I am writing this from a coffee shop. There is something deeply satisfying about getting work done in a coffee shop.
You are surrounded on all sides by strangers. There is a general buzz of people enjoying themselves, chatting away, bonding with each other. Yet nobody bothers you or interrupts your work.
The entire experience is very stimulating. Every once in a while you might hear, with one ear, a snipped of conversation from another table. And that might spark ideas and get your own mind flowing in new directions, like the grain of sand that starts the pearl growing.
Also, they have coffee. Let’s not forget about the coffee.
I wonder whether we could re-create this experience using future mixed reality technologies. How long might it be before a virtual coffee shop becomes a place that people really want to hang out?
There would also need to be coffee. Definitely coffee.