As some newspaper columnists are just now discovering that lots of people use coffee shops as offices, I think they're 1) missing the point, and 2) coming awfully late to the game.

For at least 8 years, I've talked to people who do much of their business in Starbucks or Peets or Au Bon Pain. They needed the space to work, sometimes close to where their next appointment might be, and when Wi-Fi became pretty commonplace, it was a no-brainer.

More recently, I've stopped into an ABP, laptop in hand, and had trouble finding a quiet corner. Why? Because one large section was taken by a knitting club -- yes, a group of about 15, sitting there knitting away (and occasionally sipping away on their coffees).

In the center, a small group started to gather, becoming a larger group, and then they broke out into song. They were members of some barbershop quartets (look it up in wikipedia) who were practicing. Not rock band loud, but you couldn't really ignore them, either.

The point? Maybe the ABPs and Starbucks stores are becoming the offices AND libraries and community centers of today and tomorrow. As office workers become more mobile, maybe a lot of offices are being deprecated (look it up), and work is changing to accommodate that.

I know working remotely is happening everywhere, and I'm not seeing many people talking about the downside (who do I buy my Girl Scout cookies from?) Would you mind working out of the office most of the time? Should companies stop providing office space for you if you do?

Photo by timothy b. buckwalter