Lost and Found With Coworking Member Nickerson Hill

Stop to talk with anyone in our ever-buzzing coworking space, and you'll surely find a fascinating story. You might encounter an awesome science writer, an e-book entrepreneur, an award-winning web designer/music maker, or, as you'll see right now, a licensed social worker who's found a second calling helping people find things they've lost. All while she's applying to public health PhD programs. Meet Nickerson Hill (and get to know her more after the jump).

3rd Ward's John Ruscher: So you work for Foundit! Tell us a little bit about that.

Nickerson Hill: Essentially, FoundIt! is an automated (fast, safe & easy) lost and found system. We believe that people generally want to do the right thing, including returning things they find. Lost and founds are full of good intentions. Stats say that 70% of items turned into lost and founds never make it back to their owner. Sometimes stuff isn't returned because it may seem difficult or time consuming.  FoundIt! eliminates these barriers by making it easy and quick for people to do the right thing and return things they find.

JR: How does it work exactly?

NH: Our members each have a unique FoundIt! ID, which is printed on super-durable stickers and tags and they affix these stickers/tags to things they might lose. When a member misplaces something they labeled with their FoundIt! ID, the Finder simply enters the info into FoundIt!'s secure system via text or on our website. Our member then receives an instant FoundIt! Alert via text and email sharing the Finder’s contact information and/or message. Many of our members have reported getting a FoundIt! Alert even before knowing anything was missing!

I'm also excited about our next generation of stickers, which include QR codes as yet another, even faster way to make a FoundIt! report. When scanned, a FoundIt! QR will automatically send the SMS message of the Member's FoundIt! ID to our system.

JR: So how did FoundIt! find you?

NH: FoundIt! was originally conceived of by a close childhood friend of mine and my father (the two of them are close, as well). I initially got involved with the business just talking with them and the (small) staff, as I had some thoughts on FoundIt!'s marketing and branding. As a licensed social worker and academic, I didn't necessarily plan on joining in an official capacity, but the more I worked with them, the more excited I got about the prospect of being involved. This past fall I decided to apply to PhD programs and so I found myself job searching for a 1-2 year position. At the same time, FoundIt! was looking to hire a second full-time person (the initial 2 founders/idea men are still involved, but have other projects). As I was already involved, I was a good fit & ended up joining the FoundIt! team. The timing was just right and I feel like I kind of got lucky. I have always had a personal interest in technology, marketing, design and small businesses, but I saw this as a rare opportunity to explore this kind of work before venturing farther (possibly crossing the Rubicon?) into the world of academia.

JR: Could you tell us about that side of your life?

NH: I have a masters in social work (MSW) & a masters in the history & ethics of public health (MPH), and I am hoping to begin a PhD program in the next year or two.  My work is interdisciplinary, involving histories of mental health/psychiatry, transgender health & rights, critical race & gender theory, eugenics & human classification, activist rhetoric, radical feminisms, nostalgia & technology, public health ethics, privacy, young philanthropy, and social justice movements (I know that is a lot, but it actually comes together...).  Recently, I have been revising a few papers for publication, focusing on the history of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the evolution and revision process of gender and sexuality diagnoses and activists concerned with these revisions.

JR: Sounds amazing! How do you like coworking at 3rd Ward?

NH: I certainly benefit from having access to this space. Most of my work is otherwise done from home (FoundIt! is based in Seattle), so it is extremely helpful to have an alternative, quiet workspace. The main things that stand out are the amount of light in the coworking space—those windows are amazing—and how focused everybody is. Of course, people do have conversations and speak on the phone in the shared space, but I always feel able to concentrate. The free coffee doesn't hurt, either.

JR: Absolutely. Anything else on the horizon?

NH: The big event I am looking forward to with FoundIt! is SXSW. We are participating in SXswag and will be running a few events during SXSWi, so it should be great exposure (in addition to being fun).

I also recently started playing around with Arduino, so who knows what will come of that.

Nickerson has also kindly offered a discount on Foundit! membership for her fellow 3rd Ward members! Use the code "3RDWARD" to get 25% off.

-- John Ruscher

Coworking Member // Emily Gould Hits the Books

Emily Gould, left, and Ruth CurryYou know that friend who likes all the same books as you and whose recommendations quickly become favorites? For Emily Gould, that person is Ruth Curry, her best friend and COO of Emily Books, a curated site selling a different e-book each month. While the two worked together at a publishing house, they quickly became best friends, and decided to put their knowlege and connections to use. "In New York, we're lucky. We have those little neighborhood bookstores where we can get recommendations," Gould says. "But not everyone has those." Since the Emily Books site launched in October, she says it's surprising how far-flung subscribers have been.

