The coffee house connection

Interesting (to me) story by Malcolm Gladwell in the WSJ about writing in public places.

I’ve done this for years in the old-style way: journal and fountain pen, in cafés and restaurants across several countries. There’s something about the nib of a good fountain pen scratching across a blank page of lined paper that’s incredibly satisfying. In a pinch, I’ll use a roller-ball, but heaven for me is an Italian pen, a journal and a café table.

Up until my move to the Valley they call Silicon, however, I didn’t get the attraction of people sitting in coffee shops frantically tap-tap-tapping on their laptops, trying to look extraordinarily important instead of like cheapos who won’t spring for high speed broadband at home. (Or like the out-of-work waiting for the employment commission office to open.)

Now that I am myself unemployed (or “between gigs”, as we used to say in Hollywood), I’ve found that I quite enjoy coming to the nearest Panera Bread (where I am at this moment) and haul out the Mini 10 for a quick trawl through Dice’s latest postings or to answer a couple of emails. I prefer Panera to coffee shops because I can get free refills here, and the staff are actually quite amiable.

Starbucks is out of the question because if their coffee were free it still wouldn’t be drinkable. I’ve never understood how they retained market share once other shops opened that actually serve potable beverages.

A coffee shop is a great place to eavesdrop—business meetings (I learned a lot about the current state of non-profits and social networking here a couple of weeks ago), family dynamics and just plain gossip (there’s quite a lively discussion going on in Spanish at the next booth as I write this; I can make out about 20% of it). If you’re stuck for story ideas, coffee houses and beauty salons are the place to go.

(Reminds me—I need to find someone to cut my hair locally.)

But what’s important to me right now is that being out in public, in one place for a length of time, gives me the chance to interact with people casually—a change from talking with recruiters and interviewing with hiring managers. It may be a sad state of affairs that right now being greeted as a regular at Panera is comforting, but these days, I’ll take what I can get.