Fellow Canberrans Steve Collins and Nathanael Boehm are working on a Coworking space for Canberra.
The Coworking community blog describes coworking as a movement to create a community of cafe-like collaboration spaces for developers, writers and independents.
Imagine a cross between an internet cafe and an office - for many of us, this is fairly close to what we have now. My favourite cafe (Guru in Woden) doesn’t have net access but it has the best coffee - there is always a wireless broadband access card if absolutely necessary, and there are several spots that prove useful for either offsite client chats or intra-consultancy meetings. In an average week, between clients and meetings with other consultants, I would spend 3-4 hours doing just that - drinking coffee and having discussions where the traditional office environment isn’t quite suitable. But I digress.
The Office Nomads in Seattle have the following pricing plans:
1. $450 = Unlimited use - permanent desk
2. $250 = 3-5 days/week - any available space
3. $100 = 1-2 days/week - any available space
Each plan includes network access, printing and will have an allowance for conference room time.
What does coworking have to offer bloggers? Imagine joining (or even starting) a coworking group, and having access to a desk once or twice a week for your local equivalent of a hundred dollars - I’ve worked from home, and would have paid that and more for the opportunity to get out and work where there was space and a change of scene.
If you’re a professional blogger, that day or two a week just might save your sanity - and if you are getting to the stage where you’re thinking of turning pro, chances are you could do a lot with one day a week - setting up a whole week’s worth of quality pillar posts, dedicating yourself to killing off some fiddly configuration tasks, setting up some Squidoo lenses, or researching new marketing techniques - and having the luxury of facetime with like-minded individuals.
I can see myself coworking as a blogger, and I could certainly afford the $100 or so at the moment. Who wants to join me?
