Comments on: thoughts on being a digital nomad

By: ARJWright

ARJWright — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:21:04 +0000

This is indeed an interesting conversation, and I totally agree with the OP on what Dell (and other companies) are positioning themselves to doing.
Of course, I’ve been a digital nomad both as a student and as a professional (half-time for both) and so I see both the benefits and downsides. It should be interesting to see where “some” careers are able to take this, and how it influences others.

By: Alexandre

Alexandre — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:31:26 +0000

I miss Austin… I was just a couple of blocks for Jo’s on SoCo.
And, moving back to Montreal, I was able to keep the same (temporary) job: online teaching. Wish I could maintain that job full-time, but universities take a long time to change.

By: hugh macleod

hugh macleod — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:51:14 +0000

Summer, I hear the new Dell Latitude battery runs up to 19 hours…?

By: grac

grac — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:51:26 +0000

I've been following the developments with Dell with interest... Their new blog looks good, and hope it helps serve a purpose. Just a small note of curiosity - I was in a meeting today and noticed that the design of the sock manufacturer Bridgedale I was talking to is almost exactly the same as the one being used over at Digital Nomads. Maybe someone should have got you to draw a foot for them?!

By: Summer

Summer — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:31:10 +0000

It’s good to see companies having conversation, of any kind, with the world. I find it sad that there are people out there who diss it as only “marketing crap”. From what I see, it looks like Dell actually wants to engage it’s customer base in discourse. That can only be a good thing.
Of course, I’d just love Dell to have given me a battery that holds a charge longer then 15 minutes so I could detach it from my desk and MAYBE go to a cafe. (I’m saving up to buy a Mac next for this reason only.)

By: Ernst-Jan Pfauth

Ernst-Jan Pfauth — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:55:45 +0000

Smart move by Dell to write about the next big thing: digital nomading. Several of my friends are already planning their trips, and I’m gonna give it a shot as well by traveling to Nepal this year and keep on blogging at the same time.
Steve Rubel gave a short presentation about Digital Nomads at the Next08 conference in Hamburg earlier this year. Here’s an excerpt from a post I wrote for The Next Web Blog:
These guys quit their corporate lives to start traveling from city to city and work as consultants. They use web-based tools to work together with others. Rubel: “You can see them working in Starbucks a lot, or at those new co-working facilities.” Although only a few thousand people have been adopting this lifestyle so far, Rubel calls it “worth watching”.
I think of the current lifestyles, this is one of the most romantic. Those digital nomads are the new Jack Kerouac’s and Hunter S. Thompson’s: traveling to wherever life takes them and meeting interesting people all over the world. All these experiences are documented in their blogs that inspire other people.

By: Anna

Anna — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:49:27 +0000

Well — since no one else seems to have commented on the cartoon — I will.
Very, very funny. Laughed out loud.

By: Dennis Howlett

Dennis Howlett — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:01:30 +0000

Beautiful design, easy on the eye, missing the point. Well I would say that and it is only for effect but when I see that at least 50% of current contribs are PR/marketers I cringe because there is always that tendency to sell the upside with little attention to the downside.
In Hugh’s post, he says: “by “aligning” themselves more with the digital-nomad crowd” — but I see so many different facets to this. Like Hugh, I’ve been a digital nomad but for some 11 years. I was in the position to make that choice. That is afforded to a very few people for many reasons. Outside the tech sector how many truly get the chance to choose? What might Dell say to those corporations who might view this as a genuine way to save money while giving people a more satisfying life style? What might Dell say to those who aspire to this lifestyle but are unclear or afraid of how it might work. Like Hugh — I benefit from good money coming in and not a whole lot going out, but again, how many really have that choice? What about stay at home moms and dads…the list goes on.
OK — so it is early days and I do applaud them for making the effort. But I really do wish that efforts of this kind were not so marketing led and skewed positively towards the practical, the reality.
After all, as Hugh knows, it ain’t always a bowl of cherries. I know that too.

By: hugh macleod

hugh macleod — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 02:57:48 +0000

Hey Bruce, thanks for the comment. You guys are doing a great job– keep it up!

By: Bruce Eric Anderson

Bruce Eric Anderson — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 02:52:37 +0000

@Hugh — thanks for the suggestions on http://www.digitalnomads.com. We’ll certainly be mindful not to talk too much about ourselves but focus on how we can empower our readers to live the dream and become digitally nomadic.
@amrita — I’m glad you like the profiles — I just posted another nomadic profile this evening, this one from Marshall Goldsmith, someone who has traveled a lot more than I have. Somewhat irreverent but interesting.
bruceericatdell — Chief Nomad

By: hugh macleod

hugh macleod — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 02:19:23 +0000

PXLated, I hear what you’re saying. Though I don’t agree that starting a blog “dilutes” other people’s blogs on the same subject [and besides, healthy competition is a good thing, surely?], I think supporting other blogs of a similar ilk would be an interesting idea. They have enough enough resources that if they really wanted to, it wouldn’t be too hard for them
Thanks for the kind words, Everybody.

By: Shelley Noble

Shelley Noble — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:07:36 +0000

Excellent and effective evil plan, Hugh.

By: PXLated

PXLated — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:59:55 +0000

I guess I would have preferred Dell embrace, and potentially embrace/support the sites already out there (ie: http://locationindependent.com/blog/) rather than competing and diluting.

By: Joaquín

Joaquín — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:57:37 +0000

“Instead, ask yourselves what can YOU do to help more people become digital mavericks, themselves.”
Totally agree Hugh. As an aspiring digital nomad, that’s what I was hoping to see when I read the name this morning somewhere on twitter. Like what Pam Slim does over at http://www.escapefromcubiclenation.com for aspiring entrepeneurs.
Haven’t had the time to check it out in detail yet but, dear makers of Digitalnomads.com, count me in as the second person who backs that advice.

By: Liz

Liz — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:45:23 +0000

I love the idea of being a Digital Nomad but I hate the process of traveling which seems to be an intrinsic part of it. It would be cool though to get paid to work anywhere I wanted to live.
I appreciate reading your take on Dell’s blog because I really couldn’t figure out its purpose or who the intended audience was. I Tweeted Richard at Dell who just said it was part of a number of different projects that were being rolled out but said nothing specific about the blog itself.
I agree with your take on blog-reading audience…they can be a demanding group of people but I think the attitude varies from hostile (political discussion boards) to warm & embracing (“fan” culture). I assume that corporation blog readers would tend more towards the former than the latter but there is always the counter-example of Apple to prove me wrong.