Nomads

Following on from his original Going Bedouin post, Greg Olsen followed it up with Bedouins Are Everywhere where he talked about the types of discussion the first post had engendered. Greg says:

Three key areas of discussion focus seem to have arisen:

• Technology: Saddlebag contents? What specific tools are available to Bedouins?
• Location: Tent or no tent? Physical vs. virtual office?
• Social needs: Are Bedouins lonely? Can alternative workplace concepts meet the social needs of workers?

Clearly for some, the focus is on the enabling technologies of neo-Bedouinism (I’d put myself in this camp).

I’m with Greg. The social arguments are well rehearsed, it’s the technology that’s new. Greg includes a link to Ismael Ghalimi’s list of 'Office 2.0' services that he uses, complete with a review for each.

The peripatetic working life won’t appeal to many, but the enabling effect of new technologies is certainly having an impact. From my own experience, a highly portable 12 inch iBook with it’s 5+ hours battery life and WIFI allows me to work on the move like nothing before.