The digital nomad, location-independent lifestyle once seemed so impossible, exotic and unlikely that only a few people dared even attempt it. But now, a lot more people are doing it, and it seems like everyone else would like to. Could it be? Is the digital nomad lifestyle about to go "mainstream"?

I was asked to be interviewed last week by the producers of something called the , a Nokia-sponsored site that explores what the "big ideas" are for the future of communications. I could have talked about anything, but I what I think will be the single trend that will do the most to change how people work: The location-independent digital nomad trend.

I've been writing about the digital nomad trend for a couple of years, but I and a tiny handful of writers have been nearly alone in our prediction. Suddenly, however, it seems that everyone is taking about digital nomad living.

The Washington Post ran about a new category of digital nomad service where you can rent office space and office equipment, like printers, while traveling. The story highlighted companies like Affinity Lab in Washington, but also talked about how digital nomads mostly gather in coffee shops and other places where wireless access is available. The article tried to dig into the economics and psychology of the digital nomad location-independent trend, calling the lifestyle a "natural evolution in teleworking," and pointing out that people enjoy choosing their own co-workers (by working in public places).

In case you missed it, let me spell that out in another way. One of the biggest mainstream newspapers in the country now agrees with what only a tiny number of us have been predicting for years: The digital nomad trend is inevitable.