Is the Third Space Work Trend on Its Way Out?

I heard from a colleague yesterday that Google has said it doesn't allow its engineers to 'work from home'. Cisco is now "discouraging" 'working from home' as well. My colleague said 'working from home' did mean third space working.

What's going on here? 

One of Cisco's cornerstone products is "Telepresence". They're involved in SmartCities project, have integrated third space AR app WorkSnug into the project. Cisco, a company that less than two years ago touted how they saved $277 million in productivity by allowing employees to work from home 20-100% of the time!

Google through its acquisitions surely knows the value of third space working: third spaces are dens for startups, the types of startups Google is buying up to compete with Facebook.

When I heard this I couldn't figure it out:

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Distinguishing Between Questioning Value & Cost of Education

Tertiary education is too expensive. But this doesn't mean people shouldn't go to university, even graduate school. The more educated a population is, the more capacity there is for high-value added economic activities. Since the start of the recession -- moreover the jobless recovery-- there is a trend over questioning the value of higher education without distinguishing between 'value' and cost. If this distinction isn't made, we risk never fully recovering from recession and damaging our economies ability to perform in the future.

This recent piece from the NYT about a law school grad who can't get a job is indicative of the failure I'm talking about.

To sum: the article is about a recent law school grad who can't get a legal job sufficient to pay his rent let alone his student debt. The article partly lays blame on the flailing economy, partly on unethical (thus resultingly false) statistical practices, but fails to question whether the value of the degree itself is inflated especially for future market demands.

There are a few subtle points I'd like to make: US education has gotten too expensive. Most Bachelor's coursework is already outdated. Education needs to be recast so students understand that their degrees are what you make of them.

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The British Library Needs a Social Network

I've been spending a lot of time at the British Library lately, researching for the '21 Hours Experiment.' It occurs to me that at any given moment researching along side me are people with equally cool and related projects.  Wouldn't it be great if when you entered a reading room at the British library and chose a desk, there would be a card reader at the desk (or likewise a terminal that would read an identificatier from your smart phone) that would check you in to the network.  A research profile you've created online stating your research objectives and interests, including a picture and your seat number would then be visible on several flat screens placed around the room (you know, descretely so as not to ruin the historical environment of the rooms) as well as on an app on your smartphone.  You only check in if you don't mind being bothered that day for a chat about what you're working on, or would like to work on.  Then researchers (academicians, PhD students), who tend to be incredibly self-obsessed reclusive types could actually talk to each other, learn from each other's ideas, and who knows, that may spark new ideas of their own and lead to more insightful research. 

Sound like you've heard something like this before? You have if you've been anywhere near Warwick University's postgrad working centres.  They don't have a card reader system but their postgrads can opt to appear on a screen that cycles through research profiles, located in their postgrad reading room.  That way, other postgrad students can see what their peers are researching and combine forces.  Absolutely brilliant innovation from Anne Bell, the head librarian.

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