Several times a month, I set up shop in one of the coffee shops here in downtown Palo Alto, like University Cafe, or Coupa Cafe. I’m usually one of many laptop-toting latte-drinking urban professionals working there. Inevitably, there are several groups of people huddled around a business plan, trying to create the next Youtube.
Glenn Reynolds’ book An Army of Davids quotes the Economist in suggesting that this is a resurgence of what 18th century London coffee-houses were like:
…for the price of a cup of coffee, you could read the latest pamphlets, catch up on news and gossip, attend scientific lectures, strike business deals, or chat with like-minded people about literature or politics.
Reynolds argues that while 19th and 20th century technologies made it more efficient to do many business activities in a large office — and hence did away with many social business centers like coffee-houses — today’s technology makes it possible to do business efficiently just about anywhere there’s a wifi connection, ironically leading back to the popularity of common spaces like coffee-houses as a work place.
Makes very good sense to me! The only tasks that I can do more efficiently in my large broker’s office than at Starbucks are those that depend on old-school technology, like photocopying. Fortunately, with e-faxes, e-signatures, and e-mail, I hardly ever have to photocopy anyting any more!
Tags: An-Army-of-Davids, Glenn Reynolds, Real estate
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�Good news, your equity line and business line of credit rates remain the same as yesterday, as the Fed held short-term rates steady today. Why? Because despite unemployment concerns, the economy is doing fine (1.4% growth year to date-- thank you exports!), core inflation is under control at this point, gas prices have dropped over 6% recently and it's more prudent to maintain a steady helm when the economy appears relatively balanced. Eric T. Trailer, Principal
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