Over the past 2 years I’ve been scratching my head figuring out what is the best way to attract new members to our coworking space. We came into this world knowing close to nothing, we have tried and tested almost everything that you can do out there in terms of marketing, and doing so on a budget.
The latest edition of the [Coworking Europe Conference](http://coworkingeurope.net/ "") took place last week in Milan. It was the event's sixth year, which is one of the main dates on the coworking calendar to find out about the movement's trends, share experiences and discuss its future. More than 350 people attended the event, including space managers, service providers and people interested in the world of coworking.
A coworking space is not like a quick fix that instantly brings value. It takes time to build relationships and a space need to be around long enough for the members to gain trust and feel comfortable in investing their time and energy to start sharing with the other members of the community. It is not until you reach that point that the coworking space is really providing value to its members.
[The Coworking Europe Conference](http://coworkingeurope.net/ "") is just around the corner. On 11th, 12th and 13th November, Milan will take centre stage of the coworking scene, when an expected 350+ space managers and coworking enthusiasts from Europe, United States, Canada and many other countries will take to the Italian metropolis. This is the sixth occasion that the event has taken place and it has become one of the main benchmarks for keeping up to date with the movement's evolution, trends and new models. It is also the perfect opportunity for networking with other space managers.
Furniture and decoration are very important as they help give a coworking space its character. There are as many solutions as there are spaces and each one reflects the personality and type of environment that space managers wish to create. From design pieces from big firms to do-it-yourself creations, all must ultimately aim towards a pleasant working environment for space members.
Kim is a translator from a sleepy town in the heart of England. She travelled to Seville initially to do a three-month stint in an agency. Despite the hellish job, she fell in love with her surroundings, started her blog, [Becoming Sevillana](http://becomingsevillana.blogspot.com/ "") and decided to stay. She has been a coworker and Space Manager in Andalusia’s first coworking space, [workINcompany](http://workincompany.com/ ""), for 3 years.
Knowing users' opinions is important for any business or service. Coworking spaces are no exception. Getting direct feedback from your coworkers does not only help you find out about any issues in the space, it will no doubt help you think up ideas on how to make it even better. Analysing this information regularly is another tool to improve your space.
Throughout history, man has been interested in mapping everything that surrounds him, whether the lands are well known, recently discovered or imaginary. As a tool, maps have always been essential to help us locate ourselves in the world, but they also influence how we perceive it. For example, to represent earth, which is a geoid, cartographers use a projection system to move the geometry of a sphere to a [two-dimensional plane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_map_projections ""). But, as well as representing the contours, surfaces and angles, they have to decide what other information is relevant and should appear on the map. In one way or another, this conditions the way that we perceive things and learn.
[Carles López](https://twitter.com/CLParals "") is the director of [CREC](http://crec.cc/en/ "") _(Barcelona, Spain)_, where it's his job to provide his team and coworkers with a suitable environment to offer the best service possible. People and the relationships they forge is his vocation.
The second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st have seen the most important technological revolution of all time. The Internet exploded and has helped make society more connected, has made large amounts of information available in real time and the cloud a work tool or for developing services and products. The coming decades show promise to be exciting when it comes to technological advances: self-driving cars, drones, machine learning, big data, etc. Nowadays, it's not easy to filter tonnes of technological data that we're subject to every day. In an interview with the BBC, Nicholas Carr, offers an interesting reflection on the role that technology will have in the society's future.
Food brings people together. When there's delicious grub on the table, it doesn't really matter if the diners didn't know each other before, if they come from different cultures or speak different languages. The food always ends up doing the talking. Eating doesn't only satisfy a physiological need, it's also a social and cultural phenomenon. In coworking spaces, "collisions" between coworkers happen on a daily basis and food can often be a means or an excuse for such. Examples are biscuits baked by a coworker, a birthday cake, sweets brought back from a trip. They're all excuses for bringing people to share something together, strengthening community links and generating interaction.
Technology has accelerated the speed at which we are living and communicating with each other. Just like a Twitter feed, what happened yesterday is already old news. Sometimes we need to stop and mull things over to have a wider perspective. Recently, while reading the book [The Clock of the Long](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Clock-Long-Now-Responsibility-Computer/dp/0465007805 "") Now by [Stewart Brand](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart_Brand ""), I came across one of its best known diagrams, which I believe could help us analyse or look back on the last 10 years of the coworking movement. Stewart Brand separates civilisation into six different layers, each of which changes at its own speed. For example, there is a significant gap between the almost ethereal tempo at which fashion moves and the rhythm of nature.