Geeks Ahoy!
Those of you who work for companies stuck in the 1700s may want to take note. 
Likewise for those that are in the 21st century, but still thinking “inside of the box….”
Lately, I have been dealing with a lot of retrograde thinking….
It has almost been enough to make me consider a boat trip….
Blueseed, a San Francisco startup, plans to deploy a cruise ship 12 nautical miles off the California coast near Silicon Valley, which, of course, would be in international waters, as a floating metropolis of offices where foreign workers can launch their companies without obtaining work visas!
Brilliant!
Battling bureaucracy! (…or, as a post-doc friend of mine used to say, “Battling Bozosity” [the state of being a Bozo!]) However, it might also be an “end run” on labor laws!
Since tomorrow is July 4th, Independence Day in the United States, Blueseed’s plan represents a “two-edged sword” of the promise that is America. On the one hand, people are so desperate to come to America that they are willing to live on a ship, notes Vivek Wadhwa, a fellow at Stanford Law School. On the other hand, as Patrick Gallagher, a member of the audience at at a recent Commonwealth Club event stated, “This uncovers a pessimism of what our government can do to solve these problems.” “Instead of working through those channels or working to make change, the thought is… let’s create a ship out in the ocean and create our own society. It seems like giving up.”
In another word: Realism. 😉
So what are all of the problems that the floating solution both fights and faces?
To those who DO go crazy, “jumping ship” might take on a whole new meaning! 😉 On the other hand, 12 miles of ocean is only slightly more extreme than Silicon Valley corporations who build their campuses like penitentiaries (or circular space ships! 😉 ) for both security and confinement, and who track their employees around with RFID tags in their badges! (Yes, there is still a lot of 19th Century thinking in American corporations that Charles Dickens would recognize instantly.)
To combat the boredom problem, Max Marty and his team offer the following amenities:
The ship will have pools, massage areas, gyms, rock climbing walls, and indoor soccer fields according to Marty. His model is very Google-esque–the fostering of creativity through colors, aesthetics, and food.
“Those elements are the same sort of thing we’re bringing to this workspace,” he says.
But unlike the Googleplex, where employees can actually walk out the door, entrepreneurs must take a ferry (or helicopter) to the mainland. Right now Marty is anticipating twice daily ferry service costing up to $30 a ride.
In addition to the social issues (What happens if the ship develops a suicide problem reminiscent of China?), there are also steep regulatory hurdles and immigration and maritime laws in place.
Personally, I applaud the willingness to place a large bet on a bold experiment, having worked in some places where creative thought was immediately squelched.
A lot of companies must agree. Marty states that over 250 companies have already expressed an interest is “coming aboard.” The standard cabins cost $1,600 per month.
-Bill at
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