Maslow’s hierarchy for geeks on the road
Posted on December 9th, 2008
Abraham Maslow is famous for his Hierarchy of Human Needs:
Self-actualization
Esteem
Love/
Safety
Physiological
(RageBoy has a different take on Maslow.)
In discussion with Thomas Crampton, we have come up with the Hierarchy of Traveling Geek Needs:
Free wifi
Power outlets
That’s as far as we could get.
caffeine of choice – coffee/mountain dew/jolt/yerba mate
junk food of choice
comfortable chairs
good (low) lighting
whiteboards (never had one on the road, but a geek can dream)
fry’s or similar (because you never know what you may need)
Jonathan beat me to it: caffeine (for most of us).
love & actualization = blog
If a geek travels without a blog, is he really traveling?
being only 9% awake when I saw this post, I read those Traveling Geek Needs as: Free Will, Power Outlets. And I thought, yes, those are definitely the basics.
Access to the Real Remote. The one that actually affects the aspect ratio on that widescreen TV.
love & actualization = blog
an ultra-portable laptop?
A MacBook that doesn’t die on you right before your talk.
(sorry, that was cruel)
Not to be pedantic, but I do feel that even slow connectivity has a value. For that reason I would put it:
1- Basic Wifi
2- Plug
3- High speed broadband
4- Food
5- Bed
What about a list of Maslow’s hierarchy of Not Needed?
- TV in room
- Room service knocking on the door every 10 minutes
I had the opportunity to watch the ’slideless’ presentation given tonight at Reid Hall (thanks to the dying MacBook!). Given that I never saw the original slides, I thought it could be interesting to publish my notes online so that you can see what a french audience (or maybe just me) catches when there’s no slides :)
Power outlets – at least two, given multiple device recharge needs.
WiFi, or EVDO, preferably *fast*.
Caffeine.
Enough room to work without being crushed.
What about MP3 player?
Smartphone (aka iPhone)?
Twitter?
The top of the hierarchy has to be the one that best shouts out, “I exist! I am here! I am me!”
Probably Twitter on top, then…
…probably Twitter on top, then…
[shudder]
A real traveling geek always carries a powerstrip in the laptop case so only one outlet is needed.
Anyway, my list:
High speed Iway access (Ethernet preferred)
Coffee (in room or available but fresh brewed)
A table and chair (I actually went to a motel with wireless access and no table in the room! I left.)
Fast food nearby
No interruptions (“Everything OK?” “Need anything?”)
Prompt help when Iway access doesn’t work and not just a “It’s working here.”. (One national chain has a chronic problem in this area. Hint: it has a number in the name.)
All drawn from personal experience. Not that I’m a geek . . .
@Old Bogus
You are totally right about powerstrips!
While covering the 2004 presidential campaign I made so many friends thanks to my powerstrip.
I agree about powerstrips. In fact, I blogged about this a few years ago … which is only interesting because of the very odd thing that happened with the comments:
http://www.hyperorg.com/blogger/mtarchive/000076.html
Most times, I’ll choose “away from the CNN blare” over power outlets. However, wifi trumps all.
Hilarious comments on the powerstrip posting. Your blog was totally hijacked!
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