Friday, March 16, 2007

New Bedouins

So are the 'new bedouins' those who move and flitter from cafe to cafe and do their work from wireless laptops amidst coffee cups?

This article titled 'WHERE NEO-NOMADS' IDEAS PERCOLATE' tells of

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....

...The move toward mobile self employment is also part of what author Daniel Pink identified when he wrote "Free Agent Nation" in 2001. "A whole infrastructure has emerged to help people work in this way," Pink said. "Part of it includes places like Kinkos, Office Depot and Staples." It also includes places like Starbucks and independent coffee shops, where Wi-Fi -- wireless Internet access for laptops and other devices -- is available. "The infrastructure makes it possible for people to work where they want, when they want, how they want,"


Are these the new mobile infrastructures of the office?

Didn't TS Eliot say in Prufrock that 'I have lived my life in coffee spoons'...

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