Somewhat recently, I made mention of a special report on wireless communications that I had enjoyed reading in The Economist (April 12th-18th 2008 issue). I promised to discuss it briefly and here I am making good on that promise. Better late than never.
Illustration by Bell Mellor (c/o The Economist)
The gist of the 14-page series of articles is this: mobile technology developments have drastically altered the lives of many working people and the environments in which they work, live and play. Great words and phrases are tossed around, like “digital nomad,” “modern urban nomadism” and “techno-Bedouins.”
Why was Mark so intrigued by this article? you’re wondering. As the welcome page clearly indicates, being one half of an international couple (I leave it up to your imagination to guess who is the lesser and who is the better half), I hope to be 100% employed as a freelancer at some point in the future, and considering that Caroline and I will want to spend some time with our families in different parts of the world, it is only natural to hope that one of the positive effects of globalization will be the increased ease of movement in this nutty world of ours.
New relationships are being formed with time, place and other people by these ‘nomadic’ workers (read: folks who have been released from office environments to instead work from home or essentially anywhere that allows them to stay connected with bosses, colleagues and clients). As a result of this “permanent connectivity,” an important question arises: Are these nomads, generally the so-called ‘knowledge workers,’ more autonomous or more dependent?
And I am curious. How many of you freelance translators out there are taking advantage of mobile communications to be free from the home office? How many of you are plying your trade in countries other than your homeland, perhaps even moving around within a particular county, or even journeying between two or more countries, all the while remaining steadily employed?
Although The Economist doesn’t limit the term “nomad” to those who are constantly on the move from one place to another (the traditional definition of such), I am personally watching the evolution of the freelancing, globe-trotting subspecies of “homo mobilis.”
Really a fascinating special report. Click on the image to get there or here.
Happy trails, Fromads! (I’m coining that term now: freelance nomads with a bit of German “Froehlichkeit” [happiness/gaiety] tossed in!)
*Just found out that “fromad” means cheese in the Volapük language! I’m still okay with it if you are! I quite like cheese (preferably with a good red wine). By the way, any Volapük translators out there?!
**Note: Volapük is a constructed language invented by some very bored Catholic priest in late 19th century Germany. According to Wikipedia, there are about 20-30 speakers in the world today!
