Monday, September 04, 2006
Happy Labor Day!
Labor Day in the United States today, and just a few thoughts on work.
I think that the gradual (and, indeed, not-so-gradual) offshoring of work is far more of a threat to writers than Google ever could be. Yes, it's true that copy and what the marketing folks call "creative" (as a noun, no less) can be produced far more cheaply elsewhere, often by writers for whom English is a second language. And many companies feel that the former consideration is worth the latter one (after all, enough people for whom English is a first language make egregious mistakes with the language as well) for it to be a problem.
Technical writing was, not surprisingly, the first to go (and we've all suffered through incomprehensible product directions as a result), and now Web site copy, business brochures and reports, and the like are following suit.
What can be done about it? Unionize? We have the Authors Guild and the National Writers Union and neither of them seems to be offering much help in the way of keeping jobs in the United States.
It's unclear what can be done, in fact. But thinking ahead and finding another niche -- or, better still, other niches -- for one's work would seem to be a priority.
Here's an analogy: The mills are closing (I think of this since I live in what was once the largest mill town in the world). Here in Manchester, the biggest mill complex of them all, the Amoskeag, closed on Christmas Eve, 1935, with very little notice that it would do so.
The mills are closing. The difference for many folks now is that we have a (roughly) five-year notice that it's going to happen. That's five years, while we continue to work the mills, for us to figure out what else we can do. Because Christmas Eve, 1935, is coming.
It's never a good idea to place all one's eggs in one basket anyway. Couples often decide not to work for the same company, despite the convenience of doing so, because when layoffs come both partners could be affected. Having only a few clients -- and all of them doing something similar, like being major publishing houses -- is asking for trouble.
The mills are closing. We're lucky to have received the notice this early.
Finding a way to deal with the shifts in economics will put you... beyond the elements of style!
Jeannette Cézanne
Customline Wordware: Custom Copy To Go!
#
I think that the gradual (and, indeed, not-so-gradual) offshoring of work is far more of a threat to writers than Google ever could be. Yes, it's true that copy and what the marketing folks call "creative" (as a noun, no less) can be produced far more cheaply elsewhere, often by writers for whom English is a second language. And many companies feel that the former consideration is worth the latter one (after all, enough people for whom English is a first language make egregious mistakes with the language as well) for it to be a problem.
Technical writing was, not surprisingly, the first to go (and we've all suffered through incomprehensible product directions as a result), and now Web site copy, business brochures and reports, and the like are following suit.
What can be done about it? Unionize? We have the Authors Guild and the National Writers Union and neither of them seems to be offering much help in the way of keeping jobs in the United States.
It's unclear what can be done, in fact. But thinking ahead and finding another niche -- or, better still, other niches -- for one's work would seem to be a priority.
Here's an analogy: The mills are closing (I think of this since I live in what was once the largest mill town in the world). Here in Manchester, the biggest mill complex of them all, the Amoskeag, closed on Christmas Eve, 1935, with very little notice that it would do so.
The mills are closing. The difference for many folks now is that we have a (roughly) five-year notice that it's going to happen. That's five years, while we continue to work the mills, for us to figure out what else we can do. Because Christmas Eve, 1935, is coming.
It's never a good idea to place all one's eggs in one basket anyway. Couples often decide not to work for the same company, despite the convenience of doing so, because when layoffs come both partners could be affected. Having only a few clients -- and all of them doing something similar, like being major publishing houses -- is asking for trouble.
The mills are closing. We're lucky to have received the notice this early.
Finding a way to deal with the shifts in economics will put you... beyond the elements of style!
Jeannette Cézanne
Customline Wordware: Custom Copy To Go!
#
