About a year ago, in small, simple, sms I had pointed out some statistics that support the notion that half of world population would be armed with a mobile device soon. Now it seems a good time to figure out what that will do to our society.

With arguments that remind me of “The Hacker Ethic“, the notion that mobile technology is blurring the line between work and private life, seems to be a persistent meme throughout the special report. The trend for many independent consultants to be able to conduct their business without the need for an office or even having to subject themselves to work from a desk in their houses, thus liberating them to roam the multiple hotspots where Internet access is readily available and the surroundings are stimulating. As opposed to telecommuters, who are forced to work from their [...]]]> The special report “Nomads at last” in the April 12th issue of The Economist comes with a series of articles about how mobile technology is changing the fundamental fabric of today’s society, ranging from work attitudes to the effects it may have on language evolution. Altogether a collection worth reading.

About a year ago, in small, simple, sms I had pointed out some statistics that support the notion that half of world population would be armed with a mobile device soon. Now it seems a good time to figure out what that will do to our society.

With arguments that remind me of “The Hacker Ethic“, the notion that mobile technology is blurring the line between work and private life, seems to be a persistent meme throughout the special report. The trend for many independent consultants to be able to conduct their business without the need for an office or even having to subject themselves to work from a desk in their houses, thus liberating them to roam the multiple hotspots where Internet access is readily available and the surroundings are stimulating. As opposed to telecommuters, who are forced to work from their home office, this new generation of entrepreneurs has very little concern for fixed schedules or working hours. Instead, having full access to the entire infrastructure they need to be effective from their mobile devices, working from a client site, the neighbourhood’s coffee shop or trendy collaboration spaces provides them with better options to organize their lives and feel in control.

It seems to me the notion of nomadism, as introduced by The Economist, solves an important challenge that was stated in a convenient solution: community living. With the tireless growth of cities and their incursion into green belts to satisfy the needs from citizens looking for the ideal place, suburbs seemed to have fallen into the apathetic rhythm caused by the millions of workers who were slaved to commuting. Later, a few enthusiasts figured out that they could save themselves the rush hour, but were still bound to their computers and phone lines, leading to a new kind of frustrations such as boredom, lack of stimulation from interaction with co-workers. Suburbs seemed condemned to become hosts to a wide array of dysfunctional citizens. This may have a lot to do with the fact that people need to feel part of a vibrant society that gives them a reason to work. With the adoption of tools that liberate those suburban workers from their basements and allow them to converge in third spaces within their own communities, all of the sudden the suburbs acquire an interesting, vibrant social fabric that they seemed to hide. Smart councillors may create incentives for people to stay in the area during work hours and connect with their remote co-workers. These incentives could be as simple as plenty of wireless access points or more sophisticated collaboration centres. With the proper stimulus a new generation of local nomads is likely to bring back some interesting dynamics to dormant suburbs.

For the first time in a long time I can see how suburban life has a future after all.