The Online Gig Economy’s ‘Race to the Bottom’

versailles · ‎09-04-2018

[The Atlantic] The Online Gig Economy’s ‘Race to the Bottom’

When the whole world is fighting for the same jobs, what happens to workers?

You can buy almost any thing you want online—toothpaste, books, plastic devices that allow you to lick your cat. On digital work platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer.com, you can also buy nearly any service—often from someone halfway around the world, sometimes for just a few bucks. On Fiverr, one of the most popular of these platforms, you’ll find offers for someone who will write an e-book “on any topic”; a person who will perform “a Voiceover as Bernie Sanders”; someone who will write your Tinder profile for you, and someone who will design a logo for your real-estate company. The people selling this labor live in Nigeria, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Bangladesh, respectively. Each of them charge $5 for these tasks.

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"Where darkness shines like dazzling light" —William Ashbless

wendy_writes · ‎09-04-2018

I know half a dozen freelancers up in arms about the article. Lumping all platforms into an article which focuses entirely on the bottom of the barrel is either unresearched in toto - or the author is lazy as sin. Fiver might be the bottom of the barrel but other sites (one of which starts with a B) charge and enforce only 100% professional rates.

Upwork and G fall in the middle ...

purplepony · ‎09-05-2018

IMO that article is the epitome of stereotyping or extremely close thereto.

mwiggenhorn · ‎09-05-2018

I agree. The writer really didn't understand the concept of freelancing and based her information almost solely on one platform.

prestonhunter · ‎09-05-2018

It is an interesting article.

But Fiverr isn't Upwork.

The article DOES point out that Upwork checks identities while Fiverr does not... But if this was a reader's ONLY source of information about freelancer work platforms, then they might not appreciate the distinctions.

alice_m_uk · ‎09-06-2018

@Wendy C wrote:
I know half a dozen freelancers up in arms about the article. Lumping all platforms into an article which focuses entirely on the bottom of the barrel is either unresearched in toto - or the author is lazy as sin. Fiver might be the bottom of the barrel but other sites (one of which starts with a B) charge and enforce only 100% professional rates.

Upwork and G fall in the middle ...

They probably hired the writer from Upwork at entry level.

purplepony · ‎09-06-2018

@Alice M wrote:
@Wendy C wrote:
I know half a dozen freelancers up in arms about the article. Lumping all platforms into an article which focuses entirely on the bottom of the barrel is either unresearched in toto - or the author is lazy as sin. Fiver might be the bottom of the barrel but other sites (one of which starts with a B) charge and enforce only 100% professional rates.

Upwork and G fall in the middle ...
They probably hired the writer from Upwork at entry level.
_________________________________________________________________________
It was for a Fixed Price of $5.00.

jmlaidlaw · ‎09-06-2018

But, hey, in defense of the client who hired the writer, the writer/freelancer did write "Purple Cow" at the top of her proposal.

reinierb · ‎09-06-2018

@Janean L wrote:
But, hey, in defense of the client who hired the writer, the writer/freelancer did write "Purple Cow" at the top of her proposal.

...and no doubt offered unlimited revisions, as well.

leeannmerrill · ‎10-03-2018

What is the one that starts with "B"?

resultsassoc · ‎09-17-2018

IMO the article is a fair description of Fiverr. Most of the work described is a commodity, where buying on price can make sense. What the author completely missed was the non-commodity side of freelancing. None of the boards does a good job with that.

Buyers too often believe the hype about "World-class experts at a fraction of the cost." A few seconds' thought should bring the buyer to realize that a world-class expert probably won't need to find work through an online board. The second problem a client encounters is quality. I've encountered many clients who believe that everyone listing "xyz" as a skill is equally qualified. I do French-English translations free for my clients, and I suppose I could charge money and list it as a skill on Upwork. I can underbid Rene every time, and then use machine translation modified slightly by my inadequate command of French. Is my quality equal to his? Not in this incarnation.

I tell freelancers in non-commodity areas that they're not competing with low-cost third-world providers. They're competing with the disadvantage of not hiring them.

sergio-soria · ‎10-02-2018

@Rene K wrote:

plastic devices that allow you to lick your cat.

Really? I didn't know that!

As for the article, yeah, it's all about Fiverr, probably the worst kid on the block. I signed up there years ago only to leave a few days later when I realized it was full of scam, freelancers copying each other entire portfolios and even having the nerve to put a Johnny Depp photo as profile headshot, also users with multiple accounts hiring themselves to get reviews... Give me a break. I can't believe someone could go there aiming for quality and reliability.