There's an emotion I find directly adjacent to flâneur imagery:<p>Contentedness of being in a restaurant during (typically) business hours (say, eating at 10am or 2pm), enjoying being alone in a public space while society is busy elsewhere, etc. Not so much a feeling of idleness, but rather being out of sync with society mixed with the joys of playing hooky.<p>I suppose "flâneurishness" is the closest I can get to a satisfying descriptor, unless there's some brilliant bit of English that has captured the idea already.
He suggests flânerie to revisit the old internet, suggesting that's how we used it. But are enthusiasts working for their own fun on the spectrum between getting-things-done and strolling? Joy in creation can be anywhere in there.
Interestingly, this is the word that Nicolas Nassim Taleb always likes to describe himself as. I suppose because he's so keen on noticing and observation, acts that promote a sense of detachment. The Flaneur is detached in some ways, but very much "with it" in others.