back to Locus a couple weeks ago after my second long trip away (10 lovely days in Devon, UK). The return after my first long trip away was entertainingly traumatic after walking into a well-played practical joke (see this blog post for details), so I admit I was alert to potential dangers when I first walked in to the workspace. And I was a little disappointed when there seemed to be nothing. No pig’s blood dumping from the rafters? Don’t my members love me anymore?

Turns out I wasn’t being observant. After a couple days back I noticed something a bit different that had been there all along. I was walking around the 3rd floor space to say hello to members and see how things were going. [A diversion: Locus is divided into two separate floors, a workable solution to the fact that the membership outgrew the space on the original 3rd floor. I usually work on the 4th floor for now.] We have a big bulletin board on each floor where things can be posted of possible interest to members. Here’s a picture of it from Locus's early days:

When I looked at the now-much-busier board, I saw a photograph of a mustachioed man just above the ‘Locus Rules’?” The Locus Rules are a set of expectations more intended to communicate to new members the culture of the coworking space than anything else. At this point--a couple days back from holiday--I was no longer expecting a practical joke, but I was curious as to just what the picture was about. Not sure how long it took me to recognize the person, but no doubt longer than it should have. Here’s a close up:

That’s me. Sporting someone else’s military uniform and someone else’s mustache, but me all the same (turns out it’s an authentic Stalin mustache and uniform, if you didn’t recognize them).

Nice. “How long has this been up?” I wondered.

The caption brought my attention to the Locus Rules directly below the picture, which themselves caught my eye because the headings were somehow off (a little more red than normal). Here are the original rules (or here's the website version for clarity):

This is the "new and improved" version:

You might wonder after comparing the two versions what kind of coworking space this is. I like to think it's all in good fun. But then I also take pride in Locus being an ideal place for productive work. This inspired work demonstrates Locus can be as good a place as any for creative procrastination.

Thanks Chris and Martin for making sure I don't go on holidays without a little fear as to what I'll come back to!

Will

PS: The same update of the rules was also on the bulletin board on the other floor. It took me an extra day to notice it. Clearly Locus Rules have a profound impact on the day-to-day functioning of the workspace.

Coworking, Positive Psychology, and a Better Way to Work

2012-06-19T11:54:00.001+02:00

My name is Sam and I'm obsessed with coworking. It's a strange thing, really, to be obsessed with a concept like sitting in a room and working together. I view it as a little more complex than that, so let's see if i can shed some light on why I keep telling people about it, why I'm currently living in Prague, why I'm sitting in Locus Workspace as i write this, and why I'm in graduate school (they're all related, I promise).

During my time as a substitute high school teacher I had a 4 month block where I was writing full-time. Each morning I would wake up in the complete joy of having control over my work schedule and would happily skip to the local Starbucks. At least, for the first week or so. Then, I noticed myself thinking in the morning, "Crap. Where am I going to work today? The library is too quiet and the wi-fi sucks. I don't feel like buying coffee all day to justify the 8 hours I'm likely to spend in Starbucks. And the last thing I want to do is sit in my crappy apartment by myself." There had to be a place where I could go where other people would be working on interesting projects, where I could feel free to talk to other people and not receive the death glare of a librarian. Free coffee wouldn't hurt, either. I eventually realized that such a concept existed and it was called coworking.

Fast forward a couple months and I'm going to graduate school to study positive developmental psychology. My focus is on understanding what it means to optimally develop. How can people fulfill their potential, utilize their strengths, learn to be engaged with what they're doing, etc. I want to figure out ways for people to achieve high levels of well-being and psychological health. A huge part of that psychological well-being is determined by our work. The work we do, the way we do it, the people we do it with, the meaning we place on it -- it's all incredibly important. To that end, coworking as a concept fascinates me because it can be so much more than just a place to rent a desk and crank out some work. Getting passionate, intelligent, and motivated people together and then not doing anything with that human potential seems like a missed opportunity. How can coworking and coworking spaces help their members become healthier? How can it help them feel better about their work? How can it affect the way they think about and approach their work? On an even grander scale, what effect might coworking spaces have in the communities in which they're situated? Can coworking spaces become hubs of something greater than just a shared workspace? Big, but exciting, questions.

I think coworking is the beginning of something big in terms of how people work and how we can work better. It has ramifications far beyond shared desks and an Internet connection. For that reason, I jumped at the opportunity when Will invited me to Locus Workspace this summer. I have the opportunity to spend a few months in a top-notch coworking space learning how it's run, observing, bouncing ideas off of people, and developing my own plans and thoughts. This blog will serve as an outlet for this experience as I share my thoughts, observations, and general musings about coworking as viewed through the lens of a positive psychologist in training.

Feel free to share your thoughts and impressions -- I'd certainly love the feedback and conversation. How can we make coworking better, together?

Coworking in Prague | Coworking v Praze

2012-02-15T18:53:00.000+01:00

Recently Locus Workspace has teamed up with a group of other coworking spaces in Prague to see how we can work together to do things we can't do as individual spaces.

