Coworking as a Form of Groundswell

My friend recently alerted me to a place called IndyHall. He sent me a link to their Twitter profile, which has almost 600 followers. IndyHall is an organization in Philadelphia built around the notion of coworking – which is still fairly new to me. According to Wikipedia, coworking is defined as the following:

“…an emerging trend for a new pattern for working. Typically work-at-home professionals or independent contractors or people who travel frequently end up working in relative isolation. Coworking is the social gathering of a group of people, who are still working independently, but who share values and who are interested in the synergy that can happen from working with talented people in the same space.”

Although some coworking facilities are paid for by the organizers, there is a charge to use the facilities at Independent’s Hall. The fee ranges from $25/month to $275/month, depending on frequency and duration of visits as well as workspace and equipment needed. For those who can afford this, it seems like a promising deal. Coworking taps into the concept of Groundswell, which is basically the idea of people using technologies to get what they need from each other instead of from traditional institutions. It involves participation, collaboration, and the use of social technologies to create a network of minds that is collaboratively greater than the sum of its parts.

If and when I do become a freelancer, I would love to be involved in a community like IndyHall. Until then, I plan to use both Twitter and Indy Hall's web site (which has a blog as well as a wiki) to become more familiar with the coworker lifestyle.