Thomas Friedman Embraces the Gig Economy

The well known New York Times columnist, best selling author and pundit Thomas Friedman wrote a very bullish article on gig work last week.

Self-Driving People, Enabled by Airbnb focused on the gig work being created by Airbnb's "Experiences" platform.

Key quote:

To see what’s growing, go to Airbnb’s site and click not on “homes” but on “experiences.”

You’ll find an endless smorgasbord of people turning their passion into profit and their inner artisan into second careers.

According to Airbnb, Experiences is a platform that connects travelers with "handcrafted activities" developed by "local experts".

They range from mushroom foraging in Tuscany to hiking to the Hollywood sign with a naturalist to doing yoga on a paddle board.

The providers of the experiences are independent workers who, according to Airbnb, "create unique experiences around your city, and earn extra money by bringing others along."

The point about "extra money" makes it clear that Airbnb sees this a source of supplemental income, not a full-time job.

Friedman points out that tour guiding will likely not solve the middle class jobs problem. But he thinks it is part of the solution.

Again from the article:

"Is this the only answer for the American middle-class jobs challenge? Of course not. There is no one answer. That’s the point.

We have to do 50 things right to recreate that broad middle class of the ’50s and ’60s, and platforms like Airbnb’s are just one of them. (Having universal health care to create a safety net under all of these budding entrepreneurs would be another.) But you have to be inspired by how many people are now finding joy and income by mining their passions."

The mainstream media has not, on average, been thrilled about the rise of the gig economy. In fact, mostly it's been quite hostile. 

So it's good to see someone as influential as Thomas Friedman be supportive.

from Small Business Labs http://ift.tt/2uPAkLB
via https://ifttt.com/ IFTTT