das cuben

THECUBE is where I went today. Thecube. The Cube London. I am now back home. My feet reek.

Where is THECUBE? It is near Liverpool St. Station. Whereabouts? Near Spitalfields market. On Commercial Street if you want to be specific. What is it? It is essentially office space for creatives and business indivuals or companies. But it is a whole lot more than just office space, temporary accommadation, a limbo. It isn't even that. It is a place to network, to find contacts in whatever field you happen to be 'in'. If, for an example, you are an aspiring photographer, and you join to become a member, not only can you come in to use the working environment, but you can also take advantage of the fact that other people in the industry will be in easy reach of contact.

Think of it as a professional, innovative Facebook for real life. Less gimmicky and never freezes. It is a perfect oppurtunity to get yourself known.

The Look
This is a big part of THECUBE. It prides itself on sleek wood and glass panels, glossy surfaces against original brickwork, surgically-clean tiled floors. However, it is not so much the materials that have been used in the creation of the space, than the space itself. It is open plan, which promotes talk; private cubicles to work in are not THECUBE's style - if that's what you want, go to a library, or sit and work in your bathroom. Or in your cupboard. Or in bed. It is about connections here, not introspective doodling.

Needless to say, it is a very cool, modern building, both its interior and exterior leaking potential creativity. To be unable to work here, or to have trouble somehow, or above all, to feel on your own, is criminal. The sense of community that its creators are trying to express in every aspect of THECUBE is commendably evident.

Members Only
But it isn't a completely exclusive club; non-members can 'rent' space as they please, but it is more expensive that way. And to add to that, the benefits of connecting with other members are lost. Its success will rely on its members. Another comparison: Twitter would be inconsequentially tiresome if there were only a few members. Or, to say it another way, by all means, you can join Twitter, but then after a while, if you don't follow people, you won't get people following you - you won't make connections.

This is how THECUBE also works. If you aren't a member, you can't reap the rewards. In fact, its lowest level of membership (£5/month) is called In The Loop Membership. thefreedictionary.com defines "in the loop" as part of a group that is kept up-to-date with information about something. Exactly. And who wouldn't want to be in the loop? Especially in such a cloistered sector of society as 'creatives' and 'innovatives'. It is hard enough to find a door to knock on, let alone get your foot in it. It is the ideal place to launch yourself into whatever industry you fancy, as long as you are specific about what it is you want to crack on with.

Me? What am I doing?
I went in for a meeting today. I contacted THECUBE via Twitter to ask if they needed any writing done (free of charge of course - they are a fledgling company, 7 weeks old), because I am in dire need of experience. And here I am. With my foot in the door. In fact, the door was opened for me because I couldn't work out how to get in the building. This is a case study, as you see that by acquring various contacts on Twitter I could then make a connection with a relevant contact, and before I knew it I was nervous on the tube to Liverpool Street. With any luck the contacts will come in deluges now. It most definitely is 'who you know'.

What I'll be doing for THECUBE is writing. Writing a newsletter, helping to write a book for their first year. Like a baby book, full of first steps and pretty vomit. It will be based on cubes, the number 6, and staccato. I suggested that, as it is the first year, and because it is cube-related, the pages should be thick like a picture book so that - when finished - the book will actually look like a cube. We'll see.

& now what? Well. I'm going in next Wednesday. Every Wednesday maybe. I need to brainstorm and think about haikus. Double haikus. 6 lines, you see?

www.thecubelondon.com

That is the website.