There’s a Digital Nomad in all of us.

The term came into currency with the book, and soon independent consultants were ditching their desks and cubes finding it convenient to work from “wherever.” Gas prices have been accelerating this trend too, with nomadic workers telecommuting a few days of the week or using Starbucks as their home office.

So Dell‘s move to own the term, albeit a bit late, is extremely smart. I see DigitalNomads.com as a business strategy to capture the mobile space that will ultimately be crowded by not just laptops, Blackberries, and iPhones, but by all the hybrid forms of connectivity we will adopt. Especially when ubiquitous computing gives way to invisible computing.

Not only does the web site connect people with a nomadic lifestyle, but it promotes a slew of connectivity tools and social groups. From Jott (one of my huge favorites) and Adobe Air to LinkedIn and Skype. It’s turning out to be a good place for discussion of the trend.

• Shel Holtz, the archetypal digital nomad had added a lot more tools to the list.
• Clint O’Connor considers the need for clear policies of freedom and security when an organization embraces ‘digital nomadity.’
• Matt Jenson suggests that the term –and the role– of ‘Boss’ will give way to the role of the semi-authority figure, the ‘Mentor.’