Hi Everyone,
Would very much like to gather thoughts and ideas for the hacker space that we've been noodling around with.
My main goal with this would be to create a space where people could come and be with other drupaleros, work together or alone, in comfort. A lot of ideas have been floated, and I'd like to have people put them here in the comments, including kick-ass name ideas.
Meanwhile, here's a short video that explains what I think one end result would be of a successful hacker space. The other things I'm looking for in a space is good parking and a decent kitchen. When I need to think on knotty drupal issues, it helps if I can cook. No one seems to mind too much. Other requirements that have been mentioned are couch space and great coffee.
Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NugRZGDbPFU&feature=player_embedded
Comments
Steven Johnson's TED talk is
Steven Johnson's TED talk is really good, too.
Great coffee is important, I agree.
Good news, coffee lovers:
Good news, coffee lovers: Droplabs has had a countertop espresso machine for a few months now:
http://twitter.com/LarksLA/status/199999944986341377
In W. Hollywood there is a
In W. Hollywood there is a shared work space I've been using called Boxador, http://www.boxador.com/blog/.
At the moment, I'm the only drupalista. But it only takes one or two more to make a big difference.
There's space available there at the moment too.
Cheap monthly rate, good internet, good tunes, kitchen + coffee, meeting room, but I don't think you can cook...
Interested
DEfinitely interested in this. Can someone point me in the direction of other existing spaces like @bsenftner has linked to.
I think this would come down to cost for me as obviously the low cost of working at home is the real backbreaker. However, I don't think you can put a price on being connected with other like minds as suggested in the Steven Johnson video that @nodiac posted.
Is there any idea what the cost of a day would come out to....any estimates would be helpful? Maybe with the new association we can begin to raise money for the space and be able to guarantee the space for a certain time and get a better idea of the cost and what it would look like for the group. That notion alone would help me get from the home office into the hacker space.
Also the notion of tiered rents based of time could be alluring...Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or yearly memberships.
there is also BlankSpaces
there is also BlankSpaces http://www.blankspaces.com/press/news-all.php, which I looked at before selecting Boxador.
BTW, Boxador is currently $350 per month... plus they are open and flexible, so if you want to try the space for a few days, I'm sure they'll be reasonable.
There is also a shared work space in Santa Monica called CoLoft http://www.coloft.com/
One of the major factors I selected Boxador over these others was the fact that I get an assigned work space that is "mine", which I can leave stuff day after day (like a big monitor.) I don't know about CoLoft, but from speaking with previous users of BlankSpaces, each day it is a first come first served system for where you sit. For myself, I work with two laptops and a large monitor - carrying that each day would be unsustainable.
Coloft.com as bsenftner
Coloft.com as bsenftner suggested is a good choice. The founders Avesta and Cameron are great couple and very accommodating. I don't rent space there for work but do use it for my meetups. Everyone I've met who do rent- love it.
I'm interested in the idea,
I'm interested in the idea, though Santa Monica would be a bit too far to drive (I'm coming from the SGV). The West Hollywood idea or anywhere up to around downtown is OK for me.
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Being that I'm coming from
Being that I'm coming from Burbank, I'd love to find a small group of valley based drupalistas to form a new shared work space. The office space is available now, all over... just need to find enough drupal developers and themers who think $350 or so per month is worth it to work-share with other Drupalers rather than work at home.
A year ago I was in a non-formalized work-share space that was a talent agency that had too much space, and within a few weeks got 4 startups sharing their space with them. That was Sherman Oaks. All over the Valley are small companies with too much space and are willing to cut deals to keep their leases... opportunity...
The way that I have seen the
The way that I have seen the hacker spaces done is they rent out an empty store front or garage or something (this will be a bit different for us as we are not planning on doing hardware) and if you want to have a key for all hours access and a locked storage space then you share in the cost of the place (when I was there it was $200). However the kicker was that if you didn't want a key or storage you got access to the place when ever someone with a key was there. This means that you could still come down and learn from everyone even if you where not putting any money into the hacker space.
