As a teenager, she wonders when she’ll get to kiss a boy. She spends her twenties and thirties watching years and lovers go by, but still no children. Her forties taste of sadness and regrets, opportunities lost and growing solitude. She heads for the mountains to forget about the world.
Author: Stephanie Booth
We found a lab under the cathedral [en]
We found a lab under the cathedral. Pretty old — 70 or 80 years maybe. Old, but way too modern for its time. My investigation led me to discover 200 years of secret research carried out by Lausanne University faculty members, generation after generation. Far too dangerous. They were shut down.
Learning to Have an Office [en]
[fr] C'est étrange pour moi d'avoir un "bureau", maintenant que l'ECLAU est en fonction. Mon salon est à moitié vide maintenant que j'ai descendu de deux étages bureau et étagères, et j'avoue avoir un peu de peine à trouver mes marques (le chat également). Je suis par contre ravie de l'esprit qui règne déjà dans l'espace coworking. On est une chouette équipe et je me réjouis de voir qui va venir s'y adjoindre!
With the opening of the coworking space in the basement of my building, I am now learning to live with an office.
This first week has of course involved a lot of settling down, but already, I have a few comments to make.
I didn’t imagine how disruptive it would be for me to have all this “extra space”. I’m the person renting the space downstairs, so in a way it’s “mine” (even if it’s shared — I have the lease, and provide a service to the other people who use the space). So, all of a sudden, instead of “having” a flat (“having” because in Switzerland, you rent, you don’t buy — unless you’re settling down for life), I “have” a flat and this space downstairs which is actually bigger than my flat, and which a bunch of other people will be using too.
I like that bit. I like the idea of creating a space where people are welcome to hang out and drop in and work regularly. I brought a whole bunch of my books downstairs (many of them my “recommended reading”) and I’m really excited to be able to share it with the other coworkers like that. Somebody bought biscuits and fruit juices, so we’re starting to have a little stock of shared snacks — all this will be a bit more organised later on, but the spirit is right.
Moving away from the “coworking” bit, what is changing for me now that I have an “office”?
- my flat is in chaos, as I have emptied half my living-room (desk and bookcase) and swapped the old drawers in my room for a newer set (most of the furniture for the space actually comes from my Dad’s house, which he has emptied to rent out)
- I’m working at a desk now most of the time, rather than sitting on a mattress as I am now
- I like having a desk, but I miss the mattress/floor moments. I have half a mind to set up something similar downstairs — maybe move the couches and create some “ground space” in the corner near the windows?
- I spend my day in a room with people, rather than alone. Even though we work independantly, that’s a lot of interaction for me compared to my “usual” days. I realise I’ve become quite a recluse.
- neither Bagha nor I have really found our balance — he comes downstairs with me and has adopted the sofa, but I realise he needs to spend time in the flat (which is “his home”), and by extension, I realise it’s the same for me
- I think having a separate working place is going to help me “not work” — and like now, feel relaxed enough to blog or do “other stuff” online (or even offline!!) in the evenings
- I’m eating at more “normal” hours — because I see other people go off or unpack their picnics at noon, and so I go and eat shortly after too
I’m looking forward to seeing how things evolve during the next weeks. I’m off to the mountains tomorrow, all the more because I’ve been on the verge of cancelling all week (too much to do!), which really shows how much I need a break. I’ll be back on Thursday.
Let's Buddy Work! [en]
[fr] Un bon truc quand on n'avance pas dans son travail: trouver quelqu'un (souvent en ligne) avec qui travailler en tandem. "Bon, alors moi, je vais écrire cet e-mail pendant que toi tu lis ce rapport, et on se retrouve dans 30 minutes pour se donner des nouvelles." Un moyen de s'encourager et de se soutenir mutuellement -- souvent, en aidant l'autre à déterminer quelle est sa prochaine tâche, à charge de revanche.
More than once, buddy working has saved my day. I think Suw came up with the term and the idea — though I’m sure there are many other people using this kind of technique. Suw’s the person I’ve done it most with, but not the only one. I’ve done it with Delphine a couple of times, and with a few other people.
How does it work? Basically, take two people who are faffing away or procrastinating through the day. Put them in touch through IM. Each helps/supports the other in figuring out a task to accomplish (15-30 minutes). Both go off and do their task, and come back into the chat to report on progress!
One of the first times I remember doing this was not for work, actually, but for something like washing the dishes. It’s a simple trick, and it works offline too. It gives you a little nudge to do things and is encouraging when you have somebody to share it with.
Do you do this? Do you have similar tricks to share? I’d love to hear about it!
Espace Coworking Lausanne: Eclau [fr]
[en] I've been a bit quiet about it here, but it's happening! I'm opening a coworking space in Lausanne, Eclau. The address is Guiguer-de-Prangins 11, and drop-ins will be free. Hot-desking members for 100/150 CHF (depending on if you need storage space or not) and full members (with your own desk) for 300 CHF/month. (See my post in English on the Coworking Community Blog.)
Cela fait longtemps que je n’ai pas donné de nouvelles de mon projet de coworking. Tellement longtemps, en fait, que vous imaginez probablement que tout est tombé à l’eau.
Que nenni! Le bail est signé, les coworkers trouvés, et je viens de passer ma journée (avec une joyeuse équipe d’entre eux) à déménager des meubles dans les locaux de l’Eclau, l’Espace Coworking Lausanne. Regardez, on est presque installés!
Enfin, pas tout à fait. L’état des lieux est lundi, ensuite on fait de la démolition de mur, et mercredi, si tout va bien, on commence à y bosser!
