Ann Arbor Coworking Town Hall May 19, 2008

What: Ann Arbor Coworking "town hall" meeting

Coworking is any long-term arrangement in which independent professionals can work in the same space, whether full- or part-time. You may have seen mention on CNN.com, in the New York Times, or local media.

We're trying to gauge interest in developing a permanent dedicated coworking space in downtown Ann Arbor. This might include shared office space, meeting and training space, a private cafe, a "makers' den" for electronic and other fabrication projects. Any or all of those. The space might be run by a private concern, a nonprofit organization, or an ad hoc collaboration. It might be a membership organization, a business of its own, or a cooperative. Or something else.

Let's explore what it might be, and why you might want to participate.

Where: Ann Arbor District Library Freespace, 3rd floor, Downtown Ann Arbor library building

When: Monday, May 19, 7-8:30pm

The meeting space is reserved from 5pm through 8:30pm, but we will officially begin proceedings at 7pm. If enough interest is generated, we may run two 90-minute rounds of discussion. Please let us know if you're coming.

Who: Organized by Not An Employee, LLC

Space in the Library conference room is limited to 32 people. If more want to attend and discuss the prospects for coworking, we will try to arrange a second session, and extend discussion after the meeting at one of the other local meeting venues.

Please let us know if you'd like to attend. You may want to use the free service at Upcoming.org to coordinate.

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A bit more background on what's going on:

There are a lot of folks in the local and national economic development world thinking of starting the sort of coworking arrangement that's already out there: A bunch of desks, a "real phone for the little guy", old beat-up furniture, exposed brick walls, emo haircuts. The usual. Incubators without the noisome management-types.

But sitting around in the café on Wednesday mornings, the Ann Arbor microcoworking crew decided that (a) all of us already have perfectly functional offices, (b) if we want to be "incubated" we'll look for a chicken, not a Sparky coworking basement, (c) we can all drive up to Property Disposition and buy a greige cubicle and a fax machine any day we want, and stick it in our garages, (d) what we'd like is to foster collegial and useful interaction between independents, not "growth" or "more work" or "rent-sharing" or even "pooled insurance". Definitely we are *not* looking for a bunch of startup kids and a tame suit who are trying to become the Next Google by huddling in a corner and working stupid hours on Truly Revolutionary software.

No, rather: Actual interesting people doing actually interesting things. Talking. Showing. Arguing. With one another.

Not a "normal" office, in other words.

Sometimes maybe sitting together at comfortable shared tables, working on their laptops and drinking good coffee... or beer. Sometimes making stuff in the paint booth, or the fab lab, or the CNC woodwork barn. Sometimes sitting in a closed-door cubbyhole room talking on the phone. Sometimes writing software together. Sometimes handing off clients that just don't fit. Sometimes shooting the breeze. Sometimes servicing their XServe racks, which are humming in a closet. Sometimes having attractive young staff serve them drinks in the Club. Sometimes giving free--or pricey--classes in their specialty.

Working the way we work: on their own, but together.

A lot of the other Coworking efforts are really attempts to Have Real Offices Almost Like Employed Persons Are Allowed to Have... But Edgier. What we want to do is create space and infrastructure where we can do the work we already do, but more easily alongside one other -- as needed.

Not renting a desk. Not renting an office. Participating in one another's days, helpfully.

What exactly that means, and how to bring it about, is what we'll discuss.

Official Website: http://notanemployee.net/blog/2008/05/ann-arbor-town-hall-meeting-on-coworking/