|
Post by Gregory Hewett on Nov 2, 2007 10:53:52 GMT 5.5
October 30, 2007
In India, Poverty Inspires Technology Workers to Altruism By ANAND GIRIDHARADAS
BANGALORE, India — Manohar Lakshmipathi does not own a computer. In fact, in India workmen like Mr. Manohar, a house painter, are usually forbidden to touch clients’ computers.
So you can imagine Mr. Manohar’s wonder as he sat in a swiveling chair in front of a computer, dictating his date of birth, phone number and work history to a secretary. Afterward, a man took his photo. Then, with a click of a mouse, Mr. Manohar’s page popped onto the World Wide Web, the newest profile on an Indian Web site called Babajob.com.
Babajob seeks to bring the social-networking revolution popularized by Facebook and MySpace to people who do not even have computers — the world’s poor. And the start-up is just one example of an unanticipated byproduct of the outsourcing boom: many of the hundreds of multinationals and hundreds of thousands of technology workers who are working here are turning their talents to fighting the grinding poverty that surrounds them.
“In Redmond, you don’t see 7-year-olds begging on the street,” said Sean Blagsvedt, Babajob’s founder, referring to Microsoft’s headquarters in Washington State, where he once worked. “In India, you can’t escape the feeling that you’re really lucky. So you ask, What are you going to do about all the stuff around you? How are you going to use all these skills?”
Perhaps for less altruistic reasons, but often with positive results for the poor, corporations have made India a laboratory for extending modern technological conveniences to those long deprived. Nokia, for instance, develops many of its ultralow-cost cellphones here. Citibank first experimented here with a special A.T.M. that recognizes thumbprints — to help slum dwellers who struggle with PINs. And Microsoft has made India one of the major centers of its global research group studying technologies for the poor, like software that reads to illiterate computer users. Babajob is a quintessential example of how the back-office operations in India have spawned poverty-inspired innovation.
The best-known networking sites in the industry connect computer-savvy elites to one another. Babajob, by contrast, connects India’s elites to the poor at their doorsteps, people who need jobs but lack the connections to find them. Job seekers advertise skills, employers advertise jobs and matches are made through social networks.
For example, if Rajeev and Sanjay are friends, and Sanjay needs a chauffeur, he can view Rajeev’s page, travel to the page of Rajeev’s chauffeur and see which of the chauffeur’s friends are looking for similar work.
Mr. Blagsvedt, now 31, joined Microsoft in Redmond in 1999. Three years ago he was sent to India to help build the local office of Microsoft Research, the company’s in-house policy research arm. The new team worked on many of the same complex problems as their peers in Redmond, but the employees here led very different lives outside the office than their counterparts in Redmond. They had servants and laborers. They read constant newspaper tales of undernourishment and illiteracy.
The company’s Indian employees were not seeing poverty for the first time, but they were now equipped with first-rate computing skills, and many felt newly empowered to help their society.
At the same time, Microsoft was plagued by widespread software piracy, which limited its revenue in India. Among other things, the company looked at low-income consumers as a vast and unexploited commercial opportunity, so it encouraged its engineers’ philanthropic urges.
Poverty became a major focus in Mr. Blagsvedt’s research office. Anthropologists and sociologists were hired to explain things like the effect of the caste system on rural computer usage. In the course of that work, Mr. Blagsvedt stumbled upon an insight by a Duke University economist, Anirudh Krishna.
Mr. Krishna found that many poor Indians in dead-end jobs remain in poverty not because there are no better jobs, but because they lack the connections to find them. Any Bangalorean could confirm the observation: the city teems with laborers desperate for work, and yet wealthy software tycoons complain endlessly about a shortage of maids and cooks.
Mr. Blagsvedt’s epiphany? “We need village LinkedIn!” he recalled saying, alluding to the professional networking site.