Pour en savoir plus sur nous, visitez le wiki de l’Eclau (on peut, par exemple, aller apporter son grain de sel concernant le nom de l’Espace Coworking) qui est en ce moment la source la plus complète (bien qu’un peu brouillon) d’informations. Le site web grandit chaque jour un peu plus, on peut déjà nous suivre sur Twitter, et il y a une mailing-liste destinée aux “Amis de l’Eclau”, c’est-à-dire non seulement nos membres et utilisateurs, mais aussi ceux et celles qui désirent suivre d’un peu plus près la vie de notre communauté.
On organisera un apéro dans 2-3 semaines pour inaugurer en grande pompe notre nouveau lieu de travail et de vie& ne le ratez pas!
Somesso – David Terrar: Building Sustainable Corporate Web Communities [en]
From James Govenor on Twitter: Network value is how many opportunities people create for you when you’re not there.
Why build communities: tons of reasons.
An online community is a group of people joined by a common interest.
What motivates people?
- they can express themselves
- they might be after support
- listening
- sharing
- recognition
- power
- the culture of the organisation
To build a community, you need:
Community manager: important to get the personality right. He/she must act as the host.
Technology for community is important, but social infrastructure is more important.
Somesso Startups [en]
- Kyte: is kyte still a startup? Nokia are using Kyte as an internal video tool.
- Amazee: social collaboration platform
- Cassiber: idea management software, ranking ideas and feedback
- shiftTHINK: social network data analysis
- Zemanta: blog assistant, context recommendations when blogging
- Headshift: (when did Headshift become a startup? I love you guys, but you’ve been around too long to be called that, imho.)
- Nimbuzz: aggregating VoiP, IM, chat, presence
- Winkwaves (via skype):
- Mediaclipping (via skype):
steph-note: no offense, but after Web 2.0 Expo in Berlin, I think I’m sick of hearing about startups. We seem to be going over and over and over the same things again. Of course each one has a unique twist and looks cool, but there are so many of them and none really stand out or jump at me in a “oh my god this is what the world needs” way.
steph-note: good job with the questions, Peter!
Somesso – Thomas Power: Shedding light on social networking for your business [en]
James Moore: The Death of Competition: Leadership and Strategy in the Age of Business Ecosystems (recommended reading)
steph-booth: he just said “web 3.0” — this looks bad
Ecademy.
Startups, self-employed, corporate refugees.
History of the social media space: web 1.0: stuff steph-note: sixdegrees.com, geocities
“Find me!”
The internet is about managing people.
Web 2.0 is all about managing people. “Join me!”
Now, “Web 3.03: “Follow me!” steph-note: I am strongly against using “web 3.0” for this kind of stuff. It’s still web 2.0
Lots of tools emerging to help you manage your “following”. steph-note: I agree, but it’s still web 2.0
Socialmedian — calling it the cleverest thing after Twitter. steph-note: need to find some time to go look at it again; having a thought right now though: reading what your friends are reading is taking us towards homogenous thinking, where’s the diversity? — I agree of course we need those filters and use them myself, but there are implications.
steph-note: I agree with the “Find me, Join me, Follow me” analysis but there is not use trying to stretch parallels with web 1.0, web 2.0, and a bs web 3.0
A definition of network value: how much people talk about you when you’re not there.
Comparisons between networks are kind of pointless — they’re all countries in their own right.
Communication style is what makes us like a platform better than another.
4 colours for people/communication types. Important to take them all into account when communicating.
Thomas views subscription as taxation (“country” metaphor). 80% taxation revenue, 20% ads. The paying users are probably the best users of the network. He can’t wait for MySpace and facebook to introduce taxes/subscriptions.
Somesso: Opening Remarks (Arjen Strijker and Susan Kish) [en]
[fr] Mes notes de la conférence Somesso à Zurich.
I’m at the Somesso conference near Zurich today. Most of the usual suspects are here, and some others — about 50 people in the room at my last count. Wifi has just been made available to us, yay! (And it seems pretty quick, too.)
I’ll be taking notes as I can during the day. As always, my notes run the risk of being imprecise or even outright wrong at times, but I do my best!
Arjen Strijker
how can companies make best use of social media?
2 keynotes, then five companies will tell their story. Plan: 2/3rds speaking, 1/3rd questions.
Conference set up in less than five months.
Susan Kish
Why?
Social media is fundamentally transformative (social is human, media has been here for hundreds of years) — some of the technologies we use have been able to transform the way we communicate. “When we change how we communicate, we fundamentally transform society.”
What?
What is social media, and how is it being used? What works, and what doesn’t? What has long-term impact? How do we know it’s not just a fad?
Where?
Where will we be in 5-10 years? which technologies will still be there, and which will not?
Somesso – Julie Meyer: Value Creation through Social Media for Companies [en]
[fr] Mes notes de la conférence de Julie Meyer à Somesso.
From the Digital Island (that’s what it felt like 10 years ago) to Entrepreneur Country (what it feels like today).
Entrepreneurs are not the problem, it’s more the financing.
steph-note: ouch, lots of text on the slides and talking very fast& taking photos again
Julie used to work for PR, and used to think that the job of PR was to hold up the mirror to the company, and that the company should have no contact whatsoever with the exterior — completely invalid thinking today.
Marketing trumps technology.
steph-note: sorry, too many words too fast and too packed on slides, tuned out
Spinvox: didn’t create the technology, but created the business model (like Skype).
Big problem in the startup sector: founders can’t make it to CEO steph-note: agreed!
Realising what ecosystem you’re in, whether or not it is to disrupt it.
