Coworking, das heißt miteinander arbeiten, gemeinsam arbeiten, zusammenarbeiten. Es ist aber gleichzeitig auch eine neue Philosophie des Arbeitens, abseits von 9-to-5-Arbeit im Büro. Eine Mischform aus Büro und Coffeeshop, die gerade den freischaffenden Netzarbeitern entgegen kommt. Die englische Wikipedia beschreibt Coworking als Versammlung von Leuten, die unabhängig voneinander arbeiten, aber gemeinsame Werte teilen und an den Synergien interessiert sind, die sich ergeben, wenn talentierte Menschen am gleichen Ort arbeiten.

In einer Interviewreihe habe ich die Gründer verschiedener Coworking-Projekte über ihre Erfahrungen befragt. Den Anfang macht Chris Messina, Mitgründer des berühmten Citizen Space.
Gemeinsam mit Partnerin Tara Hunt hat Chris mit Citizen Space (San Francisco) nicht nur einen der ersten Coworking Spaces gegründet. Er hat auch maßgeblich die Philosophie hinter Coworking mitdefiniert. Hier teilt Chris seine Gedanken zu Coworking.

Peter Bihr (PB): What does Coworking mean for you?

Chris Messina (CM): Well, coworking is kind of a means to an end. It’s on the one hand a community of like-minded folks who don’t want to just work alone. On the other, it’s an operational framework — and something of an imperative that describes how you might go about creating a physical institution that people want to join, become a part of make their own.

I mean, at its root is a self-granted permission to create a work environment and reality that you want for yourself. And the community is there to push you forward, in order to turn your vision into reality.

PB: What brought you to Coworking?

CM: Well, as a cofounder of coworking, I initially just wanted a space that was somewhere between a cafe and an office — but that felt more spontaneous and had a lighter atmosphere about it. Since no one else had really done it — and sustained it — it seemed like it was time to try my hand at it!

PB: Every Coworking Space seems different. What’s the focus of yours, what makes it special?

CM: Well, I’m actually „between spaces“ right now!

PB: Where do you see Coworking in five years?

CM: Wow, well… it’s grown into something much bigger than I might have imagined, and I’d thrilled about that. What I hope happens is that coworking will move down the cultural stack and become something that people expect of a city — like libraries or coffee shops — and that private and public coworking spaces will crop up — open to anyone, especially those affiliated with the network.

I also hope that the social networking behaviors that are common now bleed into the physical world and support the coworking movement worldwide.

PB: Where can we find you?

CM: Heh, that depends. Physically or digitally? Truly, I’m aiming to be a global citizen, and at the same time a citizen of the web. So, everywhere.

Die Interviewreihe ist ein Crossposting von meinem Blog und veröffentlicht unter Creative Commons (by) Lizenz. Die restlichen Interviews der Reihe gibt es auf thewavingcat.com und in auf Blogpiloten.de.

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Image „Chris Messina – 2016“ by Narzir (CC BY SA 4.0)

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Schlagwörter: coworking, Interview