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It’s vacation season - get to work
Vacationers on the Greek island of Patmos will soon have free island-wide wireless Internet access. (photo credit patmos.com)It’s the middle of summer (for those of us north of the equator), and for many that means prime vacation season. But for an increasing number of workers, a vacation might mean some time on a sunny beach, but not necessarily a break from work duties.
One of the interesting findings of an IDC study that Nortel sponsored (The Hyperconnected: Here They Come) was that over one third of people surveyed check work email when on vacation.
Indeed it seems beaches everywhere are getting connected. The Greek island of Patmos is in the middle of an island-wide wireless mesh deployment that will give residents and vacationers alike free mobile Internet access. The project was initiated under the leadership of Nicholas Negroponte, co-founder and former chairman of the MIT Media Lab, and Michail Bletsas while both were at the Lab. When Negroponte isn’t revolutionizing the PC industry, he also has a home on Patmos and visits often. For more on the Patmos network visit here.
And to make sure you are more connected than you could ever imagine this summer, Nortel has put together a list of the top five ways Hyperconnectivity is heating up the summer.
So why are today’s workers increasingly willing to take work with them when they leave the office? As I’ve commented elsewhere, there is a give and take with today’s technologies that allow us to mix business and family time. That neat new iPhone lets you sneak in a doctor visit while staying connected to email, but also allows your boss to call you at 8pm for an urgent issue.
Laptops and remote access mean telework and flex hours, but studies have shown that teleworkers use their saved commute time (and more) working, not playing. So businesses are creating more flexibility for us — but in return we are giving our employers more constant connectivity to us. It’s a trade-off that many, including myself, are more than willing to make.