In addition to the one book a month (this month's selection is Sempre Susan by Sigrid Nunez) there's a quarterly e-zine with reviews of and essays inspired by the picks. The idea is to get people talking, to get people excited about the work. Monthly events also serve that purpose. For Sempre Susan, Nunez's memoir  focuses on her relationship with Susan Sontag; her boyfriend's mother, her boss, her mentor, and her greatest detractor. Gould tells us "We want to do a panel on mentors. We're still putting it together."

Eventually, Gould plans to have podcasts of such things too. But when asked if she thinks there will be a greater column of books, she says their primary concern is quality over quantity, making really excellent selections that their subscribers can stand behind.

We have high hopes for this little start-up based in 3rd Ward's coworking space. We love the idea, and we trust Gould's web savvy. If her name sounds familiar (and if you're involved in the media, it should), it's because she's a former Gawker editor who gained some notoriety for her New York Times Magazine cover story about the intersection of her personal and professional lives. While she's glad for the experience, she's put much of her internet persona behind her. "I wrote a book, And the Heart Says Whatever and after I wrote long-form, it was kind of hard to go back," she says.

If she's tired of being asked about her Gawker-fied past, we don't blame her (sorry Emily!). Though it sounds like the kind of tiring ordeal that makes you want to go home and curl up with a good book...

--Layla Schlack 

A Day in the Coworking Life

We recently made some awesome improvements to our coworking space. But what’s it like to cowork at 3rd Ward? Here’s a morning-to-night persepctive...

8:00 am - You have a big deadline coming up and want to start working bright and early. We open at 8am and offer free Intelligentsia coffee for Members.

8:05 am - Set up in the coworking area. Note the panels in these custom-made tables hide all your wayward wires. Clear your desk, clear your mind.

9:30 am - Pretty soon, the coworking area starts to fill up! There are writers, filmmakers, entrepreneurs, photographers... Your productivity picks up when there are other people around.

1:30 pm - Plus, it’s cool to be exposed to people you probably wouldn’t encounter working in a coffee shop—like woodworkers, architects, jewelry designers. And it’s fun to be inspired and stimulated by other people’s ideas.

2:00 pm - Some people are launching their own businesses with a breakthrough idea. Some people are already successful. Others are just starting out.

7:00 pm - The coworking space and all of 3rd Ward is pulsing with life, ideas, and people. Classes and events keep you sharp and creative.

8:30 pm - Random beauty and surprises are around every corner.

You get space, tools, and community at 3rd Ward. But more than that, it’s a creative catalyst and just the thing to help take your career to the next level.

Want to experience 3rd Ward yourself? Sign up for a Membership or schedule a personal tour. Learn more about our Coworking space here. We have shared desks, dedicated desks, and even an option that lets you take unlimited classes. Come work here!

INFOGRAPHIC // The Future of Money In The New Economy

We're always excited to come across some good chart porn, but we particularly love this infographic, as it addresses many of the innovative ideas and emerging systems that we champion here at 3rd Ward. 

Put together by the Emergence Collective, a collaborative platform started by Berlin-based creative studio KS12, The Future of Money aggregates "research on emerging marketplaces, platforms, tools, initiatives and opportunities for the new economy," including coworking, resource and knowledge sharing, exchange platforms, open innovation and more.

Click image to enlarge or click here for a PDF.

After the jump we've highlighted examples of a few of the different initiatives featured in the infographic so you can explore them on your own.

Barter Networks: Swap.com - A global swap marketplace.

Co-Production: Open Design City - A collaboration space that "encourages the sharing of tools, knowledge, ideas and skills."

Crowdfunding: Cofundit.com - A website that connects people looking to finance projects with potential investors.

Crowdsourcing: Mechanical Turk - An Amazon.com company that lets businesses and developers utilize a workforce of any size while at the same time letting workers earn money by working on HITs (human intelligence tasks) anywhere, anytime.

Digital Currencies: Bitcoin - An open source currency system that uses peer-to-peer technology to facilitate instant payments.

Group Buying: 1bog.org - A website that helps users to reduce the cost of green home improvements by purchasing products as a group.

Open Innovation: One Billion Minds - A website that allows you to launch a challenge that others can help solve or lend your knowledge and skill to solve someone else's challenge.

-- John Ruscher

NEW MEMBER PROFILE // Gary Boas Explores The Cutting Edge of Science and Technology

Gary Boas at the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas.

Freelancer writer, editor and web content developer Gary Boas has been working remotely for years, but now you'll find him in our new top-of-the-line coworking space. "While the home office thing has its advantages, it has glaring disadvantages as well," he says. "Namely, it's totally isolating."

