3 Online Places to Meet and Focus
Digital coworking is the way forward
The coworking model has been growing for almost a decade now. We can all recall its low points, but the idea behind coworking spaces, and even co-living venues, is becoming crucial for new work models around the world. And now, it’s slowly becoming digital.
A business report for 2022–2023 shows that the number of coworking spaces is growing, with 3,762 locations in the US, 2,197 in India, and 1,044 in the UK, and that’s only counting those that are globally expanded. However, the report also includes a survey of 300 global coworking customers that reveals that this dynamic is workers’ second choice. And their first? Working from home. This doesn’t mean people avoid meeting each other. We are simply building new ways to work together.
The idea behind a coworking space is that under the umbrella of geographically dispersed productive communities and the abundance of working-from-home contracts, people need to be around each other to be productive, even if they aren’t working on the same things. Being in a work-related environment has been proven to be the best way to stay focused and enjoy working. All of this can be explained by the idea of social rituals that form communities. We build our world by finding each other.
These days, it all happens online. We are crafting ways to live and work with each other on the internet. So, what are the most common online places for people to meet and work together?
Twitch creative streams
Twitch is the most popular streaming platform today. The idea of meeting people to spend time together is one of the bases of their content. Among available streams we can find the “Creative” category, which often refers to those in which a developer or artist shares his or her project with the chat. Note that we don’t say “audience” here because that’s one of the platform’s key characteristics: attendance is interactive. Here are s few examples of popular streams:
- Acegikmo is a Game Developer with over 20k followers who streams the process of her work in code, art, and design, among other things.
- Ipaintbirds is a scientific illustrator who streams her process of drawing and painting birds, using her education knowledge to explain what she’s doing and the aspects of the species she draws.
We think that the best way is to explore the category based on your own interests, but you can also check out communities like Coworking Crew, a group of streamers that provide content to help with focus and create a shared experience of work time.
Youtube “study music” lives
Perhaps it all started here. Below are three great examples of playlists with interactive chats. The first is one of the most highly visited Youtube live channels. With thousands of viewers from around the world, the chat is full of people studying, working, or just relaxing to laidback tunes. All of these channels provide a great atmosphere for working and a platform to find others with the same attitude:
- Low-Fi Hip Hop Study Girl is the top reference
- Japanese Lofi Radio has calm music and a warm atmosphere
- The Winter Cafe is for those who like the café experience and the feeling of being cozy on a cold day
3. Coworking calls
Last but not least we have a particular iteration of zoom calls with friends. Coworking calls often have timers for chat breaks, perhaps some background music, and shared silence and focus, but in the company of those we care about. Many platforms offer the means to connect with people remotely to have a sense of community while working from home. They make take the form of two friends in a meet call or company-organized work rooms (or “war rooms”). One zoom call lasted 18 months during the COVID pandemic. This is the cornerstone of social rituals: being with people.
There are now a lot of companies exploring ways to include these productive ceremonies in their future planning.
We always knew that the future of work was a few lines of code away; maybe today it’s just a call or chat away.