He quit Microsoft and, with his stepfather, Ira Weise, and a former Microsoft colleague built a social-networking site to connect Bangalore’s yuppies with its laborers. (The site, which Mr. Blagsvedt started this summer and runs out of his home, focuses on Bangalore now, but he plans to spread it to other Indian cities and maybe globally.)
Building a site meant to reach laborers earning $2 to $3 a day presented special challenges. The workers would be unfamiliar with computers. The wealthy potential employers would be reluctant to let random applicants tend their gardens or their newborns. To deal with the connectivity problem, Babajob pays anyone, from charities to Internet cafe owners, who finds job seekers and registers them online. (Babajob earns its keep from employers’ advertisements, diverting a portion of that to those who register job seekers.) And instead of creating an anonymous job bazaar, Babajob replicates online the process by which Indians hire in real life: through chains of personal connections.
In India, a businessman looking for a chauffeur might ask his friend, who might ask his chauffeur. Such connections provide a kind of quality control. The friend’s chauffeur, for instance, will not recommend a hoodlum, for fear of losing his own job.
To re-create this dynamic online, Babajob pays people to be “connectors” between employer and employee. In the example above, the businessman’s friend and his chauffeur would each earn the equivalent of $2.50 if they connected the businessman with someone he liked.
The model is gaining attention, and praise. A Bangalore venture capitalist, when told of Babajob, immediately asked to be put in touch with Mr. Blagsvedt. And Steve Pogorzelski, president of the international division of Monster.com, the American jobs site, said, “Wow” when told of the company. “It is an important innovation because it opens up the marketplace to people of socioeconomic levels who may not have the widest array of jobs available to them.”
Mr. Krishna, the Duke economist, called it a “very significant innovation,” but he cautioned that the very poor might not belong to the social networks that would bring them to Babajob, even on the periphery.
In its first few months, the company has drummed up job seekers on its own, sending workers into the streets with fliers promising employment.
To find potential employers, in addition to counting on word of mouth among those desperate for maids and laborers, Babajob is also relying on Babalife, the company’s parallel social networking site for the yuppie elite. People listed on Babalife will automatically be on Babajob, too.
So far, more than 2,000 job seekers have registered. The listings are a portrait of India’s floating underclass, millions and millions seeking a few dollars a day to work as chauffeurs, nannies, gardeners, guards and receptionists.
A woman named Selvi Venkatesh was a typical job seeker. “I am really in need of a job as our residential building collapsed last month in Ejipura,” she said, referring to a building collapse that killed two people, including an infant, in late July, according to The Times of India.
In Mr. Blagsvedt’s apartment one morning, Mr. Manohar, the painter, professed hope.
He earns $100 a month. Jobs come irregularly, so he often spends up to three months of the year idle. Between jobs, he borrows from loan sharks to feed his wife and children. The usurers levy 10 percent monthly interest, enough to make a $100 loan a $314 debt in one year.
Mr. Manohar does not want his children to know his worries, or his life. He wants them to work in a nice office, so he spends nearly half his income on private schools for them. That is why he was at Babajob in a swiveling chair, staring at a computer and dreaming of more work.
