I‘ve been lurking on the Digital Nomads blog for a little while now, happy to passively share the experiences of others who, like me, communicate and compose and compute from wherever they are – or need to be. My background is as a Web marketing consultant and developer, weaned on Lynx, Mosaic, Prodigy, Telnet and all manner of BBS systems. I am an English major by education, a marketer by profession, and a Digital Nomad by – I have recently realized – choice.
It seems to me that this blog community defines a Digital Nomad as someone who is able to work equally effectively outside the office as within, and/or is able to maintain regular contact with associates, friends and family, wherever they are, from wherever we are – or need to be. The “true” nomad prefers being outside the office environment. But I see a subtle qualifier that warrants mention.
Sometimes we don’t choose the lifestyle to which we become accustomed. I know many people who don’t enjoy “the road” and genuinely dislike the feeling of being unleashed. However, for me being a Digital Nomad means embracing the ability to be in two places at once. This is not about hyper-control, but more that if events in business or in life need my input, I would like to be able to provide what’s needed when it’s needed so everything can continue more or less apace. It spans work and life and relationships.
A recent example (that will make security experts cringe) happened at a water park with my daughter and her friend. They have no interest in an old man like me splashing around with them, so I was content to sit by and read the paper (yes, some of us still do that). I received a call from a client about a problem on their Web server, and their IT person was not responding. It was a simple Web addressing issue, so I picked up an e-mail on my Smartphone, used the Web browser to go into the admin interface on their server and make the adjustment. The task was done in five minutes, I restarted the server and they were back in business. Had I been required to go to the server room and boot up to address the issue, the girls would have had to get out of the water. Worse, had I been required to stay close to home that weekend because the IT consultant was out, then no water park.
Sometimes it goes wrong. We have all had situations where an emergency happens while we’re trying on pants, and you have to abandon shopping and find a clear signal. But that’s not the downfall of being a Digital Nomad, that’s just life. Being able to address the need anywhere and anytime is not always pleasant.
In these situation, I try to consider what my life could be, then I scamper out to go find a WiFi signal, smiling. Got thoughts? Let me hear them.
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