Category Archives: The Terminal

We take a look at coworking tonight in Woodlawn

Posted on July 14, 2010 | 1 comment

Beaufort Coworking. khawkins04/FlickrAre you interested in seeing if coworking is right for you? Want to learn more about the options that currently exist in Birmingham, AL and the metropolitan area? Do you want to help us determine how or if coworking can fit into a vision of a physical home for The Terminal?

These and other questions will be the focus of a meeting taking place tonight in the Woodlawn neighborhood at Woodrow Hall (directions). We’re teaming with Main Street Birmingham to host this BYOB networking event from 6-7:30 p.m. Networking starts a 6 p.m.; the program at 6:30 p.m.

This is a follow-up from our coworking interest survey from this spring (which we’ve re-opened for those who are now learning about it). We’ve shared the results on a special section of the site as well as a video featuring some of coworking’s pioneers explaining exactly what it is that makes it different from just sharing office space.

We’re looking forward to seeing some of you there tonight (or hearing from you via the survey)!

Photo: Beaufort Coworking. khawkins04/Flickr

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Posted in Events, The Terminal

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Π is nice

Posted on May 6, 2010 | Leave a comment

Terminal bday logoToday, The Terminal turns Pi (or 3.14). I’d be using the symbol but our font of choice is being finicky. There are so many things going on this evening that my game plan is to head over to The Bottletree by 4 p.m. (probably sooner) and hang out for a while. Hopefully you’ve got a moment to stop by and say hello.

On a related topic, there has never been a reader’s poll for The Terminal, though it was becoming obvious that we needed to conduct one. Thankfully, the folks at the Reynolds Journalism Institute would like for our readers to participate in this user survey specific to the site. The results submitted by our visitors will be supplied to us and included in an overall study of online local news sites.

I’d ask that you be as honest as humanly possible as it’s part of a plan to determine how best to serve the folks traveling along with us and how this site can best serve you. I’ve got some other thoughts about it and the whole local media ecosystem over on my Birmingham today.

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Posted in My Birmingham, The Terminal

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Creative collaborative community – that’s the plan

Posted on April 19, 2010 | Leave a comment

Today I’m starting to test the waters virtually to determine whether or not we’ll open our own office later this summer. The space would double as a coworking community for some of the city’s creatives and a physical home for us to host events related to content on the site.

There’s a new section in the process of being built out that currently has a post explaining what’s on my mind (at least, the first of many that will explain) as well as a survey that will help us determine if we can responsibly move forward with the process. The new section will also be used this spring and summer to help folks get a better understanding about just what coworking is and take a look at some of the other coworking communities taking shape in Birmingham.

The hope for the short term is that those of you that are freelancers and solopreneurs (and potential sponsors) will consider filling out the survey and passing the link on to as many people as possible.

We’ll keep you updated on what’s going on.

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Posted in From the Stationmaster, The Terminal

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Birthdays everywhere

Posted on March 15, 2010 | Leave a comment

Octagon Clock. Pam Morgan/FlickrIt’s been a fairly busy past few days so far as birthdays or anniversaries go.

Birmingham’s newspaper of record, The Birmingham News, celebrated 122 years of existence yesterday. The Birmingham Genealogical Society turns 51 today while BhamWiki marks four years of documenting the Birmingham district today (they decided to celebrate on Saturday).

Oh yeah… this site, The Terminal, turned three yesterday. We haven’t celebrated yet, though we’re looking for help to figure out how. I figured the best way to honor that yesterday was to write a post over on the site that led to its creation, Dre’s Ramblings (the new one) as opposed to the old one that still needs to come down (it has the same stuff after all)- and say thanks.

Photo: Octagon Clock. Pam Morgan/Flickr

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What is the future of coworking in Birmingham?

Posted on March 9, 2010 | 1 comment

Shift Workspace Bob Farley/f8PhotoThe hope for the meeting taking place this evening at Shift Workspace starting at 6 p.m. is to answer the question of if there is a future for coworking in Birmingham, AL. The collaborative space opened to much fanfare (and media coverage) last May. We’ve maintained a desk in the space for several months and are considered an anchor tenant, originally hoping to use it for a series of conversations about issues affecting the city.

This January however, a post on the site quietly announced an initial decision to downsize and move the concept of the space to Austin, TX. A recent article in the Birmingham Business Journal revealed that the location would most likely close when its lease is up, though some of the members are trying to see if they will be able to keep the idea alive (whether it be there or elsewhere in the city), hence why they’re meeting tonight.

The hope is to see if the city’s tech and creative communities want a space and, if so, what’s needed to make it useful for them. Come on out and share your thoughts.

Photo: Bob Farley/f8Photo

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Posted in technology, The Terminal

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How should we celebrate three years?

Posted on March 4, 2010 | 2 comments

As this month’s b-metro column suggests, I’ve been thinking about how to celebrate three years of existence.

Yeah, it seems quite weird to think it’s been three years already, but it will be a week from Sunday…

So after I realized that I wasn’t doing a good job coming up with ideas myself, I thought it would be best to turn to all of you.

How do you think we should celebrate our third anniversary?

Whatever it is will probably not happen on March 14 itself but later on in the month – that’s the hope at least. (BTW – yes, that image you see above is of the front page of The Terminal from April 2007). Things have changed, haven’t they? Share your suggestions in the comments section.

Also, folks signed up for our e-newsletter, the express, (hint, hint) will get a message tomorrow about helping test a new section of the site. Please note that if you do sign up today it is a double opt-in process, so let us know if you don’t receive a confirmation email.

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Posted in The Terminal

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We’re looking for a few good contributors

Posted on February 23, 2010 | Leave a comment

We’re always looking for folks to add their voice to this website. It’s become a top priority now as we prepare to turn 3 in a few weeks (March 14 to be exact). I’m interested in what needs to happen next as we prepare the site to see its fourth year. I’ve got a few ideas and there’s been some interest shown in getting a few of them off the ground, but the most important thing to do right now is expand the number of voices speaking from the pages of this website.

So I’ll be at Shift Workspace in downtown Birmingham (directions) this Thursday evening, February 25 ready to talk to anyone who’s interested in what the plans are for the site starting at 5:30 p.m.

If you’re looking for guidelines, we’ve got a few of them, but they are also under review right now. If you plan on attending or are interested in picking my brain just a little more about some of the crazy ideas I’ve got, drop me a line via Twitter (@acnatta) or via email (andre[at]bhamterminal[dot]com).

BTW – If you’ve got any ideas about how we should be celebrating three years next month, pass them along too.

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