[ddj] Big story, not enough data: ICT microwork to grow to $5B in next five years?

[mirko.lorenz at gmail.com]

Hi everyone,
this morning there was an interesting story tweeted by the Worldbank, with
some big implications for developing countries around the world.

Tweet here:
Take note, big story: Microwork is a $1B industry today, headed for $5B in
next 5 years @*worldbank* <https://twitter.com/WorldBank> http://
wrld.bg/oEZ2o  <http://t.co/BfajPdoWa2>
#*jobs*<https://twitter.com/search?q=%23jobs&src=hash>
#*tech* <https://twitter.com/search?q=%23tech&src=hash>
#*ddj*<https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ddj&src=hash>

The story here is that via digital platforms paid work for coders,
developers, web designers is increasingly shipped out to any place in the
world. This means that people in Nepal (based on the Worldbank story), or
in Africa or India or South America who know how to code can now access a
world market for jobs. Which is good.

We already know that the money sent back home by migrant workers is
surpassing the amounts of development aid, too, partially to easier (though
costly) money transmission options for smaller amounts.

The implications are quite big: Essentially, given the needs of ICT around
the world there is a chance to have people work from anywhere, make money
and a living. This could be one of the biggest shifts of workforce and
money flows in recent history.

But I strongly suspect that without watching and understanding this, there
will be issues too. Such as: Less pay for the same work. Bad working
conditions. One example: If the ICT microwork platforms would simply
communicate qualification and positive feedback for one ICT professional,
but not the fact that she/he is working from India, Africa or somewhere
else, would the pay be higher? Code is code. If really talented people
coding Javascript would be enabled to generate decent salaries, this shift
of work and money could change a lot of things.

Anybody interested in working on a visualization on this? We could ask the
Worldbank for data. Before answering, read the published article on the
Worldbank blog: wrld.bg/oEZ2o <http://t.co/BfajPdoWa2>

Cheers,
Mirko
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