Offices Are Becoming Antiques

Offices make less and less sense for smaller, agile businesses like the kind many of you work in. Every time I hear about a small company opening up an office with plans to have the employees spend most of their time there, I’m a bit dumbfounded.

What resources can an office bring to software developers, designers, sysadmins, phone support managers, or sales people that they could only get in an office, rather than at home, in their local coffee shop, or even on the road?

Many of you (or perhaps your boss) might respond by saying: We’re different. We have different needs. Our business needs an office. Really? Is there really only one way?

I think Seth Godin says it best:

If we were starting this whole office thing today, it’s inconceivable we’d pay the rent/time/commuting cost to get what we get. […] When you need to have a meeting, have a meeting. When you need to collaborate, collaborate. The rest of the time, do the work, wherever you like.

When you want to go somewhere and meet and work together, do it. But like Seth says, it doesn’t have to be an office.



5by5 Memberships

I’m really excited to announce that the 5by5 Membership Site has launched. If you enjoy the podcasts I produce, and if you’ve ever found any of my work here useful, now there’s a way for you to say thanks, get a cool T-shirt, and help me pay my bills at the same time.

Some background: When I founded 5by5 Studios last year, I had no idea if things would work out. I’m the sole supporter of my family, so going full-time with it was a big risk. But, thanks to listeners and Hivelogic readers like you, the network is off to a great start. The idea that I get to wake up every morning and make these shows really is like living a dream for me. It’s what I’ve wanted to do my entire life.

If you watch the live shows, you get a look at how things work behind the scenes: a one-man operation. I do most of the editing (with help from Jason Seifer and Ryan Irelan), all of the video work, run all of the live shows, plan and manage the content, schedule guests, maintain the hardware, handle the marketing and sponsorships, update the website, edit the code … phew! And although I love it, it’s a lot of work.

One of my goals has always been to create and grow the network, adding more frequent and more live shows, and hire somebody part-time to help with production. I want to put more great shows on the air, while preserving our high production value, personal feel, and non-intrusive advertising. This is where Memberships can really make a difference.

Of course all of the broadcasts we make at 5by5 will remain completely free, but if you enjoy the shows and if you want to help support me and the studio, now is your chance. Become a member. It really will make a difference in my ability to pay bills and help the studio grow.

And most importantly, thanks for listening.



Half-Life 2 for Mac OS X

Half-Life 2 for Mac OS X was released via Steam yesterday, as discussed with Valve’s founder Gabe Newell on Episode 16 of The Conversation.

It looks good — better, in fact — than it did when I originally played through the game in Boot Camp on an Intel iMac.

You can see a larger version of this image here.


Join Us for a Special (Live) Post-LOST Episode of The Conversation on May 24th

Join me and a handful of special guests, including Jason Snell of Macworld and Derek Powazek of Fray, as we livestream a special live episode of The Conversation. We’ll bid farewell to LOST, talking about the ending, the answers (or lack thereof), and discussing the overall experience of the show the day after the finale.

When: Monday, 24 May 2010 at 2:30pm ET

Where: The 5by5 Live Website

You’ll be able to participate in the conversation via the embedded chatstream and via IRC, and we’ll take your calls live on the air.

Mark your calendars, and see you then.








This is just a start. There are hundreds of articles in the archive.