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The Rise of the Digital Nomad
krou writes "The Washington Post has a look at the rise of the digital nomad, workers who have shunned the idea of working in an office, or working from home. Instead, they've taken the next logical step in the evolution of teleworking, and work wherever there is a Wi-Fi or 3G connection, using tools such as Facebook, Skype, and Twitter, to gain both primitive ('If I'm working at home by myself, I am really hating life. I need people.') and practical ('There is no hope for the road system around here.') benefits from this nomadic lifestyle. The need for contact with other people has driven some nomads to start working with others in public places and at strangers' homes. Other benefits from nomadic working include changing the scenery, and starting the work day 'long after many of their colleagues out at the cubicle farm have spent hours preparing for and getting to their workstations.' Coffee shop owners love the trend, and so do some employers, one of whom (an AOL manager), says: 'It's a win-win' because the employee in question 'is happy doing what he loves and from a business perspective, we gain valuable industry knowledge, contacts, and insights.'"
Shunning traditional aspects of society? Check. On the cutting edge of some new trend? Check. Hang out frequently in coffee shops? Check. This should have been titled "Mac-Toting Hipsters Eschew Tradition to Look Cool, Again."
"Going to war without the French is like going deer hunting without your accordion." ~General Norman Schwarzkopf
If you're "using tools such as Facebook, Skype, and Twitter" in coffee shops for your job, then I'm afraid I've got news for you - dicking around on your Mac for attention does not actually constitute working. It constitutes "dicking around".
Also, who are you going to play table football with? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?
Always proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
Am I the only one with an employer that has the attitude "If I can't see you working, you aren't working"?
In fact, the last few companies I've worked at have been like that. Maybe I've just been unlucky, but "working from home" hasn't been an option at any point in my career.
If all you need is a VPN connection to home office to be productive, suddenly Indians and Chinese and Israelis and Irishman can bid for and compete for the same job. You may feel you are on top of the game and this does not pose any immediate threat to your job. Even if the job is safe, the salaries will be lower because there are people willing to do the same job for less pay, less benefits. Eventually someone will learn to do your job, do it better than you and will be willing to accept lower pay than you.
Unlike the H1Bs, these workers do not pay taxes to USA nor do they spend the money in the local shops and take vacations within USA. It is prospect of getting cheap labor from these countries that prompt corporate America to promote telecommuting. Remember that.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
The summary claims, "Coffee shop owners love the trend," but I believe that's a bit of an overgeneralization. From my admittedly very limited conversations with small coffee shop owners around the SF Bay Area, the general consensus I've found is that the people who make the coffee shop their office (sorry, "digital nomads" sounds stupid) take up quite a bit of space for a long period of time and don't order much. At places where there's a ton of space, it's not much of an issue, but in areas where space is a luxury (e.g. SF, Berkeley, etc.), the owners definitely seem to be a bit resentful. To be fair, it guarantees them some small consistent income throughout the day, but if they lose just a couple customers who would have bought lunch if there was room for them to sit, then they're at a loss. Also pretty much everyone I talked to has a story of some jerk who'd come and use their Internet access all day and doesn't even have the courtesy to buy a drink.
Sadly, PS/2 was yet another victim of USB, which doesn't care what you plug into it, the electrical slut.
Way way back in the days before the Internet, CompuServe Information Services ($6 an hour plus phone bill, often referred to as CI$) important. At that time, there was a guy named Steve Roberts, aka "Wordy," who travelled around the country on a recumbent bicycle with a TRS-100, posting updates to CIS.
Googling suggests that he is still experimenting with a nomadic lifestyle... I think... Some posting suggest he has an email address at microship.com It's not clear to me whose website that is or what, exactly it is about... but perhaps it is his and perhaps he is still experimenting with a nomadic lifestyle.
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!