Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Commuting in a Highly Networked World

Great post in the Atlantic on the toll commuting takes on people, especially in our highly networked world. I used to hate commuting because of the physical fatigue, but now it's becoming much more an issue of time inefficiency. I was nodding my head vigorously when I read this.

"Similarly, the things we did in our cars reflected the entertainment available. And in the broadcast world, being in your car wasn't so bad: you listened to the radio for fun at home, so the car was kind of a couch on wheels. (See: drive-in movie theaters.) One system helped support the other.

But the latest network to overspread our country -- the wireless electromagnetic one -- is just not fully compatible with driving, at least for human brains. In more economic terms, the opportunity cost of car commuting is going up. You can listen to Howard Stern in a car; you can run your business from a train or bus."