Digital Aboriginal: The Direction of Business Now: Instinctive, Nomadic, and Ever-Changing

Digital Aboriginal, by Mikela Tarlow with Philip Tarlow, proposes a rather unique approach for those seeking innovative ways to stay abreast of today's high-tech business environment: reach back to the "magical, networked, multidimensional world" of the aborigines for inspiration and direction. The authors--she's a specialist in organizational learning; he's an internationally recognized artist--believe knowledge of the nomadic ways of the desert meshes perfectly with the modern needs of the workplace. In four sections that look into aboriginal behavior in the context of the digital age, they show how various key aspects can be appropriated with mostly familiar strategies and skills. They do this by examining information as a digital commodity; myths, stories, and rituals and the shaping of culture and commerce; independence, privacy, and human interaction in relation to peak performance; and moving permanently outside the box on the road to living differently. Scores of companies from Home Depot and Coca-Cola to small Web developers and consultancies are cited for their relevant applications in specific areas, and extensive sidebars in each section address the Grateful Dead Theory of Marketing, branding through entertainment, the freelance residents of Free Agent Nation, "seeing with new eyes," and other appropriate topics. --Howard Rothman