Coworking Meetup - SXSW 2009

“ Some things could have been done to make this meetup more welcoming to strangers. For example, there could have been name tags. No, a SXSW interactive badge is not the same as a name tag. Some people, such as myself, didn't have a badge (this meetup was not strictly SXSW, it was open to the public) and even some of people that I thought were part of SXSW did not wear their badges. As a result, most people in the room were nametag-less. So if you wanted to, let's say, chat with someone knowledgeable about a state of coworking in Austin, you did not know who to approach. unless you already knew them by face. This gave the meetup an insider-only feel. I thought the principle of coworking had an open, welcoming spirit, but this gave me an opposite impression. But the snacks were very tasty! Now, if only there had also been plates off of which to eat them... :-) ”