April 2008
What makes a great Third Place?
Posted by Aaron on 28 Apr 2008
Third Places are those places where people meet, work, relax, study and socialize that are not home (First Places) and not work (Second Places). Think Starbucks, country clubs, some taverns and cafes, libraries, or even Barnes & Nobel. While Third Places used to be the norm in American life (Elk’s Clubs, VFWs, community centers), when suburban living became the context for the American Dream, Third Places started to disappear. With work, home and the commute in-between, there was less time, and maybe less desire, for these gathering areas.
However, now that people are starting to reappreciate urban living, and as more and more people telecommute, work as freelancers or are becoming professional nomads, Third Places are making a comeback.
As a professional who works from home, I (and many colleagues) have come to rely on Third Places. Not only to get work done on the road, but as a place to get out of the home office and out among other living beings. Most of the time I can get more work done in a noisy coffee shop than in a silent office in the corner of my house sitting in a comfortable chair.
I’ve come to rely on coffee shops, for the most part, for a break from my home office. While there are several that are either walking distance or a short drive from my house, only a few make my cut as a viable Third Place option for getting work done. So what makes a great Third Place? Here is my list:
- FREE internet access. This is where Starbucks has lost me. I will sit and drink overpriced coffee all day long, but I’m not diggin’ spending $6/hour for internet access. In my book you can’t be a true “Third Place” without free wireless access.
- Familiar Faces. I like it when employees recognize me and I like to see my neighbors and friends occasionally walk through the door. And if I’m someplace out of town, treat me like I’m a regular - I’ll make sure to come back the next time I’m passing through.
- Warm atmosphere. I like decoration that is warm and inviting. More cozy cafe, less diner. I also prefer some soft surfaces to soak in the sounds of a busy coffee shop.
- Comfortable Seating. This one, along with number three, are the reasons I don’t visit my local Dunn Bros anymore. The place is an echo chamber and the seating is mostly hard, wooden, upright benches. It’s impossible to sit in place for more than 10-15 minutes. This place is just screaming, “Please don’t hang out here too long!”
- Other People. One local coffee shop that I dig has almost all other elements except it’s usually dead in the middle of the work day. I don’t want a standing-room-only kind of place, but there has to be other people there in order to qualify as a Third Place… Otherwise it’s just an empty room.
- It should be Clean. Send someone around to clean the tables every once and a while. Enough said.
- Good Selection of Food and Beverage. I really haven’t said anything about the quality of the coffee, food, etc. This really is the least important in most cases. But, there should be ample selection. I’ve been known to show up at 9am for coffee, have a sandwich at noon, and grab a bottled water before I leave at 2pm. So having some options is a plus.
- And Finally, They Must Welcome People Who Sit for a Long Time without Spending a lot of Money. No one likes to feel unwelcome. If you want to have a kind of place where people gather and socialize, study, work, etc., then don’t make me feel rushed or give me nasty looks when you see that I’ve been nursing a small latte for two and a half hours.
What did I miss? What makes a great Third Place for others?
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Tagged as: Other, Third Places, Third Place, Starbucks, Coffee, Coffee Shop, Home Office, Dunn Bros
Quick Book Review: Winner Takes All
Posted by Aaron on 03 Apr 2008
With football season long gone, television full of reruns and the lingering cold and snow, I’ve been on a reading tear the last couple of months.
Over the last 6-8 weeks I’ve read: The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss, Power and influence by Robert Dislenschneider, Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins, Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich (wanted to read it before the movie came out), and just finished up Winner Takes All: Steve Wynn, Kirk Kerkorian, Gary Loveman, and the Race to Own Las Vegas by Christina Binkley.
Winner Takes All was spectacular! I definitely recommend it if you’re at all into hotel/resort development or investing, Las Vegas history, Steve Wynn, people with money, business profiles or all of the above.
I’ve always been fascinated by Steve Wynn. I remember the first time I visited The Mirage and heard his voice over the speakers while waiting to take the tram over to Treasure Island. At that time I didn’t know much about him but remember thinking about how his voice was so smooth and welcoming and really added a personal touch to this mega-resort. He collected art, brought his dogs to work and was keen on details. But Steve Wynn wasn’t just a hired gun running a corporation, this was his baby and we were there to enjoy the fruits of his labor… Actually, I was there to lose money at the craps tables…
I’ve stayed at the Bellagio (before the merger with MGM) too and, although it was wonderful, by that time I think Vegas had begun to lose some of its intimacy and “bigger is better” took over. The Bellagio is grandiose, but less cozy… Vegas became a little more like walking around the rim of the Grand Canyon instead of hiking its interior.
I think Wynn saw this too as his new Wynn Las Vegas is much more cozy feeling inside and less of a sidewalk spectacle on the outside.
Binkley’s book takes us through the large scale development and evolution on the Vegas strip over the last 20 years and it’s three biggest moguls. We get an inside look at Wynn, Kirk Kerkorian (of MGM Mirage) and, to a lessor degree, Gary Loveman of Harrah’s - as well as a number of other executives that came and went along the way.
From the mob to Howard Hughes to Steve Wynn, Vegas has had its share of characters who live large and dream big. This is a great story of three modern day moguls and how they made it happen.
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Tagged as: Books, Christina Binkley, Winner Takes All, Steve Wynn, Kirk Kerkorian, Gary Loveman
