i-sako.com

Apparently the economy in the States is worse than I thought.

A recent article at Wired says that a group of now-unemployed journalists from ZDNet are attempting to attract bids for their services. I see this is not the first time laid-off professionals have done so.

Here in Japan, we are just beginning to see some companies (Nissan being a noteworthy example) gradually pulling away from the seniority-based promotions and lifetime employment concepts that have long been two of Japanese society’s sacred cows. This is being done reluctantly--but also inevitably, because the economy in Japan is not good, either--but somehow I don’t think Japanese professionals are ready to subject themselves to the indignities of being bid upon. 

In particular, I know that local translation professionals like Bill Lise and Fred Uleman regularly advise others to set their sights on comfortably high fees, which might not be obtainable under the bid-for-geeks system. Fred knows that finding a job is less important than finding work, but I wonder what he would think of letting others bid on his rates.

Incidentally, this geek is always looking for freelance work. Care to place a bid?