Tech Notes - Coworking, it’s the future

Apr 24 2008 by Herb Kim for The Journal

THE internet has enabled millions of people to work from home. But, faced with only a computer screen for company, many are heading back into offices searching for something altogether more human.

Over the past few years, coworking – the concept of working solo alongside other like-minded people – has spread throughout the world.

The notion was conceived in 2005 by a young computer programmer called Brad Neuberg, who wanted the autonomy and creative freedom of working for himself but craved the structure and social connections of working for a decent-sized company.

Used to ‘hacking out’ solutions for problems, Brad applied this approach to his latest quandary. He rented a space in a place called Spiral Muse, invited like-minded people to join him, and dropped a hyphen along the way. Coworking was born.

Three years on, you can now find these spaces in 26 nations around the world, including several in the UK. Its spread is expected to continue, with Silicon Valley’s Institute for the Future predicting it as one of the key small business trends over the next decade. Little wonder. While the tools that enable coworking to operate are mainly technological – minimum requirements being broadband access and laptops – the motivation behind it and its end-goals are distinctly human.

Coworking isn’t merely a shared office. It’s about conquering the loneliness of being a free agent, enjoying your working life and forming deep connections with colleagues in similar industries, with whom you can share knowledge and forge new ideas.

At the time of writing, coworking is mostly the preserve of those working at the cutting edge of the web industry. But I see no reason why it can’t be applied to other industries.

I spoke about this recently with Imran Ali, the founding partner of Carbon Imagineering, an emerging technologies think tank, who helped set up a coworking space in Leeds. He believes, although the practice was originated by web workers, we’ll soon see coworking spaces for particular industries and freelancer types – from personal trainers to artists, and perhaps even healthcare workers.

I hope so. It’s often said that, in modern societies, we’re losing our sense of community. Through practices such as coworking, we can help claw that back and inject it into working life.

Herb Kim is CEO of Codeworks, a centre for digital innovation based in the North East.