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A Café for the Freelance Nation

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Re: A Café for the Freelance Nation

#21

Post by d23 »

mjn wrote: post #13
hmsimha wrote: post #3

My take on this: While it's an interesting concept, and I'd love to see discussion on it, $3.50 an hour is a bit higher than what I'd be willing to pay for using wifi in most American cities, unless the coffee is really good and comes with the best damn selection of creamers, sweeteners, and frills around. Now from what I understand, in some cities it actually is tough to find wifi because the inflated property costs…

In addition to the restaurant/cafe culture, the quality and quantity of space provided by the local library systems is another factor. I sometimes work in coffee shops in Copenhagen when I don't want to be in the office, but compared to other places I've lived, I find myself more often working in libraries. They have free wifi, don't care how long you stay, have power plugs, have access to various paywalled databases…

This is what I've been eyeing for my next move if it ends up being remote. My only concern is a space where I can eat and conference call without disturbing other patrons or going outside.

Re: A Café for the Freelance Nation

#22

Post by specialist »

k-mcgrady wrote: post #5

I can't understand the appeal working in coffee shops has to some freelancers. I can see how an hour, maybe two could break up the day but when you have free coffee and excellent wifi you're already paying for at home why would you pay to work in a crowded, noisy public space?

When I work with people around, I get more done. I get almost nothing done at home.

I'm an extrovert. Most of the time, I like social interaction. And when I get into the zone, I just pop in the earbuds and crank out the code. Best of both worlds.

Serendipity is huge for me. My passion is open government projects. I'm astonished how many random people I meet have a keen interest and relevant experience, from every walk of life. That validation, and knowing that they'll ask about my project next chance we meet, keeps me plugging away.

Have you seen the bit about the honor system for office bagels? Simply putting up a picture of human face watching you makes people more honest. I absolutely jog faster, do more pushups, write more code, etc when I feel there's someone around to impress.

Re: A Café for the Freelance Nation

#23

Post by vinceguidry »

bamos wrote: post #15
jbeja wrote: post #11

Off topic: Watching the picture, do people realy code in their tablet (ipad, etc)?

I had a friend who tried [0] before, but switched back to a macbook after a few months. [0]: http://yieldthought.com/post/12239282034/swapped-my-macbook-...

His follow-up article suggests he ended up doing it permanently.

Re: A Café for the Freelance Nation

#24

Post by d23 »

k-mcgrady wrote: post #5

I can't understand the appeal working in coffee shops has to some freelancers. I can see how an hour, maybe two could break up the day but when you have free coffee and excellent wifi you're already paying for at home why would you pay to work in a crowded, noisy public space?

If you're regularly working remote you likely want to create a separation between your work and home environment. Cabin fever and what-not.

Re: A Café for the Freelance Nation

#25

Post by specialist »

jlees wrote: post #2

Someone on HN tipped me off to the Workshop in SF recently, which has a similar pay-per-minute (well, hour) model. Coffee's still expensive, but you don't have to buy it, and there's concierge service with food etc. It's been a great spot to fill a multi-hour gap without guilt.

The biggest "bummer" to laptop camping is the limited food selection.

I make sure to pay my "rent" when I'm in a cafe (buy stuff, tip well). But it'd be a lot easier if there was stuff more compatible with my cave man diet, selections beyond treats and panini. I get that fresh fiber is highly perishable, so is mostly impractical. Maybe soups. Or house salads (bulk, pre made) like the grocery store deli.

Who ever figures out the food options will win my heart and money.

Re: A Café for the Freelance Nation

#27

Post by coldtea »

w1ntermute wrote: post #20
coldtea wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You're stuck with a small keyboard and screen, and your posture probably isn't ergonomic So, just like at home for most people. > The horrible wifi That's a bonus. Less of a chance to turn your work-day into a youtube-cats-marathon. > fighting over power outlets That just does not happen, not in the kind of environment the article describes, which is built for this sort of thing.

