Moworking

Moworking (mobile working) allows independent workers to have the flexibility, variety, and low expense of working from cafes with the more social atmosphere of coworking. Moworking works by protocoled use of Twitter's hashtags and wiki knowledge sharing to allow independent workers to gather to work in a particular location - cafe or not.

Prerequisites

• A Twitter account
• Receiving updates on something you check regularly (ideally, your mobile device). How to manage this
• "Protect my updates" OFF on your Twitter Settings

How To Mowork

Start a Moworking "Pod"

1. Start working in any publicly-accessible place with good Moworking amenities (WiFi and power outlets are key), like a cafe, for example.
2. Twitter "#[moworkingcityhashtag] at [locationnameandrelevantdetails], [linktothispage]"

Find/Join Moworking Pods

1. Track the [moworkingcityhashtag] of your choice on Twitter. Make sure your device updates are on, and you're set up to receive updates on your Mobile Device. To track a City Tag, just Twitter "track [moworkingcityhashtag]"
2. When you get a tweet that includes [moworkingcityhashtag], go to the location mentioned in the tweet. If you know the person who sent the tweet, then finding them will be easy - otherwise, hopefully they have a clear picture on their Twitter profile.
3. Briefly greet the Pod member(s) and start Moworking.

Moworking in Motion

David is feeling social today, so instead of working from home, he decides he wants to Mowork from a cafe. He lives in San Francisco's Mission District, but decides he wants to try a different neighborhood. He checks out the Moworking Directory, and sees that there's a Moworking-friendly cafe Downtown called Golden Gate Perk. So, he hops on the train and heads to Golden Gate Perk. He's happy to see that it has WiFi, plenty of outlets for his laptop, and staff that doesn't seem to mind him getting some work done on his laptop.

David is happy at Golden Gate Perk, but would like some company. So, he starts a Moworking "Pod" by Tweeting according to the Moworking Protocol: "#moworkingsf at Golden Gate Perk, Downtown http://moworking.org."

Rob is just getting up for the day, and is thinking it's a good day to hit the cafe circuit. Rob Moworks with David often, so when he gets David's Twitter message, the decision is easy for him as to where to go. He hops on the train and heads to Golden Gate Perk. When he gets there, he greets David and checks in according to the Moworking Protocol.

Fayza is running some errands Downtown, but is hoping to get some work done this afternoon. Since she tracks "moworkingsf" on Twitter, she gets both David and Rob's messages directly from her phone. "There's quite the Pod developing at Golden Gate Perk!" she says to herself. She knows David, but hasn't met Rob before, though she remembers seeing his picture on the Moworking Wiki. She steps into Golden Gate Perk and sees David and Rob, plugging away on their laptops. After David briefly introduces Fayza and Rob, Fayza checks in according to the Moworking Protocol, and the three of them are one happy Moworking Pod.

They get the pleasure of working at the cafe, but don't have to do so alone - and they have friends to watch their laptops when they go to the bathroom!

Moworking Credo

Moworking exists to give independent workers a sense of community, while maintaining the flexibility that attracted them to being independent in the first place. While Moworkers still want to get things done, they also want friends, business partners - familiar faces.

Some general guidelines to remember when Moworking:

• If you're Moworking at cafes and other places of business. Be mindful that these are businesses, so:
  • Buy stuff regularly
  • Remember some cafes don't want to be "that kind" of cafe - where there are people on laptops everywhere. You'll usually be able to sense this from dirty looks, etc.. Don't take it personally, this is their choice. Don't complain, just take your business elsewhere, and make a polite note on the Moworking Directory, so other Moworkers will know to try some other venue.
• Remember that Moworkers want to get stuff done so
  • If you're talking to someone, assume that you may be interrupting/bugging them. Use your best judgement of course, but generally, keep interruptions to a minimum, and conversations short.
• But the Moworking world is still a community, so
  • Help out other Moworkers if you can. If you're a designer, and you can whip something up for a programmer in 5 minutes, then please do so. If you're a programmer, and you can help a designer troubleshoot some code in a few minutes, graciously help out.
  • Represent the Moworking community well. Be polite and kind to business owners and fellow patrons. So if you have a conference call - you may want to take it outside or at home.

Moworking Acknowledgements

Moworking is very clearly inspired by the Coworking movement.