Offshore, Outsource ... What's a Red-blooded American To Do?

I've been around the IT world for a long time so the debate over outsourcing, or offshoring as the job flow to foreign shores is being labeled, seems like old news. Offshoring has been going on since before Nike built its first Air Jordan in Malaysia or the Sudan or Laos or where ever. Heck the textile industry was pretty effectively offshored a long time ago and yet our country has survived and even prospered.

I guess it was okay as long as it was those smelly old factory jobs in the denim mills that were being shipped overseas. The bright guys said, no worries, we'll all be knowledge workers now. No more back breaking piece work for us. We'll trade black lung for carpal tunnel syndrome and everyone will be better off.

So what's the big deal? Well, now they're outsourcing the knowledge workers. Yep, somebody finally figured out that the 20,000 PH.Ds in Computer Science that the Indians turn out annually who are willing to work for $200 a month rather than $200 a day are too good a deal to pass up.

So what are all us ex-knowledge workers supposed to do? I guess that means we'll all become top management. What other choice do we have? We all know the squeeze has been on middle management for quite some time. The top is all that's left. No more factory labor, no more middle management, no more knowledge work. By elimination that means the 'C' level for everyone. Oh yeah! CIO, CFO, CTO, and CEO here we come. Yeah, baby! Stock options, multi -million dollar salaries, perks, bonuses, the corner office and the keys to the executive restroom.

Man, why didn't we think of this offshoring before.

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Sidebar
Offshoring: Love it or Hate it?

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I recently subcontracted the redevelopment of a client's web site to a small, local web design firm. Their competitive advantage? They had established a development office in a small town in India and, as a result, their programming fees were less than half of locally based developers. In this instance, my client and I both loved offshoring.

Last week, however, I lost a hard drive and spent 3 days on the phone with 4 tech reps in India and one based in the Phillipines. I resented every second of it. I can't tell you that an American on the other end of the phone would've been more competent then the folks I dealt with but it would've been a more pleasant experience. There is something to be said for enjoying a shared culture and the common bond of mutual citizenship. The Indians seemed stiff, barely comfortable with the language. Unable to grasp the nuances of my 'American' sense of humor and irony, they were no fun to deal with at all. They also seemed to lack the creativity and imagination that I've experienced with American tech support professionals. And, I must admit, I couldn't help but think that there was some out of work Idahoan or Texan who'd lost his job to 'Chris' or 'Raoul' or 'Harry'. I mean how bogus is it to have to deal with someone who won't even give you there real name because it's, I suppose, to foreign?

In this case, I hated offshoring.

Respectfully submitted,

tom.gray@gemsolv.com

Yuch ... or, how not to sign people up for your ezine!

Just signed up for an email newsletter whose list is managed by Topica. They sent an email requiring that I confirm my subscription. Not a problem, I thought. Double opt-in policy, wants to ensure that only serious subscribers need apply. Cool, right?

Nope, very uncool because once I hit the confirm button I was whisked to Topica's MyTopica signup obstacle course, errr, form. In very tiny letters at the top it said that I'd joined the list but then it said to complete the information to continue the process. My guess is that I probably didn't need to but I wasn't sure (which I believe is their, Topica's, intention), so I did. As an email marketer, it made me feel dirty and, if I was the list owner, I'd be p.o.'ed. Topica asks you your gender, date of birth and full name among other tidbits. None of this info is optional, nor, in my mind necessary (except for your email address) in order to sign up for a stupid ezine. Okay, now I'm the one who's p.o.'ed.

At the bottom of this screen they strongly suggest that you leave the check box checked permitting them to contact you further. Completing this screen, you're taken to the next which is actually 3 screens worth of sign up information for various lists and newsletters that are advertised via the Topica service. You need to scroll to the end to find the 'Continue' button. If you don't select any lists, you're assaulted with a pop-up window suggesting you do. If you do continue you are taken to another screen with more offers, just in case you've changed your mind during the act of clicking. Oooh, I'm feelin' a little slimed right now.

Once you've cleared that screen you're delivered to your subscription management screen that lists the subscriptions you've signed up for and provides prominent links to sign up for more lists. Like that's what I'm going to do; Yeah, right.

Anyway, this is the most intrusive, invasive ezine sign-up I've ever seen. I'm sure this was not the list owner's intent. I'm equally sure that the ezine publisher would not appreciate the way in which Topica imposes themselves on a relationship that the publisher developed, in order to build their (Topica's) business. Why do they use Topica? Well, I'll bet, for one, that they've never actually subscribed to their own ezine. I mean, I hope they haven't. What business owner would consciously choose to sabatoge a budding relationship by submitting a potential customer to an ordeal like that?

Respectfully submitted,

tom.gray@gemsolv.com