Randi Lynn Beach for The New York Times
I read two different articles this weekend that made me think of how I am increasingly a "digital nomad". The first was in The Times of London entitled Coffee shops beat the office grind and then my friend Aaron pointed me to a NY Times article - They're Working on Their Own, Just Side by Side. Aaron suggested I'd like the latter and though I'm not totally sure how he came to that conclusion, he's read me well.
Increasingly I find myself working from home or a hotel room in my current job. Sometimes I like the solitude but more often than not, I find myself hankering after a coffee or lunch out of the house. This may have something to do with my poor cooking skills but I think it has more to do with my need to have other folks around. I don't necessarily need to talk to them, I just like the buzz. I think.
The Times article is more about people in London who tend to work from a coffee shop and pay for WiFi and mentions that the well known UK radio journo Simon Mayo spends more time in Starbucks than at his office. The article leads with an interesting notion that Starbucks is selling space rather than coffee. That's an interesting notion that may justify their WiFi pricing which I have lambasted recently. Though McDonald's has free WiFi you certainly wouldn't want to spend more time than a quick email sync there (at least in the Chiswick store where you'll be terrorised by yoofs).
The NY Times article introduces a new concept for me - that of coworking and the increasingly popularity of people renting space in a collaborative office. Want to work in a loft in NYC for the day with other creatives because you enjoy the vibe? Hop on over to coworking.pbwiki.com. There are spots in most major US cities and some in London. Tara Hunt provides space in her Citizen Agency offices in SanFran and I'm looking forward to asking her about this some more as we're both speaking at the Thinking Digital conference this summer.
So is this Regus but for the digital nomad? I think there's a whole new business here, especially as the portfolio worker is on the rise.
If I were Dopplr, I'd be thinking about this. A LOT.
Interesting stuff. Think I'll read those articles when I'm at home.
I worked from home for 2 years in my previous job and it's true that you miss the buzz of an office and just direct human interaction! Although I did get a lot more done as you're much more in control of your time and distractions!
Rich