Coworking Ireland

Image by RAINBOW ! via FlickrPat Phelan condensed a thread of conversation from Sunday’s chatter on Twitter in a blog post announcing fresh interest in Coworking in Cork. Fellow Corkonian Damien Mulley has previously written about his ideas for getting coworking off the ground in the rebel city.

Richard Delevan is a fan and comments on how much he appreciated the ‘virtual office’ ambience of Twitter when he stopped working in an office. He might though be slightly confused as regards the difference between the Jelly movement and Coworking as he seems to suggest it started in New York (which Jelly did), not the Valley. It doesn’t matter though – whether it’s bedouin working, hotdesking, Jelly or coworking it’s all good. And it’s time to get more going here.

Matt Johnston in Belfast sounds a cautionary note though, with facts and figures to suggest that the running of a coworking facility needs to be a full-time job. Great comments to that post too.

We’re delighted to see that Coworking Belfast is getting off to a tremendous jump start with 18 people already interested in taking space. David Rice explains the objectives -

“Bringing silicon valley thinking to Belfast by creating a cutting edge work space for digital and creative workers. It’s goal is solely to improve these industries and provide a creative atmosphere to allow ideas and companies to grow in an organic way.”

I think this year and next will see Coworking really take off in Ireland. Hats off to the lads in Belfast.

Paul Campbell and Eoghan McCabe work out of a coworking space in Dublin city centre and have both been twittering invitations to passers-by to make use of the spare desk in TL01. Just follow them on Twitter and send a message before you arrive.

Eoghan McCabe published a new photoset from Space 28 in Dublin and commented, “It’s not pretty, but I like it!”.

Which begs the question – what would the idea coworking space look like? What size is right? Open plan or cubicles? Where should the kitchen be? Etc., etc. Why don’t we try answering that by imagining it in SketchUp the free 3D modeling software from Google? Eoghan and Paul Campbell will get the ball rolling by coming up with a draft model and everyone is welcome to chime in with suggestions and modifications. The 3D Warehouse supplies a plethora of freely downloadable office plans and furniture components so you don’t have to be an architect to participate

The Coworking Community Blog has posted a map of coworking spaces in the USA.

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From BusinessWeek: “A survey of more than 1,000 white collar workers, commissioned by mobile phone operator T-Mobile, has found many believe they would be more productive– and creative — if they could work in different locations.”

Jelly sounds like an interesting variation on the theme of coworking -

“Jelly meetings are a way for folks who usually work at home to get out of the house, find kindred workers to collaborate with, or simply to socialize — without having to commit to the gym-like membership setup of most of the country’s coworking arrangements, where rented office spaces feel much like a traditional workplace and require a regular financial commitment beyond the means of most freelancers. Indeed, the term “office” can happily be avoided all together with Jelly. Unlike most coworking setups, Jelly exists for only one day every other week, and it’s free.”

The Altrupreneur is crossing the United States while filming a documentary on coworking but I wonder if he’d be interested in going trans-Atlantic to feature our location in Dublin.

After returning from a field-trip to Boston and New York Alex made the following observation -

“Just about everyone agrees that no matter what kind of work you’re into, chances are, you’ll be working better in a community of like-minded independent folks rather than out of your home or a coffee shop.”

Paul Walsh tells us that there are 4 desks to spare at the Segala‘s Dublin office in Beacon Court. Let him know if you’re interested.

Chris Messina posts a terrific video about Coworking featuring interviews with Brad Neuberg, Tara Hunt and Chris himself. Tara said one thing which was particularly quote worthy – “I would describe Coworking as BarCamp every day”. Woah, if it’s that good I want in!

Brad also had a great metaphor for the difference between cafe-working and co-working (in a more formal office-like environment). He likened it to the difference between going to a bar and going to a house party, i.e., the latter has a real social context.

Chris makes another great point – “I’d encourage others in coworking spaces, getting started or simply interested in the idea to record their own videos and share them with the community…. the power of video [is] to make all our ideas come more real.” So how about it Paul?