In the past Boas has longed to break from that isolation, but that's difficult to do when you work independently:

"I've toyed with setting up a water cooler in my house and inviting people in off the street to chat about who won American Idol or whatever," he says. "In the end I decided joining something like 3rd Ward was a much better idea."

Boas works primarily in the sciences. "I'm an editor with a trade journal devoted to the biomedical applications of optics, for example, and the webmaster with a biomedical imaging center at Mass General Hospital in Boston," he explains.

He recently wrapped up work on a feature article about the "far-flung future" of optics technology, which he says "is probably at least slightly more interesting than it sounds. I'm looking at technologies currently being developed for military (laser weapons), automotive (self-driving cars) and organic LED (designer lighting) applications." He's also participating in National Novel Writing Month. "I'm not writing a novel, per se, but rather what I lovingly call 'my memoirs'—a collection of stories from a year I spent hobo-ing around the US, with occasional incursions into Mexico and Ireland."

On top of being able to interact with others during his work day, Boas was also attracted to our coworking space by the range of people and ideas. "I like 3rd Ward specifically for the mix of people and the variety of activities you'll find here," he says.

Want to check out some of Boas' work? Try "Photonics in Space: Optics-based instruments will help crack the mysteries of the cosmos," an amazing cover story for Photonics Spectra, or this entertain article about past ideas of what the future would look like.

-- John Ruscher

ESSENTIAL EVENT + PROFILE // Freelancers Union's Althea Erickson Discusses The Growing Freelance Movement

A Freelancers Union subway ad

This Thursday, November 10th we're celebrating the Grand Opening of our new coworking space--and you're invited. Here's why you'll want to be in attendance:

In addition to presentations by member associates and teachers, we'll be welcoming two amazing speakers: Jessica Lawrence, Managing Director of NY Tech Meetup, and Althea Erickson, Advocacy and Policy Director for the Freelancers Union. We spoke with Erickson about the Freelancers Union and what it means to be a freelance worker in today's economy. Anyone even remotely involved with a freelance vocation should hit the jump for some vital insights.

The beginning of the Freelancers Union dates back to the 1995, when labor lawyer Sara Horowitz formed the nonprofit Working Today, which started to bring together freelance workers and establish a network of organizations to promote policies and offer benefits for independent workers in New York City. As the network and vision expanded, the Freelancers Union was born, with the aim of providing benefits, advocacy and resources to independent workers nationwide.

Today the independent workforce is larger and more important than ever. "The economy is moving in this direction," Erickson says. "In the global economy, businesses are demanding more flexible workforces, and freelancers allow them to hire specialty expertise when they need it." Erickson pointed us to a 2007 study by the NYC Comptroller that found that, since 1975, the city's self-employed have accounted for nearly two-thirds of job growth.

There's no doubt that freelancers are crucial to the economy, but without a collective voice their needs can go unheard and unaddressed. That's where the Freelancer's Union comes in. The union is probably most well-known for its benefits and insurance, which allow individual workers to get the coverage they need at group rates lower than what they could find on their own. Though that's not their only accomplishment. In 2009 they successfully lobbied to repeal of NYC's Unincorporated Business Tax, which unfairly taxed freelancers double. They've also been lobbying for the Freelancer Payment Protection Act, which would allow freelancers to submit claims for lost or unpaid wages to the Labor Board just like other workers.

The union has clearly taken substantial steps forward, but in many ways it's just the beginning. "Our work is never done, but policy-makers and business leaders are starting to understand that we are an organized constituency," Erickson says. The Freelancers Union Political Action Committee, for example, helps bring together freelancers' resources to promote issues and keep legislators accountable. The union also has some exciting ideas for the future, such as developing a medical home model, which could provide less expensive primary health care, and a credit union, which could offer products specifically tailored to freelancers.

While it may be a while before such plans can be realized, the union has also developed some valuable resources to help freelancers right now. Their Client Scorecard allows members to share their positive and negative experiences with clients. Tax resources can help sort out the piles of paperwork that comes with working independently. And their new Contract Creator helps create solid contracts between freelancers and their clients.

Erickson admits that being an independent worker isn't easy. "As a freelancer you don't just have to be an expert in the service or skill that you're providing," she says. "You also have to have expertise in marketing, tax law, incorporation. You have to be a one-man band and learn all of those skills and succeed at every one of them." But its perks are nothing to sneeze at: "The freedom, the flexibility, and being your own boss and managing your own destiny."

Come see Althea Erickson this Thursday to find out more about the Freelancers Union and the growing freelance movement. And as a little extra bonus, we've thrown in a few more of the Freelancers Union's excellent subway ad designs:

-- John Ruscher