Joining the Gig Economy

I remember reading about people who got good jobs, worked at the same company for their whole careers, and then retired with a gold watch and a lovely pension after 40 years of service. I think it must've been a book of fairy tales.

Certainly, no one I know has worked for the same company their whole career. Very few have even been at the same place more than five years, and only a handful have hit the decade mark.

I've been thinking about all this quite a good deal the last few days, as I have, once again, become unemployed. This is the 5th time over the course of the last 12 years I've found myself laid off. My penultimate (Look it up. It's good for you) job even sent me my own job to post on their web site (they wanted someone that had more credentials and they wanted to pay that person much less than they paid me).

Of the five layoffs, four of the companies are still in existence. As befitting a geek in this age, I've also been part of four different dot com startups. Three of those failed. One still owes me money.

I don't mention any of this so that I can get sympathy, or to make anyone uncomfortable. I say it because each layoff has made me see that I'm not really wanting to jump back into that world. I'm hoping to be able to look back at this as the turning point in my life, where I'm not going to be afraid that one day, someone's going to come in and tell me to take my stuff and go. I'm not going to have to suffer weeks of anxiety from the moment layoffs present themselves to the moment that the axe falls. I'm hoping to turn it into an opportunity to fall on my own face. Or, maybe, be a successfully self-employed whatever I am.

And, it turns out, I'm simply joining part of the new "Gig Economy." Increasingly, more and more people are doing this type of "piecemeal" work, multiple jobs, many different types of work, and doing whatever it takes to earn the basics of their livelihood. I listened to a discussion about this trend on NPR last week, and they said that one-third of all workers in today's economy make their living in this fashion.

I still think the web holds an unprecedented opportunity for people to be able to build a business out of practically nothing. I'm well aware that it's not a get rich quick environment, but, after several months of working at it slowly, the first seeds are starting to bloom, which has surprised even me.

Part of me has always craved the security of having a job, and knowing that I'll always have a job. I'd even imagined that if I did have a job, I'd work for the same company until I retired. I'm a loyal sort of person. Also, I really hate job hunting. Ironic, isn't it?

My ultimate goal was to quit my job when I had managed to get a consistent revenue stream secured. No matter. There's no time like the "living on severance" time. Here goes nothing.

Requiem for the Rocky?

The Rocky Mountain News, the oldest newspaper in Colorado, is for sale. Far from being a portent of strength and prosperity, it seems that in Denver's 150th year, the Rocky could be in its final one.

I have long and fond memories of the Rocky. In elementary school in Summit County, it was the newspaper we read once a week. I loved its tabloid format, which meant easy handling for my small arms, the only "grown-up" newspaper that I could easily manage.

That simple tabloid format was like a friendly little welcome to me, and when I got older, I naturally sought its familiar form as my newspaper of choice. The Denver Post was bulky, and its fonts looked foreign and stand-offish. I understood the Rocky, I knew its rhythms. It was a comfortable, old friend that I recognized even when I'd not picked it up in years.

In high school, I sat in football games and graduations (including my own) at Damon Runyon field, long before I knew anything about him or his role with the Rocky Mountain News. I knew of Harvey long before I knew of Rocky writer Mary Coyle Chase.

As an adult, I admit, I adored the largest comic section in any daily I've ever seen. Sure, the Post had Dilbert, but, that was a small loss in the overall comics war. Gene Amole and Dusty Saunders were must reads.

When it was announced that the two newspapers in Denver were going to be merged, and a joint operating agreement was going into effect, I feared only doom for the Rocky. The E.W. Scripps Publishing Company, which now owned both papers, assured us "Denver is still a two paper town! Nothing will change!" Riiiight. Was that a *Sunday* Rocky Mountain News you wanted?

Soon after the merger, I stopped taking the newspaper. I didn't really want it any more. In part, it felt like drinking the Kool-Aid (Should I say, instead, "Unbranded fruit drink made from powdered concentrate?"). The other part was that I wasn't reading much of the paper beyond the comics and the columnists that I really liked. I, like so many others, was finding more relevant news from other sources on the internet. I still read my favorite columns online. Admittedly, it was no longer a regular habit. Clearly, the declining revenue at the paper is all my fault. I've betrayed my good friend.

And, yet, betrayal aside, I didn't miss the paper. Comics and columns online were actually *archived.* If I missed a day, I could catch up. (And I didn't have to waste a single bit of bandwidth for Rex Morgan, M.D.)

