The Kev Blog

A direct result of the ‘flattened world’, it shouldn’t be news to you that more and more people are working independent of classic offices and work environments. So many people (and there could/should be more) are working from home, starting new ventures, or simply freelancing because of what the flat world has to offer; opportunity to anyone with a laptop and internet connection.

While the tradition workplace may be changing, there is still a need/longing for collaboration, teamwork, and working in an environment filled with creative and intelligent people. So what do you do if you want to work on your own projects, but still be surrounded by others ?

You might head off to your nearest Starbucks, or public library. OR, you might go to Jelly. (By the way, Jelly is also perfect for employee, owners and executives who need to get out of the office for the day for a change of scenery)

WTF is Jelly?!!?

“Jelly is casual coworking. We invite people to work from our home for the day. We provide chairs and sofas, wireless internet, and interesting people to talk to, collaborate with, and bounce ideas off of.

You bring a laptop (or whatever you need to get work done) and a friendly disposition.”

(stolen from the Jelly site)

Jelly started in New York, but the idea was so appealing it quickly spread across the country. No Jelly in Toronto, though. (I’d invite everyone over, but my parents’ basement may not be the the best environment)

The beauty of Jelly comes from the diversity of the people working there:

“We see a lot of designers, developers, and internet types, but we’ve also had musicians, cooks, sound designers, tea sommeliers, product designers, photographers, writers, and more.”

That’s friggin’ sweet - Tom Peters always talks about companies with finance departments filled with musicians, designers and flat out freaks. This sounds pretty close (without having to deal with Klingon at your next budget meeting - not that there’s anything wrong with Klingon).

Check out the vid from Jelly:

What is Jelly? from Amit Gupta on Vimeo.

There was some buzz in the startup community about a coworking-type place in Toronto called Indoor Playground, which would have been a perfect venue for something like this, but when I talked to the people over there, it seemed like it wasn’t working out because of a property/building issue. (If anyone can correct or clarify here, would be much appreciated).

So, if anyone in the Toronto/GTA area is interested, let’s get something set up!

For more info, check out Jelly in Wired, and at Nevblog.com.

Last week I made one of the best decisions of my life…I downloaded Miro, a free internet media player, with thousands of channels and tons of crisp, clear HD action.

Simply an RSS feeder for high quality video content, Miro allows you to subscribe to video channels, keeping you updated on new episodes and automatically downloading the latest and greatest of what you subscribe to.

On my channels list:

-TED talks

-Google Video

-Webnation with Amber Mac

-The Economist (my apartment smells like rich mahogany…)

-National Geographic

The quality is incredible, the selection keeps me busy for hours, and it’s FREE! A while back I had a conversation with a friend and we were talking about splurging on buying a nice LCD or Plasma TV. The way things are going, we think we’d be much better off buying a beauty of a monitor, as there seems to be enough content (and growing like crazy) on the web to watch. Now, with Miro, I don’t even have to hop around the web to see what’s new.

Oh, did I mention it’s open source, lets you download YouTube videos (sometimes vixy.net just wasn’t cutting it), and integrates with BitTorrent?

From the Miro site:

“As television moves online, we face a crucial decision. Will it be open like the internet? Or will it be controlled by a small number of gatekeepers like cable and broadcast television? We think the answer should be obvious: let’s make television more open and exciting than it’s ever been.”

That’s a beautiful thing.

Thanks to David Crow’s blog for pointing this out:

My friend Tyler showed me this tonight, and it looks friggin’ awesome.

VeloCity, a new residence at UW, fostering entrepreneurship and innovation, specifically in the mobile & web space.

“VeloCity is no ordinary student residence.

It’s a place where some of UW’s most talented, entrepreneurial, creative and technologically savvy students will be united under one roof to work on the future of mobile communications, web and new media.

It’s a place where students, faculty and corporate partners will be active collaborators and beneficiaries of the talent, ideas and innovations that evolve.

It’s a place where the ‘next big thing’ could happen.

VeloCity launches in September 2008.”

Apparently students will be free to pursue ideas of their own, while working with some of the brightest minds and undoubtedly one of the most innovative universities in Canada, if not the world. VeloCity also shows some promising backers, with a note already posted from Apple Canada in regards to their support for the program. Students will also have access to VCs and other members of industry.

It’s certainly a step in the right direction for entrepreneurship & innovation in Canada.

Cool. Almost makes me want to go back to first year.