#70: A Nomad Internet Country, Writing Tips for Remote Workers, The History of Passports
A nomadic writer's guide to borderless living.
Hey folks đ
I had the pleasure of speaking with writers Leanna Lee and Lily Bruns for The Next Web last week.
Their story is about the Plumia project Iâm involved withâa collective of 1,000+ nomads and remote workers aiming to build a country on the internet. Hereâs a taste:
The year is 2025. You zip through customs in a fast-track lane to enjoy the one-year residency permit that will allow you to come and go as you please. Hop in an Uber and youâre headed to your temporary home, a boutique coliving space. You check in with the swipe of an app and funds are drawn from your e-walletâno need to mess with ATMs or currency exchanges.
Welcome to the future of remote work. It may sound too good to be true, but this reality is far closer than you might think, thanks to a growing community of digital nomad founders, advocates, and community builders.
This excellent piece also spurred additional project coverage on Fudzilla (in English) and Ultima Voce (in Italian). Watch this spaceâ2022 is set to be a very big year for both Plumia and the internet country concept.
-Lauren
đ In Case You Missed It
Early supporters of my book, Global Natives, just got exclusive access to a new excerpt called The History of Passports (available in text and audio!)
Itâs a journey from the metal slabs used in Ancient Mongolia to the technologies driving the present, with physical passports are on the verge of disappearing. It also covers the story of how todayâs passports first came about in the 1920s, and why a century later, theyâre in serious need of an upgrade.
Fancy reading it? Pre-order a copy of the book for access to this and more:
đ Links of the Week
âď¸đłđ´ A Freezing Norwegian Island Is Pretty Great for Digital Nomads (Sifted)
Bored of London, Paris, New York? This fun little story suggests relocating to Svalbard, where âThe alcohol is very expensive but the cost of rent is relatively low.â FYI, itâs -6°C / 21°F in Svalbard right nowâŚ
đđ Atlys Raises $4.25m to Make Visa Applications Faster and Easier (TechCrunch)
Startup Atlys just raised a seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz. With the current tagline, âLetâs make interfacing with governments delightfulâ, hereâs hoping some of their newfound cash is spent on better copy.
đď¸đˇ Why Cities Will Survive the Era of Pandemics and Remote Work (NPR)
An examination of Harvard Economist Ed Glaeserâs ideas, this piece argues people will keep flocking to cities for the culture, consumption and atmosphere in future, even if we truly are living in âan age of isolationâ.
đťâď¸ The Remote Workerâs Guide to Better Writing (Doist)
On a remote team, everyoneâs a writerâand effective writers make much better colleagues. In this meaty, 13-min read (donât worry, there are plenty of subheads for easy digestion), Fadeke Adegbuyi breaks down the craft of writing for remote workers.
đĄâ In Defence of the Hipster Aesthetic (Economist)
Tungsten lightbulbs, exposed brickwork, metal and wood: Is everywhere starting to look the same? This fascinating piece from 2018 argues itâs ânot so much a flattening of taste as a democratisation of it.â
âď¸đŚđś Westarctica: A Very Big Little Country (AFAR)
The micronation of Westarctica was founded 20 years ago and has been growing in ambition and prominence ever since, particularly when it comes to climate change. This 16-min longread tells its story so far and charts its possible futures.