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35 Comments
- inactive, on 03/07/2009, -0/+17Isn't this a recycled article from 2001?
- markdnger, on 03/07/2009, -0/+12a really great concept... much better then any lame job fair cattle call (i'm looking at you monster.com). I wasn't able to attend the SF camp but looking forward to the LA version.
- byukate, on 03/07/2009, -1/+11I wonder how many thousands of unemployed tech people are like, "What do I do now that I'm unemployed? I know, I'll start a blog. A blog about.....frugality! And then I'll grow it by using Twitter and Facebook to network. And I'll make millions telling other people to make their own coffee instead of going to Starbucks! It's brilliant!"
- sockpuppets, on 03/07/2009, -0/+7Thanks for the links man I buried them all as spam.
- bipolarruledout, on 03/07/2009, -1/+6If this is how people are really reacting then it's probably a great thing for the country. I kind of feel like I just want to watch it all burn. People SHOULD be going to back to working for themselves or simply making enough money to do the things that really matter to them and not feeding cash into corporate machines. When your terminated or laid off and unemployed for so long you literally start to feel your very humanity ripped apart from you piece by piece. The lack of money forces your place your values elsewhere. Kind of hard to value money when you don't have any. Maybe it's time to live a meager lifestyle and live the dream. If only I had some money to start a campaign.
- zomgflamer, on 03/07/2009, -2/+7back to living with parents.
- inactive, on 03/07/2009, -1/+5I missed the fan part. It must be depressing for an unemployed worker to be surrounded by hundreds of hungry competitors.
- anotherjack, on 03/07/2009, -1/+5This is not sad thing, not a hobo jungle. People who've been laid off are getting together to socially network in a positive way. It wasn't like people felt like they had given up. They are there discussing ways to succeed. Pretty cool.
- ChayD, on 03/08/2009, -0/+3I am sooo going to use that second paragraph in next week's team meeting.
- MaxxusFlamus, on 03/07/2009, -0/+3ssssssh.
The people in DC don't want the secret out. - jbella, on 03/09/2009, -0/+2What do you have against new businesses?
Not everyone wants to work for IBM you know.. - codyman, on 03/08/2009, -0/+2and cubicledrone, where do you work? probably for the people you describe...
- jbella, on 03/09/2009, -0/+1It's not for everyone, but some of us really love it here.
- Clerg, on 03/09/2009, -0/+1Maybe it's time for American IT workers to start thinking about organizing against unfair labor practices like the "guest worker" programs.
- vaago, on 03/08/2009, -0/+1When the Crown cut loose the profiteers what did they turn to? Yo Ho Ho me hardys.
- ucccft, on 03/09/2009, -0/+1It clearly seems that Indian cannot code ANYTHING, Indians can only copy and commit Fraud. You can read every single week some scumbags getting caught on Fraud, the FBI reports that the arrest of Indian commiting Fraud have gone by over 1000%. All companies using H-1B cheap cheap Fraud labor is now Bankrupt.
Many companies now are begging the very skillful Americans with the REAL Degrees to come back and save them from all the CRAP the H-1B's left behind.
Visa Fraud Sparks Arrests Nationwide:
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/conten ...
High Rate of H-1B Visa Fraud
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/conten ...
Indians charged with fraud involving high-tech jobs
http://www.radioiowa.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=6 ...
Indian H-1B visa fraud and conspiracy to commit visa fraud
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic ... - blueocean1982, on 03/07/2009, -2/+3I'm glad they are making the best of it. Silicon Valley has been hit pretty good. There are plenty of tech jobs in the DC-MD corridor, though.
- ChayD, on 03/08/2009, -0/+1Forget all that hard work, Just make a "top 100 tips for a frugal lifestyle" that point to other people's blogs, then sell 1/3 screen space to advertisers.Twitter, drop little crumbs around the internet (other people's blogs, fora, and comments pages) and just watch the $$$ come rolling in .
- Sheethappens, on 03/08/2009, -0/+1Got "laid off" (or in Aussie terms "retrenched") quite some time back and couldnt see myself as emplyable in any other way. Spent quite some time finding a job, did that and quickly changed career to sales. I was doing well and got pretty damned sick for a long time. 7 years later, mid 40s, I started to get back to work after being able to walk again and so on (small thing, I know!) and GUESS WHAT? No-one wanted to know me. They said:
1) You are outdated now.
2) Women will work for less (no kidding they said that!)
3) Your employment black hole is a big thing and your previous references arent around to ask anymore.
4) We want someone younger. Yeah, I know it's supposed to be against the law but the guy was telling me the truth so no use being offended!
So, I too returned to my passion. I had gone through I.T. courses and done all sorts of work in the area, unpaid for various companies I had worked for and also just "fixed family computers" so I went back to what I really did want to do all my life and started my own business from absolutely nothing with nothing much to back myself except ME, my car and a few hundred bucks. I invested $300 of that and did a number of things - the first and foremost was to pick a name I wanted to let myself be known by that said my target audience all by itself and was still "industry biased". I chose that name and then did a logo that was at once comical and portrayed what the end user of a computer often feels. I didnt want to be asked to do the high I.T. jobs back then because, basically, I still wasnt well enough to stick at it 13 hours straight as I had done in the past, writing 8000 lines of program code, debugging others and so on. My name reflected that. Next, having my target audience in mind I took some time to think about what THEY are used to seeing every day from people not employed in any way in "the computer industry" and noted a definite trend of dress with people that may come to their homes for other reasons. I copied that was of dressing. Why? If you look like some ordinary guy, the person inviting a stranger into their home wont be so frightened. If they are at ease, you get your job done easier.
