Queen Street Commons cited in National Paper

There is an article featuring the Queen Street Commons, the Innovation Commons and Workspace in today’s Globe & Mail newspaper (page B9):

The timing of these ventures [Work Commons] seems right, and they’re a phenomenon to watch. The past 10 years have seen an unprecedented rise in the number of contract positions and freelance workers, along with a proliferation of mobile computing technologies. Third working spaces capitalize on both trends, and have the potential to change the way labour is organized. Small businesses might, for instance, decide to use such environments instead of putting contract staff in their own high-priced office space, or forgo setting up their own facilities altogether. These environments may become the place where trends in small business IT use and spending are determined.

Third working spaces could also be the physical representation of the collaboration that blogs, wikis and related technologies have fostered over the Internet. Finally, they could change what we expect out of the working experience. In the dot-com days, companies installed foosball tables and beanbag chairs to lure talent and make them comfortable. After the bubble burst, those perks disappeared. Third working spaces propose something in between — a much-needed renovation of the workplace concept, rather than an extreme makeover.

More fodder for our Commons‘ business plan :-)