South by Southwest – A Special Event for Coworking
March 14th, 2008 | by Tony Bacigalupo |I just returned from SXSW, where I met some of the most prominent leaders of the coworking movement from all over the country.
I only had to spend a few moments with these folks to arrive at a powerful realization: Coworking is for real. It’s not simply a trend or a freelancer’s hobby; it is in fact part of a larger shift in the very way we work and live.
As the use of the internet becomes more widespread and as technology continues to improve, we find ourselves increasingly connected. More and more of the work that we do is done electronically, and less and less work requires actual face-to-face interaction.
If you didn’t have to drag yourself into an office to do your work, would you do it? You might likely not. But after working from home for two years now, I can say this: You don’t want to sit at home every day either.
Human beings are explorers. We’re also social beings. We want to get up and move around every day and find out what other humans are doing. If technology gives us the choice of where to do our work, we will seek out the places that accommodate our natural needs.
This is where coworking comes in. The location-independent worker needs places to go to do their work, where they can show up when they want and meet new people and friends.
At the Hotel San Jose in Austin, on Friday, I stood in a 50+ strong crowd of people, many of whom are running or starting spaces and communities all over the country (not just USA, either: Canada and France came too!), and the rest people interested and involved in the cause.
Speaking to these people, it’s clear that I was not in the company of any ordinary people—these people were largely successful, intelligent, experienced entrepreneurs, and they believe that they are onto something. The growth of interest in coworking has been palpable, and it continues to expand rapidly.
When my good friend and Indy Hall founder Alex Hillman and I parted ways last night, he left me with an incredible statement: “When I came to SXSW last year, I left with the goal of bringing coworking to Philly. This year, I want to bring coworking to the whole world.”
Count me in for that. I’ll start with New York :-)
2 Responses to “South by Southwest – A Special Event for Coworking”
By Julie Gomoll on Mar 15, 2008 | Reply
Friday night at the Hotel San Jose - I’ve referred to the energy of that evening as “we can change the world” energy. And it certainly was a high point.
Sometimes those high points are just that - bursts of energy that fade away. A rush of excitement for an idea that fades away when we re-enter the “real world”.
Coworking is *so* not that. I’m feeling that “we can change the world” as much as ever. It’s fantastic!
Several months ago I started tracking “coworking” on Twitter and set notifications to come to my phone. Used to be a few messages a week. Now, frankly, it’s getting to be a bit much and I’m going to have to turn SMS alerts off. How cool is that?