If Work Is Digital, Why Do We Still Go to the Office?.

“Distance will die,” or so predicted British economist Frances Cairncross, along with a host of social and media theorists, following the spread of the internet in the 1990s. When every place is connected instantaneously to every other place on the planet, they argued, space itself would become irrelevant. At that point, we would not need offices anymore: Why go to work when work can come to you?

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The transformation of our work environments is only just beginning, but it could have a major impact on architects, developers, corporations, and society at large in the years to come. Far from making offices obsolete, as the digital pioneers of the 1990s confidently predicted, technology will transform and revitalize workspaces. We could soon work in a more sociable and productive way, and not from the top of a mountain. The ominous “death of distance” may be reversed with the “birth of a new proximity.”

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Interesting article, as Adafruit as expanded we’ve wanted to work with amazing people and amazing people have wanted to work with us, the phrase “birth of a new proximity” sums up some of how we do this. With weekly video conferencing, status updates and having self-motivated remote team members we’ve figured out a way to have smart people in “proximity” without them needing to move. It’s not easy, but it’s also very valuable – there are great people that might just have a house or family, or whatever else. What we’re saying is it’s possible to find freaky friends far a way but have relationships that work for getting things done together 🙂