> So, just like at home for most people. That's easily fixed at home by buying an external monitor and keyboard/mouse (not a big expense, especially when you're no longer paying for transportation and coffee). > That's a bonus. Less of a chance to turn your work-day into a youtube-cats-marathon. There are much better technical solutions for this than using horrible wifi. There are lots of software options out there f…

>That's easily fixed at home by buying an external monitor and keyboard/mouse (not a big expense, especially when you're no longer paying for transportation and coffee).

Sure, but the take away is, a lot of people just don't care, so the cafe is not that different for them.

>There are much better technical solutions for this than using horrible wifi. There are lots of software options out there for blocking distracting sites.

But then you can disable the software itself. I've tried those stuff, from pomodoro to internet site killers. Nothing works like absolutely having crap or no internet. See also various posts about how plane trips are so productive for coding and such.

>I'm talking about the standard coffee shops all across America that people are currently working out of.

Well, doesn't happen that much in those either. You can either go to one that's less populated, or you can always bring a tine 2-socket plug-expander with you (don't know how they're called in english).

Re: A Café for the Freelance Nation

#28

Post by gk1 »

specialist wrote: post #22
k-mcgrady wrote: post #5

I can't understand the appeal working in coffee shops has to some freelancers. I can see how an hour, maybe two could break up the day but when you have free coffee and excellent wifi you're already paying for at home why would you pay to work in a crowded, noisy public space?

When I work with people around, I get more done. I get almost nothing done at home. I'm an extrovert. Most of the time, I like social interaction. And when I get into the zone, I just pop in the earbuds and crank out the code. Best of both worlds. Serendipity is huge for me. My passion is open government projects. I'm astonished how many random people I meet have a keen interest and relevant experience, from every wa…

This is a refreshingly honest answer, and I completely relate to it. I spent a lot of money on a nice desk at home, but I still get more done in coffee shops.

Re: A Café for the Freelance Nation

#29

Post by mjn »

d23 wrote: post #21
mjn wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In addition to the restaurant/cafe culture, the quality and quantity of space provided by the local library systems is another factor. I sometimes work in coffee shops in Copenhagen when I don't want to be in the office, but compared to other places I've lived, I find myself more often working in libraries. They have free wifi, don't care how long you stay, have power plugs, have access to various paywalled databases…

This is what I've been eyeing for my next move if it ends up being remote. My only concern is a space where I can eat and conference call without disturbing other patrons or going outside.

Around here most of them have a place where you can eat, but conference-calling is more of a problem. Some libraries do have private "study rooms" or "meeting rooms" you can book (intended for students working on group projects and the like, who need a more enclosed space where making noise is ok), but I haven't looked into it.

Re: A Café for the Freelance Nation

#30

Post by w1ntermute »

coldtea wrote: post #27
w1ntermute wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So, just like at home for most people. That's easily fixed at home by buying an external monitor and keyboard/mouse (not a big expense, especially when you're no longer paying for transportation and coffee). > That's a bonus. Less of a chance to turn your work-day into a youtube-cats-marathon. There are much better technical solutions for this than using horrible wifi. There are lots of software options out there f…

> That's easily fixed at home by buying an external monitor and keyboard/mouse (not a big expense, especially when you're no longer paying for transportation and coffee). Sure, but the take away is, a lot of people just don't care, so the cafe is not that different for them. > There are much better technical solutions for this than using horrible wifi. There are lots of software options out there for blocking distrac…

> Sure, but the take away is, a lot of people just don't care, so the cafe is not that different for them.

The same way people don't care about their diets, but it ends up causing them a lot of (actual) pain down the road. If you don't pay attention to ergonomics, you're going to suffer, that's for sure.

> But then you can disable the software itself.

You can also get up and leave the coffee shop.

> Well, doesn't happen that much in those either. You can either go to one that's less populated

...or you could just go home and save yourself the trouble.

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