More on that Vegas Party....

Olivia and I are sitting in a coffee shop in Memphis doing a little co-working. She's forcing us to plow through a backlog of neglected media interviews, signing some books we owe people, responding to emails and of course sifting through all this flipcammed video before we can go to ....wait for it... THE MIDSOUTH FAIR. Funnel cakes and roller coasters here we come!! I'm just hoping there are pig races or a mechanical bull I can ride...

Speaking of the Flipcam, it's a wonder that little thing hasn't broken. I think we can all agree it was the best $150 Sarahlacy.com ever spent. Here are a few outtakes from our amazing Vegas party with Tony Hsieh of Zappos. It features Ranvir Gujral-- one of our FAVORITE people we've met on the UGBT road. He's better known around the Sarahlacy.com offices as the Chong to Gregarious' Cheech. (And by "offices" I mean the roving collection of planes/hotels/coffeeshops/bars/my living room where Olivia and I sit glued to laptops, finishing each other's sentences of late.) 

Oh, and keep an eye on this blog for announcements of the upcoming America's Best Dance Crew-style dance off between Cheech and Chong's company Blue Whale Labs and Sarahlacy.com. Anyone at the TechSet after party last friday KNOWS Miss Olivia can bring it. Big time.

Vegas Baby from sarah lacy on Vimeo.

UGBT Austin: Conjuncture(d) Junction, What's Your Function?

Coworking. The notion tickles me to no end. Back in my glorious college days- an epic four months ago- it was fairly commonplace for a random group of people to sit at a large table and tippy tap on their computers on various papers or presentations and keep each other company. Clemons Library became Club Clemons- you weren’t cool if you weren’t there on a Monday. With bloodshot eyes and moo goo gai pan breath no less.

Thus, our visit to Conjunctured Coworking in Austin filled me with a flood of familiar warmfuzzies. Just barely over a month old, the space has been refurbished with all the amenities of home, combined with the open feel of a creative think tank and some solid camaraderie. And Rosie. And, er, “Lenny?” Interesting.

And remember, if you have a fantastic coworking space you want SarahLacy.com to infiltrate, head to the UGBT website to check out tour stop dates and times and a way to get in touch with us!

Coworking in Austin from sarah lacy on Vimeo.

Impromptu Coworking in Des Moines

This is practically from the vault! Mr. Lacy and I shot this video with Des Moines' first co-working space Impromptu Studios during the Mid-West swing of our User Generated Book Tour, but never got around to editing it until now. It's still timely though, since Impromptu Studios just had its open house last week.

I'm fascinated by the coworking trend, because I'm firmly convinced the social web has given anyone hardworking and talented in the services sector of the economy a new opportunity to work for themselves.

If you don't know about coworking, watch this video. If you are trying to start a coworking spot, hopefully it will inspire you. A group in Des Moines had been talking about co-working via an email group, but it wasn't until the conversation moved to Twitter that things started to actually happen. Eventually software developer Daniel Shipton-- encouraged by his wife Abbie-- had to "man up" and put their names on a lease and hope others followed. They charge people about $350/month for a permanent desk, with a small discount for a several month commitment. It's just enough to break even.

If you already have a rad coworking space and we're coming to your city on the tour, please let us know!! We'd love to come check it out!

CO-WORKING IN DES MOINES from sarah lacy on Vimeo.