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Out-Sorcery: How is Outsourcing Faring in a Recession?
by Patrick Harnett  on Oct 10, 2008 - 01:11 PM read 270 times
Source: http://www.wikinomics.com/blog/?p=2007 |
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Media outlets are rolling in clichs about the current economic nastiness (”The U.S. Sneezes, The World Catches Cold”). Warren Buffett couldn’t help himself with his “toxic Kool-Aid” references and a most recent Charlie Rose interview likening the U.S. economy to a “patient lying on the floor”.
The shockwave is moving quickly: venture capital stalwarts Sequoia Capital have been instructing their portfolio companies to prepare for a “doomsday scenario”. Cutting fat, eliminating redundancy, and finding the cheapest darn way to do business is now the imperative of all those wide-eyed, once-well-funded start-ups.
My dad once gave me good advice which I didn’t take. “Son, doctors, dentists, lawyers and teachers are recession-proof. Work smart.” For the most part, it holds true (it seems some lawyers are having a hard time). But it seems like you don’t need to be bricks-and-mortar or an M.D. to stay “recession-resistant”. Like magic, outsourcing marketplaces have been going like gangbusters despite economic woes.
The more people who take pages from Sequoia’s warning to slim down to essential personnel and services find that outsourcing fits the bill nicely. It’s like having talent attached to a spigotyou can match the resource-flow to your cash-flow (and work-flow) on-demand. A Reuters article boasts that Elance (a popular outsourcing marketplace) has increased billings by 65% this yeardriven by the need for smaller firms to have a flexible, highly-trained workforce.
If this downturn finds you sitting on the couch, reluctantly watching daytime TV, outsourcing marketplaces could be just ticket to get you off The Young and The Restless and back to the ranks of the gainfully employed.
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By: Wikinomics Blog Archive Remember Photosynth? Well, it's old-hat now.
a reply to Out-Sorcery: How is Outsourcing Faring in a Recession?
by Wikinomics » Blog Archive » Remember Photosynth? Well, it’s old-hat now. on Oct 10, 2008 - 01:11 PM read 65 times
Source: http://www.wikinomics.com/blog/?p=2007#comment-163628
[...] 14th, 2008, 03:39pm Photosynth (ted talk, demo page, our coverage), a project acquired by Microsoft, made for one of the coolest tech demos to grace the internet in [...]
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By: Wikinomics Blog Archive Super Mario and the Socratic Method
a reply to Out-Sorcery: How is Outsourcing Faring in a Recession?
by Wikinomics » Blog Archive » Super Mario and the Socratic Method on Oct 10, 2008 - 01:11 PM read 65 times
Source: http://www.wikinomics.com/blog/?p=2007#comment-86618
[...] St. Journal reports that surgeons are using Nintendo Wii as a training tool (see Dan Herman’s post on the subject) and this article talks about how songs that appear on Guitar Hero and Rock Band [...]
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By: Allan
a reply to Out-Sorcery: How is Outsourcing Faring in a Recession?
by Allan on Oct 13, 2008 - 02:59 AM read 51 times
Source: http://www.wikinomics.com/blog/?p=2007#comment-190136
Mass collaboration should have a nice run with this market environment. Companies will be laying off lots of payroll and will be looking for consultants and free agents to do all their non-core functions.
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