Week 26, 2023

Taylor Telford penned a Washington Post piece on how libraries are stepping up their game with rooftops, cafes and zoom rooms as they increasingly become ‘a favorite co-woroking (sic) space for workers in the hybrid era’.

We’ve been watching libraries break away from the “musty, strict and focused solely on books” stereotype for a while now. Makes me wonder if this shift is an opportunity or threat to your coworking business?

Sofia Stolberg shares some info about the new changes happening to the compliance processes of the United States Postal Service. If you’re a coworking space in the US offering mail services to your members, def give this a watch to make sure you and your mail services stay compliant.

Geoff Sakala raises an interesting point about the financial and emotional strain automated spam calls are having on businesses who want to provide great customer service.

How are you dealing with this frustration in your business? Let them know in the thread (and don’t forget to add #TWIC in your comment).

Jason Feifer interviewed Daniel Roth and Alice Xiong of LinkedIn about recent LinkedIn algorithm changes.

It’s a fascinating look at how the platform is dealing with the 42% y-o-y surge in content being shared, and a 27% bump in content being viewed. In short, the changes amplify content that shares “knowledge and advice”.

What exactly goes into the criteria? A lot, but a few ways LinkedIn identifies if a post is full of genuine knowledge or advice is: the distinct audience, the author’s core subject area, “meaningful comments”, and perspective (ie non generic advice).

The team at Brain Embassy Antwerp spoke to two very different sized member organizations (the Faculty of Business & Economics at the University of Antwerp with 400 employees, and Cloudwise with a team of 6) about how they each foster their very own culture.

From saying that “coworking has a positive effect” on the Faculty’s culture, to digging into how culture grows (bottom-up btw), to zooming into culture and value through internal messaging, and celebrating milestones.

Don’t forget to highlight how your members are challenging misconceptions about coworking (and submit your blog posts to me here).

Aaron Taylor Gough shares their appreciation for what Patch are doing and how it differs from PLATF9RM’s approach (and where it doesn’t).

Brian Gordon shares how two of the North Carolina Triangle’s oldest coworking spaces, American Underground and Raleigh Founded (p.k.a. HUB Raleigh) have shifted from startup-exclusivity to serving greater markets.

The post also highlights the wealth of variety across the region featuring communities supporting Black-led startups, tangible goods co’s, and those needing on-site childcare.

So interesting to watch as some communities that used to have application processes that included interviews and curated memberships, are expanding out and support a wider network of remote workers, all alongside the undercurrent trend of some niche spaces and ultra-expensive work clubs growing too.

Daniel Wheble asks if management agreements (and therefor landlord partnerships) are the future of flexspace deal structure. Although not new, there was a 4x uptake of management agreements in 2022 compared to the year prior, according to data from Workthere.

Hidden within the post is another popular, but often unsung, strategy of ‘structure duality’, in which The Boutique Workplace Company leverages both traditional leases and management agreements to operate a diverse range of properties. This duality is something I’m watching closely and can’t wait to dig into deeper as an undercurrent trend here in the newsletter and on the podcast.

The German Coworking Federation shared a call for local spaces to join The Coworking Festival Berlin & Brandenburg that will be taking place this year from September 11-15.

With the goal of helping promote the diversity of coworking across the region, any spaces wishing to take part are invited to register to participate.

Bryony Simpson shares a glowing review of what happens when a coworking space nails the basics (design, connectivity, pricing) but also kicks butt at the hospitality elements.

Incase you were wondering, the review is of Working From The Hoxton. Which goes to show, the hotels who ‘get coworking’ can build and provide great workspace experiences._

Fast Company shares 5 methodologies from architecture firm NBBJ for saving office towers having their “mid-life crisis”. The design interventions include reconsidering the ground floor, accessible roofs, green mezzanines, upgraded utilities, and converting spaces.

The last includes amenity spaces and work related shared spaces, and that friend is where experience operators like you come in.

Liam Doe shares an interesting reminded just how disconnected some business-to-business founders are from the benefits of joining a coworking or ‘business club’ community.

In short, most try to find ways to sell into community, instead of asking for advice or leveraging the experience within the community to become more successful.

Could this be a messaging challenge and opportunity for flex spaces, or is this just a remnant of the ‘growth-hacking’ culture that swooped across startup land pre-pandemic?