New Year's Predictions

The New Year's holiday always brings lots of predictions and lists: The top this, the best that and the coming trends. Personally, I think these kinds of lists are a little silly because, with a few exceptions (such as the one I helped put together for Sustainable Industries) they tend to be off the mark or i just don't agree with them.But, with the massive growth of coworking around the world (I just read about the first coworking space in Urugay today), and the economic downturn, I think it's safe to say that 2009 is poised to be the year of the coworker. I'm not alone either.For example, Thomas Fey, senior futurist (what a great title) at The Davinci Insititue thinks coworking is going to be a big part of 2009. He just doesn't know what it's called:

As I started pulling my notes together for 2009 trends, I instantly became overwhelmed by the sheer volume of changes currently in the works. The number of moving parts seems to exceed the number of stationary parts. All of our markets, systems, and technologies have become incredibly fluid, and much like a floating vessel, we are heading to parts unknown

Number three on his list of 2009 trends is "The Coming 'Empire of One'" which he says will grow out of the staggering unemployment numbers we are likely to see thanks to the recession. All of it means, "we will see a strong entrepreneurial push and a realignment of the systems supporting entrepreneurs." Combine that with trend number four on his list, "Business Colonies," and I think you see what I am getting at. Someone who has one of the coolest sounding titles ever thinks coworking is where it's at.Others think so too. There's the tech writer in Austin, freeNewsDelivery, and others. Shoot, just take a look at how many coworking spaces there are around the world now.So, it's shaping up to be an excitng 2009 in the coworking world and it's also going to be an amazing one here at Office Nomads too. Jacob sent me a list of all our members for a project I am working on, and both Susan and I noticed how long it has grown. The sheer force of all that energy in this space will surely bring us some amazing happenings. But we've got a few in store for you too. So please stay tuned and have a happy and healthy 2009!I found the picture on the Flickr page of FlyGuy92856. Thank you!