The project was largely inspired by Coworking Seattle's collaboration, so we owe a big thanks to their positive example.

Central to the collaboration is a recognition from all of us that there are many ways in which we all gain by focusing on how we can collaborate as well as on how we can co-promote the idea of coworking, coming together as coworking spaces much as individual space members might come together to facilitate something greater than the collection of individuals. We all believe the potential future size of the coworking community in Prague is much larger than the capacity of our combined spaces, and that at least for now the more options out there the better for the success of coworking more genreally. For now--I think--the biggest barrier to our collective success is not one another, but the extent to which the public and media are unaware of the coworking option, and how valuable it can be.

We do things such as:

Co-sponsor a Jelly (free, informal coworking open to the public) that meets every two weeks and rotates across 7 different coworking spaces in Prague.
Participate in a "Coworking in Prague visa program" (inspired by the international Coworking Visa) that allows members of any one of 5 coworking spaces in Prague use the other spaces for free for up to 25% of one's membership time.
Share a common website and Facebook page (please join it, we just started up) for promoting the idea of coworking and communicating options for coworking in Prague to the public and to the media.
Help organize cross-space events that can bring our members together as well as bring awareness about coworking and what it has to offer to the public.

I'm really excited about the collaboration and the support for it that has come from the other participants in the Coworking in Prague program!

2011-10-21T12:02:00.001+02:00

The 2nd annual coworking survey. Coworkers please participate! http://ping.fm/CjSh4

Death at Locus Workspace, or Coworking is Awesome

2011-10-14T18:13:00.002+02:00

I recently got back to Prague and Locus Workspace after more than 2 weeks in Santa Monica, California. We didn't get in until about 22:00 and the time difference is 9 hours. I couldn't sleep. Finally gave up trying and went to Locus at about 7am, Wednesday morning. There was what appeared to be police tape on the entrance to the space, with the sign, ZÁKAZ VSTUPU (DO NOT ENTER).

I went in anyway, with my heart pounding a little with fear about what I might find. Nothing looked weird until I got to my desk.

There was police chalk outlining a body on the floor. My mind started racing.

There was a sheet of paper on my desk from the police.

The last line in big letters says, "This property is closed."

Huge adrenalin rush as my mind started racing. Can this be real? Wouldn't someone have called me!? Did it just happen? Should I call the police and ask? Should I call my wife and get a clear headed opinion? Shouldn't I get the h*ll out of here? Am I going to have to close the business? Was someone killed? Who? (Yes, it's a little disturbing that concern about who might have been killed didn't occur to me until all the petty self-interested thoughts had worn themselves out.)

I decided to read the small print on the paper. Each line was a different legal code violation.

The first violation was for keeping farm animals on the premises and the second for food violations. Okay, this cannot be real. Wouldn't someone being killed top the list. But what if it is real!! A four leaf clover cannot be part of the Czech Police logo, can it (we're not in Ireland after all)?

I decided the reasons listed for closing the space were absurd enough (farm animals!?) that I would at least be justified in ignoring it all and getting to work even if someone was murdered there. So I cleaned up the chalk and turned on my computer, adrenalin still rushing and heart still pounding, until about 1/2 hour later when there was a key in the door. It's too early for members. Are the police here?

A Locus member! And no hesitation going right to a desk. "You just walked right in?"

"Sure, why not."

"The police tape on the front door!?"

"I don't know anything about it." Smile.

Finally, I could relax. Clearly a prank on Will.

A little bit later and another member came in and showed me the "bloody" steak knife I hadn't discovered under the desk next to the body.

More than two weeks away with the members managing the workspace themselves, no calamities, no calls with complaints, and energy left over to put in some hard work to "welcome" me home!

You have to love coworking!

Thanks, Locus Workspace Members, for the warmest welcome I've had in a long time (and I mean that)!

PS: The "police tape" was basic construction tape, the "bloody" knife was covered with dried ketchup, the Czech Police logo really does look like that, and the "police chalk" was your basic sidewalk chalk and cleaned right up.

2011-10-12T14:12:00.001+02:00

Guiri Guide (owner-authored) article on Locus Workspace: http://bit.ly/mSZJJD

2011-09-22T21:14:00.001+02:00

Loosecubes, an outstanding coworking-space listing service, has a nice blog post about Locus: http://bit.ly/oiCv3O

2011-09-05T13:00:00.001+02:00

*The Atlantic* article, 1 Sep 2011, "The Freelance Surge Is the Industrial Revolution of Our Time" U.S. bias, but interesting.

2011-08-25T15:33:00.001+02:00

New York Times article on the *coworking* concept, "[I]n which small and independent operators toil together in one shared office space":
"Working Separately, Together" http://ping.fm/MptbV

Coworking Day Jelly going strong...

2011-08-09T12:27:00.003+02:00

Locus's first Jelly (informal working "events": workatjelly.com) to celebrate International Coworking Day is off and running today. It's the start of weekly Jellies at Locus that will start on the 19th. Here are some photos...

