Way of the Technomad

He looked at me as if I had swallowed a cat whole when I told him my Facebook vanity URL was www.facebook.com/technomad. And, of course, the long moment of silence ended abruptly with the most logical next question: what's a technomad? Yet another benefit of working out of coffeeshops: you get excellent opportunities to evangelize your brand that you just don't get while cranking out spreadsheets in the home office. It starts with a definition.

From Wikipedia:

A technomad is an itinerant person who remains connected to the Internet. Originally coined by Steven Roberts to describe a nomadic person who remains connected through communications media such as the Internet during travel, exploration, and online nomadic living.

But defining the lexicon really doesn't capture the spirit of the concept. Truth be told, I've broken many a night owl web developer and nomadic blogger in to the idea, only to hear them exclaim in a Eureka moment, "that's me!" after a lengthy explanation. It's times like these that teach us why the Japanese were persistent in -jitsu (art) or -do (way) terms for martial arts. The spirit of the concept is captured in a word. And, yes, these are survival skills of sorts to to people like myself. I've made an art out of being constantly connected to the global grid, and can Skype/IM/email/text/call/retweet you at a moments notice from anywhere in the world. In fact, my Bluetooth earpiece would seem surgically grafted to my ear as I dare not waste an opportunity to turn my car into a mobile office. The creators of Google Maps would be amazed by my ability to maintain a constant mental map of WiFi hotspots within a mile radius of my position. Seriously, if you disable the security on the wireless access point of your home network tonight, you'll wake up tomorrow morning to me sitting in your driveway - eating a baegle and surfing the web. I have a Bushido-like collection of adapters, connectors and mobile, removeable storage media for the electronic weaponry I wield - still managing to keep my footprint small enough to come and go like a whisper... like ninja.

And, yet, there's something deeper to what it means to be a technomad. It is, first and foremost, a state of mind. I often tell people that my most prized lesson from military experience and having traveled overseas is that I can learn to live anywhere. Likewise, a technomads prowess first comes from the understanding that he can work or play anywhere. Long gone are the days of brick and mortar for many business models, and each generation since the invention of the Internet expands in its understanding that to be tied down to the paradigm of being tied down is a dinosaur's tale. Agility is the new paradigm. Judging by the fact that nearly 95% of America's workforce is employed by small businesses, often self-employed out of coffeeshops and cars (and saving lots of money in the process), this paradigm is here to stay. This, above all, is the Way of the Technomad. This is the reason I named the new company Technomad Media.

A sideways smile forms on Devin's face by the end of my rant. "Yeah, I hear, ya. That's what I am. I'm a technomad", he says. And another one was added to the tribe that night. If I don't watch out, this could turn into something far bigger than myself. This could turn into a movement.

Shutter Speed

Some things move relatively slowly. The period for Halley's Comet: 75.3 years. Most people are thrilled to see it once in a lifetime; those that see it twice are considered blessed. Certain oceanic currents will whip flotsam around for 6 to 13 years before washing it ashore on the other side of the world.


Other things may unfold more quickly - the blink of an eye, the twitch of a muscle. A good jazz song trots along at about 120-150 beats per minute.

And then there's life, which is... well... fleeting. For all the rich experiences we may possibly encounter in our lives, the generations of man pass in infinitely rapid procession like the pulse of hummingbird wings. We capture what we can and carry it with us. And the gift of personal consumer technology is that it enables us to do just that. Such was the lesson my daughter taught me yesterday when I picked her up from school. I arrived to her insistence that I witness her latest masterpiece. Unfortunately, I was on the phone with my mother at the time (yes, men can talk to their moms on a regular basis without being "mama's boys"). I congratulated my daughter on her fine work, and took the picture you see here with my T-Mobile G1 phone while continuing the conversation.

It wasn't until the chaos of the day subsided that I found time to go back and give the picture the attention it deserved. And there it was - something I hadn't noticed before: my daughter is actually a pretty talented architect. Structure. Symmetry. Function. Harmony. Aesthetics. Not bad at all for an 8 year old given the materials. Even more surprising was that, when asked later how she came up with the design (I'm thinking Greek temple), she denied that she saw it anywhere else or planned it out in advance. In her words, she just grabbed the blocks "and it came out."

Can personal technology be a distraction to us in experiencing the life that unfolds around us? Possibly. But, being the dualist that I am, I find equal interest in the countering effect of how it can help us capture the vanishing moments we would otherwise miss, flashing before us at shutter speed.

What do you think? I want to hear some examples from you about how your mobile device helps you take advantage of the moment.