Philadelphia Inquirer: A Step Up From Working In PJ's:
...t's not job-sharing, with two people taking turns in the same stall in the cube farm.Instead, think of co-working as an entrepreneurial version of parallel play, with owners of their own small businesses working side by side in a drop-in place that looks like a coffee cafe, minus the barista, with all the accoutrements of what's hip: high ceilings, beer fridge, pool table and Internet access.
Paying as little as $175 a month, they mostly work on their own. But they also trade ideas, help solve problems, and move in and out of loose collaborations.
Today's technology - wireless access, cell phones, BlackBerries and laptops - makes possible a mobile workforce.
Still lonely, Hillman found himself drawn to social and professional groups, but networking nights over margaritas were not what he wanted either, although he likes margaritas.
What he wanted was the happy chance of serendipity and the collegial buzz of people united by passion for their work, whatever it is.
"I think when people work at home they have to come up with new ways to interact with people," said Daniel H. Pink, one of the first authors to write about independent contractors in his 2001 book Free Agent Nation.
"They miss one of the joys and banes of being in an office - the interruptions, the inadvertent contact on the way to the bathroom that sometimes leads to interesting ideas," he said. "Co-working gives a set of colleagues who will interrupt them on the way to the bathroom."
Links:
(wish the Inky would appropriately link!)
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