Coworking began mostly in coffee shops. Then it migrated into coworking spaces. Eventually, WeWork happened, building immense awareness for the coworking model in greater society. When we closed Conjunctured a little over a year ago, we did so betting that coworking would transcend the traditional coworking space model- and enter into society through new ways. Fast forward to present day and the coworking model is maturing and evolving rapidly.
Now you’re likely to see coworking appear in some unexpected places, mostly embedded within existing larger ecosystems.
- Library coworking in Miami
- University coworking in Virginia
- Train station coworking in Utrecht
- Airport coworking in London
- Hotel coworking in Vienna
When it comes down to it, coworking is being adopted by industries that want to speed along the disruption+evolution life cycle. Industry pioneers know that people are always at the center of the experience. Coworking unlocks a new kind of people-powered pandora’s box, wherever you enable it. And what you begin to notice is that the intangible of the coworking experience often creates quite tangible things.
People talk about the magic of coworking, but what really gets me is the practicality of it. Bring a group of like-minded, complimentary-skilled people in a resource-rich workspace together, and things start to happen. This is the serendipity/the magic/the secret sauce that coworking enthusiasts refer to.
The Ad Agency Model -> Enter Coworking
Digital changed everything for the ad agency—and now coworking is helping agencies integrate freelancers and blended workspaces into their business model. See: The Uber of Agencies: Why Marketers Want to Ride With a New Kind of Shop
It’s here in the (normally private) walls of a creative agency that you’ll find smart people, energizing vibes, unique ideas, interesting work, and probably a fantastic office setup. But at the end of the day, it’s just for employees and client visits. Private. Secure. Do not enter.
What happens when you take a closed door ad agency office and swing the doors wide open to the greater community of indies within the creative field?
Well, we’re not sure yet, but we’re giving it a go. We were recently invited by local ad agency, Blackboard Co., to extend the coworking model into their office as a way to connect with the greater community of professionals in the local creative scene. We built them a website, wrote them a coworking ‘operations manual’, and are helping to invite members of the community to drop in. We’re collaborating on the initiative with one of Austin’s most active communities, Creative Mornings, to share the good word to Austin’s greater digital creative scene.
If you’re a local creative indie and you’re looking for a way to plug in to an agency ecosystem that can help you scale up your work, then please swing by and check out the space at the Coworking Open House, Oct 16 @ 9am.
Drew and David, Conjunctured partners (now with OpenWork), will be hanging out giving tours and chatting ‘future of work.’ It’d be great to see you!
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