Third Places

The idea of third places for work -- not home, not the office, but somewhere else -- is an old one. This week, Business Week has an interesting article about official third places cropping up in major metros around the country.

I like this idea. One of the big problems I have in working in my monastic cell...ummm...I mean my truly lovely little home office...is the relative isolation. There would be times when it would be nice to work with other people now and again. I can see that having the impetus to get your act together and get out to your third place might make the transition to work easier for a certain kind of slacker. The promximity of coffee would also be a plus.

There are some third places with free wi-fi that I might not haunt -- like the Golden Pride Chicken and Ribs place near my house. They proudly started offering free wi-fi last month.

But I'm not sure that working for hours in a barbeque joint is what Business Week has in mind.