This is happening to newspapers all over the country, and while I can't claim to have brought my mighty newspaper slaying ability to bear in every instance, the story is not new. Newspapers have struggled to understand and compete with the internet as a news source. The delivery model and revenue sources are completely different. Simply taking the print publication online is not the answer.

It is likely too late to save the Rocky, and I'm sad that it wasn't able to adapt to stay ahead of the extinction comet. At the same time, the big old comet worked out okay for everyone, right? Well, except the dinosaurs.

(Speaking of dinosaurs, I actually prefer my dinosaurs in natural history museums and Spielberg films, so, I'll stop being distracted and go back to talking about newspapers...)

What are some lessons that newspapers could learn?

* Stop covering everything. Newspapers always try to cover everything, which means having the same re-hashed Associated Press stories that every other paper had. Part of this was to "keep up appearances" of having "all the news," and part of it was to keep the correct content-to-ad ratio. Now, anyone can find those AP stories themselves, directly from the AP, so there's no reason to carry them.

* Go with your strengths. Sounds cliché, but, the things I most valued and associate with the Rocky? Columnists and Comics. They were things I could get no where else, and still seek out to this day. Eliminate anything that is mediocre and irrelevant. Unique and excellent content is valuable content.

* Information not data. I can get data anywhere, from a zillion different sources. What I can't get is information. I need insight. I want experts who tell me what something means, and how to make sense of all the data. I need a trusted source that helps me understand.

* Find a niche. This may sound like a combo of the first two, but, it's more than that. Covering a niche that is under-represented can be a gold mine. Probably, it can even be something that the newspaper did the occasional story on, but, never put much effort into. Like local governments. Civic groups. What rich content could a team of experienced journalists find if they stopped paying attention to the same things everyone else is watching? Be the first source your audience thinks of for information on the local government, and focus on following it better than anyone has ever followed it. Get those microscopes out, and expose corruption or sing the praises of things that are working really well. The key is depth, not breadth.

The deadline for the Rocky is tomorrow. The Rocky Mountain News reported today that E.W. Scripps has asked potential buyers to submit bids for the newspaper by close of business on Friday, when it will begin evaluating the offers. I wish my friends at the Rocky well, and may they find a home.

Note: There is a group of Rocky staffers working to save the paper, if you are interested, check out: http://www.iwantmyrocky.com/

Word of the Day: "discardure"

You probably noticed I've not posted at all lately, and, even never finished the last series. I sorta hit a big wall, and came to the conclusion that I'm probably not yet at a place where I can do a story daily.

I've also decided that I'm going to only post word of the day stories when I've got a polished story and story idea. That means, no publishing something just to publish something.

And, to better live up to the idea of a "Geek of all Trades," I'm going to post more of a column, about living in Colorado, random geekery, and television. All things with which I have some affinity. I'm planning to post a few times a week on one of those topics.

Anyway, I've had this story written for months, and I've been waiting until today to post it. I think the reason for that will be clear as soon as you read the story after...

Today’s Word:

discardure

As in:

There’s a magical place, near and yet so far from the world we know. In this place, an island of dreams and wonder, live the most amazing people. The people who live in this place are all talented artists, with unusual skill. Some are writers; some painters, others singers or dancers, others do a little bit of each. The people around them, secure in their ability and artistic judgment, observe each other, and happily give each other praise for their skills reassuring and bolstering each other’s confident view of their work.

The artists seldom travel outside their little world. When they do, the mundane world, where people fail to understand them and often tell them their talents are lacking, crashes into their security and damages their most sacred thoughts about themselves. It is difficult to transport their magical world with them, and the mundane weapons of criticism can be lethal to those from the magical island. Those that do venture forth return scarred, and it takes much praise and comfort from their fellows to make them whole again. They rarely venture forth again, but on those rare occasions, they carry with them a spirit of righteous indignation, lashing out against those mundane folks who dare insult their talent.

The mundane world is often as confused by these visitors as the visitors themselves. They come to sing or dance, and it is difficult for the magical people to classify the things the others do as singing or dancing. The non-magical people quickly dismiss these performers, judging they lack talent, or even worse, that their performance was unbearably horrifying.

When faced with this sort of discardure, the artists, unashamed and confused, angrily dismiss the opinions of the non-magical, and return to the safety of their world, better known to its outsiders as “Disillusionment Island,” or “The place where those awful American Idol wannabees come from.”

******************
Indeed. American Idol is back, and embarrassing tryouts are again making an appearance.

discardure / dis – CARD – yur / Rejection, dismissal