After all that I decided upon my rate by ringing competitors and asking theirs. No kidding, just do it. Most are happy to oblige. I worked out where I wanted to be, there and set my price accordingly. Then, I put an advert in the local paper and posted flyers here and there and waited. That was a fair few years back. I now make a living.
So there's a way to start when you are out of work and have a skill you can sell but the major part of why I am constantly called upon to do work by people when new things happen etc is because I treat people the way I would want to be treated (that simple!) and I explain everything to them unless they specifically tell me not to bother. I also have a laugh with people unless they really arent the type who dont like to laugh (and there are some like that!). Added to that, I also do the job right and explain to people why it is that it is dead and not recoverable if that is the case, too.
Good luck to all of you. I have been there and done that. Oh - one more tip - give your MOBILE PHONE NUMBER only on any advertising. That way, if you are feeling sick and need the day off, the phone can be turned off and you can get the messages later. Nothing worse than being laid up in bed trying to get better and the house phone keeps ringing and people want to spend 30 minutes trying to get you to do work for free when you can barely think to walk properly!
The pitfalls - weekly income goes up and down. The great bits - you can take your latest science fiction book with you and if you get through an appointment and have an hour to go before the next one, you can go to the nearest cafe and relax with your book for a while! It certainly is a great benefit! - blueocean1982, on 03/07/2009, -0/+1I just googled "frugality make your own coffee"
http://www.savingadvice.com/forums/frugal-question ...
http://www.creators.com/lifestylefeatures/everyday ...
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/business_frugal_f ... - ucccft, on 03/08/2009, -4/+5Fake Job Ads defraud Americans:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCbFEgFajGU&fea ...
America's Bogus Skilled Labor Shortage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo7GOsXpDtQ&fea ...
Pfizer Trains Foreign Workers As IT Replacements
http://www.pharmalot.com/2008/11/pfizer-trains-for ...
Giving Away American Jobs:
http://cbs4.com/iteam/defede.economy.jobs.2.936589 ...
Mangos that Glow in the Dark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgukFLIzOCw
Dear President Obama:
First let me say, we all worked very hard to get rid of George Bush and all his thugs, but dealing with all the mess that he left behind is taking its toll. As you are well aware that America has never ever been in such a mess. To start the recovery Please STOP the Bleeding! By Abolishing ALL Visas like H-1B/L1 which are being to replace all Americans workers with cheap cheap crap from all over the world. - anotherjack, on 03/09/2009, -0/+1Oh, you are tired of the idea of the earliest phases of any business, called "starting out"?
Or, you are tired of the earliest phases of an internet business, called "starting up"?
Or, you are tired of any of the last phases of an internet business?
Or, you are tired of internet business?
Or, you are tired of the internet?
Or you are tired of starting?
Or you are tired?
Or you are?
Or you?
Or?
? - anotherjack, on 03/09/2009, -1/+1It's not a problem of visas - the internet has no borders. You can hire firms in India to handle your CSR and you can hire programmers in India to do your coding work, and they never have to set foot in this country.
- mysmartypants, on 03/08/2009, -1/+1I have to assume by your name, cubicledrone, that you are exactly that....particularly as evidenced by the sophisticated vernacular you employed in your response.
Since you seem to be well impaired in at least part of your cerebral cortex, I'll clue you in: I know it was the Indians who replaced them. I was being glib.
Sorry. Glib is probably too big a word for you. I was being silly. - dreamchach, on 04/22/2009, -0/+0yeah I agree re: humanity ripped apart piece by piece. I met Hutchins at Web 2.0 and he was the most positive laid-off person I've ever met. Re-valuation is a big part of what '09 is about.
- inactive, on 03/08/2009, -3/+3If there is one thing I hate more than anything else it is this stupid "start up" nonsense.
It's just a snazzy term for "failed business". - cubicledrone, on 03/08/2009, -4/+2American employers are too racist, chicken-***** and cheap-assed to hire and pay professionals a real wage.
If you are stupid enough to make your financial success dependent on some fat-assed irresponsible Gantt-chart-humping middle-management assclown, you deserve to be laid off.
And you will be, no matter how many "skills" you have, how good you are at your job or how much money you make for the company. Big ***** smile now. - cubicledrone, on 03/08/2009, -3/+1Hey genius: Who do you think replaced all the fired workers?
You're probably one of those people who bought the deluxe "work hard and get an education" scam, right? - cubicledrone, on 03/08/2009, -2/+0If good, smart people had access to capital, there would be fewer startups and more jobs.
But they don't, so there aren't. - Arkanian23, on 03/07/2009, -6/+2So I shouldn't move to the SF Bay Area?
- anotherjack, on 03/07/2009, -5/+1Well, youngster, why do you want to move to San Francisco? For the warm summers? The sunshine? The quiet tinkle as the cable cars whisper past? The clean and happy street people on 16th and Mission? The gold panning and the mines up in Twin Peaks? The incredibly pleasant Bernal Welcome Committee of well-adjusted lesbians? The individualistic spirit of the Castro, where every gay man looks different from each other? The economically and racially integrated community of Noe Valley?
- pstroll, on 03/07/2009, -8/+2Boy are they *****.
- inactive, on 03/07/2009, -8/+2So I shouldn't groove to the SF Bay Daria?
- mpastrana, on 03/07/2009, -9/+1Hm. O-kayh! Whilst we here in Mexico are learning how to do BarCamp, up in the US you guys are learning how to do laidoffCamp. Sign of the times. Sign of the times.
http://www.tequilavalley.com/2009/02/09/fuimos-mas ...
/mp - mysmartypants, on 03/07/2009, -10/+2This is a great idea. Is there a list of companies where these people used to work? There are TON of H1-B visa holders from India willing to move to SF for work who would like to know whom they can call.
Asish? Biswanith? Arindum? Ravi? Are you guys interested?
