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Rant: I spent 8 months treating my coworking day pass like a guest badge, and a barista in Portland tipped me off
I had been buying day passes at this spot on SE Division in Portland since January and treating it like a library card, head down, headphones on, never saying a word to anybody. Then last month the barista asked if I was "the laptop guy who never comes to the Friday thing" and I had no idea there even was a Friday thing. Turns out the space does a 4pm coffee meetup every week and about 15 regulars actually know each other, and I had been sitting 20 feet away for months missing all of it. So here's my debate for you: is a coworking space just a desk with better wifi, or is the whole point the people? One side says I paid for quiet and I should get quiet, no small talk required. The other side says the membership fee is mostly buying you a network and I was throwing that part in the trash. I lean toward the second one now, but I'm still not sure how much chatting is normal before it gets annoying. How many of you actually go to the social stuff at your space, and did it lead to any real work?
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casey3422d ago
The "membership fee is mostly buying you a network" point is the one that matters, because a desk alone is cheaper at a library or a coffee shop. The fee only makes sense if you use the room, and the room includes the people at 4pm on Friday. You don't have to be best friends, just showing up once and learning three names makes the pass worth it.
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