[hackerspaces] how to deal with tired staff, with hackespaces blues

[Mark Janssen]

On Tue, Jan 21, 2014 at 7:45 AM, Florencia Edwards <floev22 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear hackerspaces, how do you deal with a tired staff. I'm one of them, it
> seems like we work work work, and every day there are less members, less
> people willing to give something back to the space and  we get the feeling
> that the majority just wants to take and doesn't share , wants discounts,
> and  to get  free materials but they never give anything to anyone. There
> are  people that think we are millionaires and want to take part of the cut
> any way they can.

Florencia,

Thanks for writing this message.  This is an issue that, despite being
solved in theory, has not been able to catch up with those like
yourself who deal with the concrete situation, as it stands NOW.

There are two issues:  scaling for hackerspaces will require a new
infrastructure that goes beyond the normal business mindset of
matching expenses with revenue.

The other issue is that nearly everyone doesn't realize how this
nascent economy is really *the* solution to a problem which nearly no
leader has addressed.  Obama, for example, knows that he hasn't solved
the economic problems (for example, issues raised in the Occupy
movement), but yet no leader has sought out those who DO know how to
solve the problems.  Hackerspaces are part of the solution, but you
need the narrative that conveys how important it is, so the community
starts working for YOU, rather than you working for it.  By
"community" I mean the whole city (government, academic, and
commercial sectors) working to help make you successful.

I have a comprehensive package for selling the hackerlab/makerspace
paradigm to those with the assets and power, *along with* the
tech/infrastructure to facilitate the movement to make it accelerate
to self-sustainability.  Contact me if you need help -- or read the
pages at pangaia.sf.net.

> Any advice, or just share our pain hehe, we should make hackerspaces blues.

Hopefully, I'm not too late.... ;^)

Mark Janssen
St. Paul, MN