The main benefit of a hacker space is that you would get access to tools and resources that would be too costly for most hobbyists and too large for urban dwellers and that the people who typically have the keys are way more experienced than I. This mean that there is a good mix of newbies and people that know what they are doing
I bring this up because, to make this worth it to me, we would have to get a pretty substantial group rate at a place like blankspaces or boxador. Coloft could be really cool if we could get a group rate with rotating members. So far I would have to say no thanks to any of the places that have been brought up. They are all both cost and travel time prohibitive.
I am not trying to be a downer, I am just pointing out the potential problems with going to a place that is an established office lease business. What we should consider is leasing a place, getting a good internet connection and some cheap ass office furniture. Then we could run it our way and have a permanent central place for our meetups too.
Here's an interesting
Here's an interesting proposition for Drupal Work Collectives.
http://agaric.com/blogs/drupal-work-collectives
It's another take on this same idea. Rent a really nice house and have several Drupalistas living there...and have hacker space available for visitors.
Another thought...
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This is a great idea. The
This is a great idea. The only real benefit is in a collective; otherwise we are just renting an office from the same company.
We've found a location...
Hi Everyone -
We've found a surprising and fun location with free parking. It's at Big Art Labs, in the heart of the arts district near downtown.
http://bigartlabs.com/
651 CLOVER ST, LOS ANGELES, CA 90031
We were originally looking for office space, but then we saw this space and it's a haven for creative engineers, a hotbed of wild technology, and a lair of percolating thought. It changed our minds completely. They have two available spaces and we'd like to get people together for a tour of the facility.
If anyone would like to do a visit in the next week or so, please post here and I'll get in touch with you.
If this goes well, we'll also be putting together another hackerspace in a more tame and businesslike environment that would be more like a traditional co-working space than a hackerspace.
Did anyone see that the keynote for SCALE is going to be about hackerspaces?
Founder
http://www.larks.la
Robot Coordinator
http://droplabs.net
Organizer, Dragonslayer
http://drupal.la &n
Lee, Just in case you're
Lee,
Just in case you're expecting replies to your post about interest in the HackerSpace... I am very interested.
-Blake
I'm interested
I am very interested in sharing a work space with fellow Drupalistas. Please contact me via my drupal.org contact page to arrange a time to see this space.
-Blake
Count me in for the space
Hello @nodiac,
You know my thoughts on this. I am in to go look but my schedule is pressed up of late because I will be out of town for some time coming up. I will however pay initial dues if this should start and I am not around. I want in on the ground floor! So, that being said, if I can make the date and time that comes out of this thread, count me in for attending.
I might be interested in
I might be interested in going to see it as well. I'd probably get that lower level of membership and use it on days where I'd be going to an L.A. Drupal meetup or similar later in the day...so a few days a month.
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What are people's schedules
What are people's schedules like next week?
Founder
http://www.larks.la
Robot Coordinator
http://droplabs.net
Organizer, Dragonslayer
http://drupal.la &n
Outside of Monday morning,
Outside of Monday morning, I'm completely flexible next week. Days or evenings are fine.
Wednesday is Groundhog day...
Not sure if that is a good day or not but I do like to come and see the space too :)
Let's aim for Groundhog Day
Let's aim for Groundhog Day then!
Founder
http://www.larks.la
Robot Coordinator
http://droplabs.net
Organizer, Dragonslayer
http://drupal.la &n
I'm in. Just need a time...
I'm in. Just need a time...
Let's hope he will see his shadow!
Great I am in!
Wednesday probably won't work
Wednesday probably won't work for me, but I'll be watching g.d.o to see how it goes!
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Big Art Labs site visit is a go
All the details for the site visit are now posted in an event announcement at http://groups.drupal.org/node/123094
Big Art Labs
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 at 1pm
651 Clover St., Los Angeles, CA 90031
We didn't want to put our phone numbers in the post so just click the Sign up button to get an email from us.
I'll be joining in
This idea is amazing to me. I'm in N. Hollywood and have been looking for a space on-and-off for the last few months. Very cool..
Droplabs' open beta soft launch kickoff party
Droplabs' open beta soft launch kickoff party is Friday, May 6th:
http://groups.drupal.org/node/145964
This is timed to coincide with an office warming at Toyshoppe, one of our neighbors at Big Art Labs, so bring something to throw on the grill, something to drink and a jacket.
Hope you all can make it!