I often hear friends and colleagues, generally people on the cutting edge of social media and technology, remark that we are ‘living in the future,’ i.e. we have available to us many of the daily conveniences that were the staples of science fiction in times past. As exciting as it is to be a digital nomad in real life in the early 21st century, it’s important to keep in mind that you never really know where you are unless you also know where you came from. So let’s take a look at the top 10 digital nomads of our collective imagination. These are the imaginary people who fueled the dreams that generated the innovation that made digital nomads today a reality.
1. Sam Beckett
The hero of Quantum Leap was bodily trapped in the future, but his mind jumped from person to person (and sometimes non-person), across space and time, requiring him to uncover and then right some mysterious wrong in each episode. Once he solves the latest problem, he “leaps” to the next, always incrementally moving back to the life he left behind.
Amazingly, Sam’s far-flung nomadic lifestyle still comes with a boss. Al (Dean Stockwell) appears as a holographic projection, feeding Sam parameters for each assignment, clarifying his objectives, and providing any necessary background info.
Advantage: Sam can’t be fired. Disadvantage: He can’t quit. Also, no downtime between projects.
2. Michael Knight
One benefit of working for “The Foundation” is that your company car is equipped with all the tools you need to do your job, and includes an automated secretary/chaeufer that can place calls, handle nasty traffic problems, and do some quick and dirty research on clients you’re on the way to have meetings with.
Another perk: when you need to meet with your boss, he actually comes to you, in a mobile office built into the back of a semi.
3. J.F. Sebastian
Genetic designers for the Tyrell Corporation get to work at home, which is particularly cool if you live in the Bradbury Building. It’s understood that the mini-androids you create with your 20% time will stay in your residence as personal assistants, which will help keep you in touch with any user experience issues they may be having (e.g. walking into walls). While my CEO follows me on Twitter, J.F.’s plays remote chess with him while he’s riding the company elevator in the middle of the night; talk about getting personal attention from the top.
Advantages: Home office, occasional visits to corporate headquarters in cool pyramid building. Disadvantages: You are also front-line tech support, which can lead to some unpleasant confrontations.
4. John Connor
Giving new meaning to “be your own boss,” Connor is destined to be the leader of the the resistance movement that protects humanity from a race of evil robots.
The biggest downside is that his subordinates owe their allegiance, not to him, but to his future self, a detail they often use to “manage up” and leverage their own agenda. He can’t be fired, but there is a constant threat of having his position eliminated as the result of a hostile takeover.
5. Ethan Hunt
Hunt enjoys extreme sports such as rope-free inverted rock climbing, and his company allows him to manage his own time, provided that he stays constantly on call. Unfortunately, all the time he spends outside the office sometimes leaves him out of the loop, and then he has to put in overtime in order to preserve his standing in the organization. Ah, water cooler politics. They follow you everywhere.
6. Dick Tracy
We all know guys like Dick. He’s the grizzled older co-worker who goes through the motions of embracing the latest technology without really understanding what it does. Back in the day, his two-way wrist radio was the stuff of legends. When he upgraded to a two-way wrist TV, his younger co-workers all had to admit it was a cool UI, even if the cost of running it was greater than his salary. About the time his organization was finally ready to deploy the infrastructure to support the TV, Dick started strutting around the office, showing off his “two-way wrist computer.” None of the younger detectives even asked what that meant; they all just winced and looked away.
7. Neo
Instant on-the-job training, unlimited access to company resources (awesome supply closet known as “the construct”), and a designer wardrobe are some of the advantages of working for Morpheus. Morpheus is also very supportive of promotional opportunities, even to the point where he ties back his own goals to the furthering of his subordinates. (When asked about his meeting with the head of HR, Morpheus remarked simply: “She told me I would find the One.”) But beware: working in such a progressive environment can really rip the wool from your eyes. Talk about seeing how the sausage is made.
8. Doctor Who
With the ultimate mobile office (transdimensional engineering makes it bigger on the inside than the outside), The Doctor can literally set his own hours. His supervisors, which he once saw as meddlesome micro-managers, have all been released from duty. However, the burden of carrying the whole infrastructure on his own shoulders is often hard to bear, resulting in a constant shuffling of personal assistants, each of whom is constantly torn between resigning due to stress, and toughing it out in order to benefit from the intense on-the-job training and the frequent trips to exotic locations.
9. Flynn
Previously discussed here. Much like Neo, Flynn’s nomadic lifestyle is both completely virtual and completely involuntary, but he quickly shows himself to be a natural. As a former engineer, working his way back into his former employer’s company as a consultant proves difficult. But Flynn’s first-hand knowledge of user experience, plus all the time he’s had to play ultimate frisbee, clearly gives him an edge. He’s also an excellent diplomat, interfacing successfully with both IT workers and the software they create.
10. Oh heck, you caught me. Number 10 hasn’t been chosen. Who should it be? David Banner? Speed Racer? Wonder Woman?
Neo image by NightRPStar
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