Blogathon and Learning To Like Co-Working

Bloglife doesn’t always have to be a solitary life.

Many of us have chosen to read or create in public places: think diner, coffee shop or a blanket in a grassy park. A new industry is popping up that provides workspaces with desks, wifi, human contact and an industrious environment. With conventional companies outsourcing and hiring contract workers for distinct tasks – like writing – this is the office of the future.

I took part in a blogathon at Bar Works in New York, where nine random bloggers were provided with coffee, pastries and space at communal work tables for three hours of creating. Fashion, dating, food, music, experiential and travel writers. Animated conversation, business card sharing, laughter: a congenial and creative environment

Like many, I have a conventional job. But I spend some of my non-salaried hours using the written word to connect with readers worldwide. I enjoy reading their thoughts and observations and this event has broadened my blogging horizons.

I walked into the event already an analog member of the blogging community: Cathy Marie of The Reluctant Bachelorette found the event  on Instagram. We took the subway there together. While it’s always easier to go to an event with a buddy, the smallness of the group and the intermittent talks by organizer Julie of The Blog Bar and  8Balloons.com  made it easier to meet and mingle.

The space itself has an urban coolness, with the requisite exposed brick walls and mirrors that can be written on. Long tables with upholstered chairs on wheels provide comfortable seating. The electrical outlets where we sat are awkwardly placed and not all functional. It helps to go with your devices fully charged.

These co-working spaces must be a growing trend. There are several companies with locations in many major cities providing desk space on a need to have basis. Enough, in fact, that Croissant, another event sponsor, has an app that, for a fee, locates and gets you space in co-working spaces.

As much as I enjoy writing in old jeans that will never again see the outdoors, this is different. It’s about being part of a creative energy. It’s not going to generate income to live on, but will help generate the ambiance to write about the life I live. I could learn to like this new way of working.