Brooklyn Beat of DITHOB had this to say about the Wall Street Journal article about the backlash against "laptop malingering" at Brookllyn cafes. Read more at DITHOB.
financial meltdown, I recall reading an article by musician and tech
guru Jaron Lanier about how the technology wave was ushering an an era
where "work" and "leisure" would be interchangeable and intertwined in
such away as to be indistinguishable.
Well, the recent economic
downturn may have rolled back that wave somewhat, as an article in
today's Wall Street Journal points out.
Interviewing the owners
of Naidre's, a popular Park Slope cafe, it seems that while the owners
were delighted to have loyal customers who would open their laptops and
lounge, i.e., work on their computers all day, they were scaring away
business by taking up seats during the busy lunch time rush. The
business also recently sealed up some power outlets since most folks
feel free to plug in while they sip their coffee and check their mail
and websites.
To this writer, I guess if you are at a high-end
chain coffee shop, spending $4.95 for an exotic coffee concoction, use
of the comfy chairs and ability to plug in seems like a "value added"
service to the customer and a cost of doing business to the corporate
owners. But in smaller shops and cafes in this downturn, even spending
a buck and a half or two dollars for a coffee, and then nursing it for
3 or four hours while you avail yourselves of the facilities, could cut
into the small business owners' bottom line.