Why The Commercial E-Book Market Is Broken

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by nekokami

I think the Mechanical Turk project at Amazon is showing that there are people willing to do this kind of work-- but so far, that's not earning much money for the workers.

Companies like Ikea have demonstrated that, by insisting on fair wages and conditions, monitoring contractors, and awarding contracts accordingly, they can influence fair business practices, and "force" employers to treat workers fairly.

Also, keep in mind that at differing exchange rates, what is "little money" to you might be "lots of money" in another location.

Anyway, the point is that it can be done, and has been done, with the right impetus.

[nekokami]

One of the things I see wrong with the current Amazon setup (Mechanical Turk) is that the rules are all on the side of the employers. People can do work and the employers can rate the work poorly and not pay up, and the workers have no recourse. What I'd like to see added is a rating system, like eBay has, that would allow employers who do this to get flagged by workers as a warning to future potential workers. (There's already effectively a worker rating system.) Also, employers currently don't have to file tax paperwork on these micro-jobs, but employees have to pay taxes at the higher "self-employed" rate, which seems unfair. Possibly Amazon (or whoever is running the service) ought to manage that part.

I'm still concerned about how this will affect the benefits of individual workers, however. In countries with socialized medicine, it's no big deal that this kind of work doesn't provide health insurance, but in countries without (e.g. the US), if a lot of work moves in this direction, it'll be a problem.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by nekokami

I'm still concerned about how this will affect the benefits of individual workers, however. In countries with socialized medicine, it's no big deal that this kind of work doesn't provide health insurance, but in countries without (e.g. the US), if a lot of work moves in this direction, it'll be a problem.

As more people work from home, telecommute, work for people on the opposite side of the planet, etc, those (and other issues) are all points that the employment system will be forced to address... and fairly soon, I expect. Some visionaries used to describe the "Third Industrial Revolution" would be working in space. But I think it will more likely be working from home, and it will create a sea-change in the way we do business and make a living.

(Working in space will probably be the Fourth.)

[nekokami]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

(Working in space will probably be the Fourth.)

Yeah, I wish!

I worked from home for years, for a single employer, with no significant changes in salary, benefits, work security, etc. It's the "piecework" model that worries me. I think employers will try to avoid having to cover workers under this model in any of the ways they currently have to cover full-time employees -- it's greatly to their advantage not to have to cover these folks. It will take some pretty strong negotiations to avoid the whole labor market devolving into unsupported temp work done by the lowest bidder.

I'm all in favor of sharing work (and compensation) with those who need it most. I just don't want to lose all the worker protections we've managed to gain in the process.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by nekokami

It will take some pretty strong negotiations to avoid the whole labor market devolving into unsupported temp work done by the lowest bidder.

When mass working conditions go through major changes, requiring negotiations to create a new, fair and equitable systems (and when governments do not act), we see the rise of unions. If the government doesn't step in, I'm sure unions will. Either way, a redefinition of "home worker" is in order.

This is another sign of our times: In the 21st century, largely due to the press of populations and the change in dynamics caused by worldwide internet-based communication and electronic data, quite a number of areas need a serious reassessment and redesign to keep up, including various of the aspects that will influence the e-book market (how's that for getting us back on track?).