Coworking Ireland

Previously mentioned here, and now available in it’s own domain.

We will be interested in talking to other Co-Working spaces around the country and beyond – seeing if there’s synergy, the possibility of desk swaps and working together. What say you?

Subsequent to some more frantic viewing, Andy McMillan and I have put the stake in the ground and decided that CoWorking Belfast will be opening soon.

As Andy writes:

we viewed a 1200sqft open-plan office (with kitchenette, disabled access & a shower) – on the first floor above the Black Box. The property ticks all the boxes – it’s finished to an excellent standard and could happily fit around a dozen coworkers simultaneously – and most importantly of all is mere feet away from coffee, pizza and beer.
Without negotiation on price – and with 10 coworkers renting full-time – its about £200pm – although obviously this price would fall when subsidized by hot-desking, virtual office services, room hire etc. As soon as we hit the 10 mark, we’ll be in a position to begin talking to the estate agent and actually open the coworking space.

We’ve also put funding into the Creative Industries Innovation Fund for desking and equipment so we’ll see where that takes us.

We definitely want to see permanent residents but also a smattering of Bedouin workers and temporary hotdeskers who just need a a conducive environment and some kick ass equipment.

CoWorking update on Digital Circle
CoWorking Update on Cimota.com

I’ve said before that I’m not really interested in using a public coffee shop for working. I think it might be more workable in the US where internet access is ubiquitous and there’s certainly more of a laptop culture but laptops are still few and far between in Europe.

The spacial logistics for using a coffee shop are also pretty poor:

• Tables often too small (designed for two lattés and a danish)
• Coffee plus laptop = bad (Trust me on this one)
• Laptops often too big (Come on Apple!)
• Large laptop bags obstruct walkways (this creates coffee+laptop situations)

Read More…

This article in The New Yorker debates commuting.

“I was shocked to find how robust a predictor of social isolation commuting is,â€? Robert Putnam, a Harvard political scientist, told me. (Putnam wrote the best-seller “Bowling Alone,â€? about the disintegration of American civic life.) “There’s a simple rule of thumb: Every ten minutes of commuting results in ten per cent fewer social connections. Commuting is connected to social isolation, which causes unhappiness.â€?

What of coworking? Read More…

I don’t really want to use a public coffee shop as an office.

Last year when setting up my software company, I investigated a lot of office options from the most basic government-funded business park closet to expensive serviced offices from industry leaders. Though the carpeting and wall coverings were very different, as were the provisions of furniture, there were still the same basic problems as I saw it.

• Closed doors leading to a lack of collaborative space and human contact.

The problem with the closed door is that it shuts everyone off in their own little domain complete with personal printer and coat hanger. It didn’t matter whether you were paying £250 a month or £1250 a month, the setting was the same.

At one large office vendor I toured, half the offices had their doors wedged open. That may have been because of the soaring temperatures in Ireland that month but I think it was as much to give the occupant, a sole salesman, entrepreneur or account manager, some sort of human contact during their working day. As I passed these offices, the individuals within would always look up and see what was going on, who was passing their door. When visiting the low rent office parks, the experience was the same. People leaving their doors open. Read More…