Millions of entrepreneurs, freelancers, designers and startups were given the tool that brought them all together. Now in a buzzing hive of creativity and ingenuity, who knows what can be created? It's like building a think tank where you're simultaneously growing 20 different companies and they are all working together while still working for themselves. The sky is the limit.
Read moreYour Office, Edited
If you’re like most people, you probably work in a large office building alongside colleagues who, much of the time, are away from their seats in meetings, at lunch or traveling for business.
Driven by a global recession, an emerging sharing economy, a more mobile workforce and concern about climate change, COOs, entrepreneurs and other business leaders are looking for ways to make office spaces more efficient. Paying high real estate costs and electric bills for people who use their space 30% of the time doesn’t make good fiscal or environmental sense. For these reasons and more, a drastic change is underway that will make the traditional office as you know it disappear.
Where Will You Work?
Collaborative work spaces everywhere are defining themselves as “coworking spaces,” or workplaces that are shared, fostering productivity, community and collaboration. Good for startups, freelancers, independent workers and entrepreneurs, the trend is growing exponentially. According to Deskmag, the number of coworking spaces has increased 200% annually for seven years. The Global Coworking Unconference Conference (GCUC) convened this month, sharing new strategies for the future.
What Your Office Will Look Like
The architectural silos that separate departments will erode. You will know more about what’s happening in other areas of your organization. Open plans will create cafe-like atmospheres and promote creativity and transparency. Office layouts will be more structured for liquid, easy work.
New workplace tools like Flockd, unveiled at GCUC, will help people across departments start conversations while increasing productivity.
Flockd offers a new system for people to signal whether they’re free. The available, “Lets Flock,” signal encourages coworkers to interact and connect, while the, “I’m Busy” signal sets clear, healthy boundaries. Better work flow means more free time.
Less Stuff, Less Overhead
Sharing an office means the stuff you need, but hardly use, is also accessible to 100 other companies who share your space. One paper cutter for 100 companies instead of 100 paper cutters. And it means the usual overhead, like rent and heating bills, is split among them too.
Proximal Innovation
FastCompany recognizes the serendipitous, positive function of proximity stimulating innovation. A recent study found “the best, most-widely cited research came from coauthors sitting less than 10 meters apart. ‘How closely they worked mattered as much, if not more, than their affiliation,’ says the study’s author, Isaac Kohane of Harvard Medical School. Coworking’s combination of casual relationships and shared spaces, he suggests, can lead to some of an employee’s most fruitful collaborations.”
OfficeEdited = Smarter Business
As big business comes aboard the coworking revolution, the triple bottom line gets better. American Express recently lowered its carbon footprint by 27.5 percent, citing a decrease in business travel and the creation of centers for virtual meetings. Widely recognized for championing economic development and entrepreneurship is Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, championing Las Vegas and its Downtown Project to become the coworking capital of the world.
The League of Extraordinary Coworking Spaces (LEXC) has become a resource for such corporations expanding their workplace strategy. The organization’s first corporate customer is Accenture. Good for mobile workers, LEXC offers a new work solution for larger companies.
“Facilities plans have been kept too separate from business plans for far too long,” says Brian Macmahon of Your Office Agent, a commercial agency specializing in leaner work space. “Forward-thinking companies of all sizes are exploring these new models.”
Disclosure: The contributor Marissa Feinberg is the shared office space owner of Green Spaces NY, upcoming member of LEXC, cofounder of Flockd and attends GCUC.
Purpose: Driving the New Economy
Financial crises, climate crises, and the growing iniquity of our market-dominated society have prompted a range of startups to ask what a New Economy might look like — and to start building it today.
James Slezak (Purpose Partner and New Economy Practice Founder) joins Aparna Mukherjee (Social Media Editor for a major consulting firm, formerly of The New York Times, Bloomberg), Marissa Feinberg (Green Spaces NYC Co-Founder) and Erica Berger (Storyful, formerly of The Economist) for a panel discussion and debate on what trends and movements are best poised to disrupt unsustainable and unjust economic models.
How can online strategies accelerate the movement towards sharing, co-production, renewable energy, and greater democratic influence on the economy? What’s working and what’s not? What role can big established organizations play, and where are the spaces for new social enterprises? Engage with our panel of experts on these questions and many more.
ON STORIFY :: Purpose: Driving the New Economy - #SMWneweconomy
Social media, collaborative consumption, and the sharing economy. 21 February 2013, Bloomberg Tower.
With the emergence of 'collaborative consumption' startups such as Zipcar and AirBnB, many are pointing to the rise of a 'sharing economy' geared towards access to services rather than ownership of goods. What are the characteristics of this new economy, and how should we shape it? At the very least, given the sharing economy's reliance on human-to-human connection, one can be certain that social media will be a key utility.
How does one define the sharing economy?
For those hearing 'circle of value' or 'circular economy' the first time, this video, presented as part of the 2013 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, serves as a concise overview.
Online and offline collaboration go hand-in-hand.
Everyone is a social media entrepreneur, not that one actually needs a Twitter handle to be one (Remember, social media is human-to-human connection, not merely tools for online engagement.).
If you have a twitter handle you're a social media entrepreneur?#smwneweconomy
To enable people to connect with each other as easily offline as they do online, Marissa founded Flockd so that individuals at a co-working space can quickly signal to each other whether and how they wish to connect in-person.
Everyone is a social media entrepreneur, not that one actually needs a Twitter handle to be one (Remember, social media is human-to-human connection, not merely tools for online engagement.).
If you have a twitter handle you're a social media entrepreneur?#smwneweconomy
To enable people to connect with each other as easily offline as they do online, Marissa founded Flockd so that individuals at a co-working space can quickly signal to each other whether and how they wish to connect in-person.
Why not give credit to those who try? Mass appeal is not necessary to succeed -- niche appeal works just as well (or even better).
Scepticism about Flockd from the audience.
I can do that with a cup #smwneweconomy
Why not give credit to those who try? Mass appeal is not necessary to succeed -- niche appeal works just as well (or even better).
@Hassanmirza @marissafeinberg What do you like about it?#smwneweconomy
@rikuniaku97 @marissafeinberg it's useful. Way less offensive than people saying 'I'm too busy' which makes me want to scream#smwneweconomy
@we_flock The Flockd analog device idea seems promising to #SMusers! How do I get one? @marissafeinberg#SMWNEWECONOMY #smw #networking
Apt example of marketing by social media entrepreneurs -- get a Flockd device by tweeting @we_flockd with #SMW.
@marissafeinberg @we_flockd entrepreneurs "Flockd" together. Awesome idea. #SMWneweconomy
How can a diverse set of stakeholders (or rather, brandholders), collaborate to shape the sharing economy?
@jslez reminds us that we need business and brand leaders with activists to shape the new economy. #smwneweconomy
Great concept @ServiceForLife: @marissafeinberg talking about@GreenSpacesNY and shared economy #smwnyc#smwneweconomy cc @clubworkspace
Keep in mind that co-creation, or bringing all stakeholders/brandholders into your value chain, is the future of business.For the full story, visit http://storify.com/yangbodu/purpose-driving-the-new-economy-smwneweconomy. Thank you to Yangbo Du for posting this great timeline and commentary on our talk!