Start of Weekly Locus Jellies & international Coworking Day

2011-08-05T15:44:00.004+02:00

To commemorate International Coworking Day, Locus Workspace will host its first jelly. This will mark the start of an (almost*) weekly jelly, starting at Locus for this first event, but hopefully moving to other coworking spaces in the future (Coffice is already a co-host and will start participating when it can).

So what's a jelly and what's International Coworking Day?

"Jelly is a casual working event. It's taken place in over a hundred cities where people have come together (in a person's home, a coffee shop, or an office) to work for the day. We provide chairs and sofas, wireless internet, and interesting people to talk to, collaborate with, and bounce ideas off of. You bring a laptop (or whatever you need to get your work done) and a friendly disposition." Learn more about jellies at http://workatjelly.com.

For details on International Coworking Day (and some things you can do to commemorate it, see my blog post from last year's Coworking Day here: http://bit.ly/oQmadb.

Space is limited, so please sign up early if you know you want to go.*

The jelly will take place at Locus's new upper floor (take the elevator to the 4th floor and find the door around the corner to the left). The jelly will be followed by a film night on Locus's 3rd floor at 6:30pm where we'll show *Harold & Maude* on the whiteboard with a data projector.

If interested, please sign up for that separately.*

Here's the schedule:
9am-12:30pm: 1st block of coworking
12:30pm-1pm: Presentation (TBA)
1-2:30pm: Lunch at Vytopna ( http://praha.vytopna.cz/) for those who want to join.
2:30-6pm: 2nd block of coworking.
6:30pm-8:30pm: Harold and Maude.

Feel free to come for just the 1st or 2nd coworking block if you can't make it to the whole day, but please indicate that in your confirmation comment.

If you're interested in giving a 1/2 hour before-lunch presentation, please let me know.

* - If you'd like to attend, you will need to confirm your attendance by accepting a Google Calendar event invitation. Please send me an email letting me know you want to attend with a google email account if you have one (but you need not have a google account to accept the invitation).

2011-07-18T15:09:00.001+02:00

Free Talk/Discussion at Locus Workspace: It takes the world to change the world. Details at events website: http://bit.ly/re3h9h

2011-07-12T15:22:00.001+02:00

Český průzkum podnikání na volné noze (Results from survey of Freelancers in the Czech Republic) http://bit.ly/pETkdy

2011-07-05T09:15:00.001+02:00

Locus Workspace EXPANSION! Here are some pictures of the new floor: http://bit.ly/kTtR6a locusws coworking

2011-06-15T17:20:00.001+02:00

Texas Holdem Poker night for freelancers. Friday, 7pm @ Locus. Get details & register here: http://bit.ly/jtOfpc

2011-06-15T17:09:00.001+02:00

Workshop: Sustainability and collective empowerment. Saturday 5pm @Locus Workspace. Get details & register here: http://bit.ly/loXBzP

2011-06-15T13:36:00.001+02:00

Free Talk by Andrew Baren on social media marketing at Locus Workspace: How to Switch on More Business with Word of Mouse

For details and to register, sign up on Locus's Events page here:
http://ping.fm/doN6q

GREAT coworking testimonial!

2011-06-01T08:51:00.000+02:00

The following post to the coworking Google email list by Campbell McKellar of Loosecubes (www.loosecubes.com) serves as a GREAT testimonial to one of the most important and least recognized values of coworking: the gained value from extensive knowledge and expertise one is surrounded by in a coworking space, has instant access to, and usually gets for free

... I'd like to offer another perspective (as a coworker).

For some background, I'm working on Loosecubes, a website meant to connect independents and travelers to the right coworking spaces and desk shares, and to facilitate connections between spaces and the people working in them. We have a basic prototype out and are working hard on the second phase (thanks to the many of you who've been beta testers and provided feedback!). So in some ways, I am not the typical coworker; however, in many ways I am (if there is such a thing).

In the last two weeks, working at New Work City, I have:

- sat next to a publicist for startups who gave me some incredibly valuable advice for about a half hour

- had a successful facebook application builder review our wireframes and offer feedback

- been introduced to a NY Times tech reporter and numerous bloggers

- had my blackberry fixed by a handset expert who was able to talk me off the ledge after mine exploded

All this for the price of a basic part time membership!

If coworking spaces are able to communicate these types of experiences to people - using community members to do so - any business person is going to come to the same conclusion I have: the economic benefit to my business is 10x what I pay to come to New Work City. If you added up the cost to me (as a understaffed startup entrepreneur) to track down a publicist, developer, reporters, and tech support on an ad hoc basis (not to mention the cost and time of engaging these services or spending time to meet with them and develop trusting relationships outside the workplace), it would be astronomical. In fact, I probably just wouldn't do it, and my business would suffer because of it.

I think if people are considering business centers, staying home, or not willing to pay for memberships, it's because we're not 1) building communities that collaborate or 2) our members are not communicating clearly to the outside world the incredible economic opportunity coworking creates for them.

Maybe the next wave of adopters needs to be recruited on economic, not strictly personal/lifestyle terms.

(Just my two cents!)

Campbell McKellar www.loosecubes.com