Organic

After a summer hiatus (including getting married, honeymoon, and moving in) I'm finally back in my coworking mode. And what a better way to return than with my newlywed husband?? It was the first time that Jon (my husband) has ever gone to a jelly. We were at lab247 in Stuyvesant (Brooklyn). He is a committed member of the corporate world and had an awkward time working and mingling in such hippie fashion. In the pic above he is on a conference call and had to balance his laptop in one hand as he stood outside for any form of privacy. Below are some pics taken by Jonathan Landau, the founder of the space.


There was a round-table discussion with Todd, one of the authors of I'm Outta Here, to define the future of coworking. What a perfect opportunity!


There were concerns about connecting with people in a coworking space. For example, if I were a DJ needing branding and marketing strategies, can I get help from someone in the group? The need for a coworking 'Craig's list' was apparent. The desire for after-work hour coworking sessions for those with 9-5 jobs who have side projects was also expressed.

Jon L. sees coworking as a wholistic approach to working where you can do things faster and better because you joined a coworking space. He called it an evolution, that's if you consider evolution a good thing. At Lab 247 you can start coworking with yoga to prime you for a productive day.


To me coworking is a phenomenon. I personally have a distaste for trying to over-define coworking. For me, I'm happy with knowing that it's counter-culture movement. Coworking really has a lot of colors and to try to define it, predict it or organize is like looking over an artist's shoulder and judging a painting before it's finished. It would kill the very spirit of coworking which is entrepreneurial, creative, collaborative, and maybe even messy. Perhaps an organic, brick exposed, open desk basement coworking site is not my husband's particular hue at the moment but he could definitely use something for after hours.