“A new breed of worker, fueled by caffeine and using the tools of modern technology, is flourishing in the coffeehouses of San Francisco. Roaming from cafe to cafe and borrowing a name from the nomadic Arabs who wandered freely in the desert, they’ve come to be known as “bedouins.”
San Francisco’s modern-day bedouins are typically armed with laptops and cell phones, paying for their office space and Internet access by buying coffee and muffins.
[...]
San Francisco’s bedouins see themselves changing the nature of the workplace, if not the world at large. They see large companies like General Motors laying off workers, contributing to insecurity. And at the same time, they see the Internet providing the tools to start companies on the cheap. In the Bedouin lifestyle, they are free to make their own rules.” (San Francisco Chronicle)
5 Comments
The name may be new-ish, the phenomenon probably isn’t anymore. But there’s one question about this style of work that’s been bothering me for quite some time now (and which may sound silly but really isn’t meant silly!): What do these people do with their cell phone and notebooks when they, well, have to use the bathroom? (And, no, Kensington locks don’t count (anymore) as they cannot be considered secure …)
good question. i’d be keen to hear answers…. i find myself troubled by this scenario when studying at the library, etc.
one answer: lockers. i foresee coffee shops, etc., installing a row of lockers, like bus and airline terminals have long done. maybe it’s already being done.
incentive: stow stuff and increase moblitiy. disincentive: some folks may prefer to be on display; their stuff proclaims their identity.
and thus mobility (flowing) creates a need for new kinds of spaces to settle in, if only briefly.
a related term — “global nomads” — has been around for a decade or two, to describe information-age entrepreurs who roam a lot.
and, i would add, this relates to the very interesting hypothesis posed in the next blog entry down, from which i quote:
“Rather than witnessing the disappearence of borders, we are in fact experiencing their multiplication. New, previously unthinkable, physical, virtual, and imagined frontiers emerge all around us—not only in the Americas, but also in the rest of the world.”
Thank you for the article!
An other article from BBC on the topic:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6467395.stm