Monthly Archives: January 2017

Creating an industry out of the unwanted tasks….

07 Saturday Jan 2017

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I was re-reading the Fast Company article on the gig economy and the results of the Workforce for the Future report by the Aspen Institute when I came across this comment and had to stop and think for a minute. “According to 2016 Workforce for the Future Survey, having gig positions means they are able to onboard new talent and off-board unneeded skills without the burden of employment taxes and paperwork.” So if we are talking about only employing for the core competency of the business, then all the rest would be outsourced to contractors.  OK, but….

There is already a business model of outsourcing components of functional activities (bookkeeping, human resources elements such as getting work permits, etc) from enterprises to specialist firms.   As we create the gig economy, there is more than likely to be a market for unneeded skills as a commodity, perhaps as a Service (UNSaaS?).

What if someone would create a marketplace that consolidates all of the freelancers with those unneeded skills so that they could commoditize them and offer them as a bundled service with other elements, like the foresaid bookkeeping and permit acquisition? And this marketplace, based on the amount of work contracted through the marketplace (tiered model), could be the one to offer benefits for the contractors?

A thought.   I am always on the lookout for new business models, perhaps this one is an interesting structure……

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Transparent technology, but can I opt-out?

05 Thursday Jan 2017

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A news article on wearable tech peaked my curiosity this afternoon with the first day of CES in Las Vegas.  Cruise ships that personalize your experience with a wearable medallion that share information on you to create ease of use and facilitates door opening, etc. This object can be worn as a necklace, clip or keychain – or carried in a passenger’s pocket. It will connect to onboard facilities, tracking meal orders or automatically unlocking guests’ cabins as they approach the door, as well as aid crew members by providing information on the guest to personalize the service.

But wait a minute — ease of use is great, but do I want all crew members to know things about me?  Is there an opt-out function?   What about guest privacy, can these be hacked? What if I do not want to be included in the ‘find the location of friends and family onboard the ship’ aspect, but I like the rest?

I have to say I liked the idea of the RFID band at the Disney parks for your hotel key, mobile wallet, etc as it is around your wrist and you control where you use it.    But when the object is disseminating info in a near field communications (NFC) manner, then I have to wonder if I can shut it off when I am in the public toilets, for example, vs. announcing my presences there if I am a celebrity onboard.

So I’d like to see a great user introductory set-up interface where you can customize what you opt-in and opt-out for in terms of services and information submission.  It would add even more value to the high end user who would be wearing it so they can control what is provided and how it is provided.

I have to say I am a bit sensitive to broadcasting data about myself in the public (or near public) spaces.   I just bought a new smart phone, and fairly stunned at the some of the permission requests of the new apps.    Only taking on board the minimum at present, cannot believe what they ask for!

But physical tokens for ease of service provisioning is becoming a hotter trend, so please to see a more sophisticated object vs a rubber wristband.