The Rise of the Digital Nomad 273
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.'"
Ive seen these people (Score:5, Funny)
flexible ad-hoc projects is the wave of the future (Score:2, Funny)
shameless plug: the digital nomad also cut loose all links with cubicle nation, including the employee contract. Instead, they work on agile projects, where groups of people can dynamically recombine online using stuff like online deals [fairsoftware.net].
Digital Nomad (Score:4, Funny)
Formerly known as bum.
I've seen these people too (Score:5, Funny)
Also, who are you going to play table football with? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?
Re:I've seen these people too (Score:5, Funny)
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.
Unless you happen to be a spammer using the local wifi to spam people's facebook accounts.
Of course its not much as your dicking around as you're just a dick.
Re:Workation (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Ive seen these people (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Ive seen these people (Score:-1, Funny)
not a hipster? what the fuck is "Sano" then - oh, you're a douche, not a hipster. got it.
Re:Ive seen these people (Score:2, Funny)
Leeches find new ways not to pay for things
Are you paying for that air you're breathing? Are you paying for that rain that waters your lawn and garden? It doesn't cost the coffe shop owner a dime for you to "leech" his wifi. IMO a "leech" would be someone who grabs a handful of ketchup packets at the fast food joint; that actually costs the business owner money. If I set up a wifi network, I'll not secure it; that would be selfish and I'd feel like an asshole. I just wasn't brought up like that.
I don't frequent coffee shops, but when I see someone with a laptop in McDonald's They're almost always at least having a cup of coffee.
Re:Digital Nomad (Score:5, Funny)
Latterly to be known as the "iHobo"
Re:Ive seen these people (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Ive seen these people (Score:1, Funny)
ha ha, yeah, let's make fun of his name, vaginal flatulence.
Re:Digital Nomad (Score:5, Funny)
iHobo: No coffee. Takes up table space at Starbucks. Lame.
Re:Ive seen these people (Score:2, Funny)
And I've never owned an Apple product, a moleskin notebook, *or* a Blackberry. In fact, I don't have a cell phone at all, and most of my computer's components came from newegg.
On the other hand, I don't frequent coffee shops either. My employer is located three blocks from my house and has air conditioning (ahhhh!) and an underutilized T1 circuit, so I just go there.
What was all this buzz about nomadic lifestyle, again?
I do use Debian stable, though. Do I get cool points for that?