|
|
|
Post by sohee on Nov 3, 2007 18:51:43 GMT 5.5
So Hee Lee 11.03.2007 Developing Nations 4th period Babajob is one of the sites which seek to bring the social-network revolution to the world¡¯s poor. Many poor Indians in dead-end jobs remain in poverty not because there are no better jobs, but because they lack the connection to find them. So that¡¯s what Babajob is for. Many people who are working in India are turning their skills to fighting the grinding poverty that surrounds them. So ¡®Poverty¡¯ became a major focus to Sean Blagsvedt, Babajob¡¯s founder. In this article, he said we can¡¯t escape the feeling that we are really lucky because in India, there are lots of beggars on the street, compare with Redmond. Then, what have made India a laboratory for extending modern technological conveniences? That¡¯s corporations. Nokia, which develop many of its ultra low-cost cell phones here, is one of the examples of it. Babajob is a quintessential example of how the back-office operations in India have made poverty-inspired innovation. The unique thing of Babajob is that they connect India¡¯s elites to the poor at their doorsteps, people who need jobs but lack the connections to find them. In Babajob, they can talk, share, and recommend the jobs, but such connection makes people to not recommend a hoodlum, for fear of losing their own jobs. However, Babajob is the great site which gives the jobs to poor people. So far, more than 2,000 job seekers have registered and lots of people are finding their own jobs. In my opinion, Babajob is the great site and place for poor people to find their hope again, and they can live in a good living condition. Today, I went to www.babajob.com and I thought it is pretty complicated, but the system was much better than what I have thought. They allow people to find the jobs near them, preview job seekers, and they said when the person tell them who that person hired, and they will send a person a RS.300 refund in 30 days. This site made me think again about India¡¯s development. India is developing well, and there is a possibility that India will be a developed country soon. But I think the site, Babajob will have limit of giving jobs to the people in India because India¡¯s population is huge so they can¡¯t find jobs for each people. To give the jobs for poor people is one of the important things but to make and find the jobs so there are enough jobs is also important one. -Is there anything else for the poor people to find their jobs? -Are there any disadvantages to get the jobs there?
|
|
|
Post by eunjucho on Nov 4, 2007 12:45:14 GMT 5.5
This current event is basically about Babajob helping the poor people who cannot find the jobs even though the employers need workers in their companies.
The founder of Babajob is Sean Blasvedt who used to work in Microsoft according to this article. He moved to India because of his job and he started to get interested in poverty of India. That eventually led him to make a website, Babajob, exclusively for the poor people in India. This website helps poor jobless people to connect to the employers so that the employers can hire these people. Before making this website, Sean Blasvedt even hired economists to find out the reasons why jobless people stayed jobless. According to this article, unemployed people remained in poverty because they don¡¯t have connections to find the jobs. You can see how or why Blasvedt made a website like that. Blasvedt is planning to expand this so that later, everyone in the world can have the same opportunities to use his brilliant site. Plus, Anand Giridharadas says he is getting praised by everyone from economist to the founder of Monster.com. In my opinion, he really deserves it because he even quit his job to help the poor.
This article also tells how companies from foreign countries come to India and make laboratory which is good because it helps the poor people in India. You can say that Babajob is a case of some of these companies.
I found this article very entertaining and very inspiring. As I was reading this, I was quite happy with this because there are some people who still want to help the poor. Of course there are people who ignore the poor but not always as you can see. I was surprised by so many brilliant ideas the companies have come up with to help the poor like the examples in article like Nokia, Microsoft, and Citibank. On the other hand, I wonder if these things really can help the poor out there, all over the world because there are few people who did not even had the chance to learn anything since they were born which means people who live in the streets and probably who not have bank account. Maybe, somewhere in the world, people are trying to help them.
This article reminds me of something and that is Maimoona¡¯s mother¡¯s organization that help deprived women in India. Her organization is not laboratory or anything like that but it is to help the poor women who are jobless or need money desperately. Another thing is what we talked about in class, the cheap laptops by Nicholas Negroponte that cost 100 dollars each for children living poor lives. Just see how much people are supporting the poor. This current event shows how world is beautiful, too. There might be crimes and murders occurring in our world but there are also beautiful things going on in our world.
Anyhow, as a result, I don¡¯t think anything bad will happen because what people are doing are good things not bad, unless the poor in India or in any other countries do not want any help or do not want their countries to be developed. Hopefully in the future, the lives of the poor will get better eventually. I don¡¯t think their lives will be changed instantly better but at least it is getting a little better. I also hope others read this and get inspired by this because they might come up with other brilliant ideas to help people, too.
|
|
|
Post by yeeun on Nov 4, 2007 14:16:36 GMT 5.5
This article is about a new website which finds a job for poor and uneducated people in India. The name of this website is Babajob.com, and about 2000 people have registered recently. The uniqueness of this website is that the member of this website can actually be a job-connector for their friends. Furthermore, because people can check the other person¡¯s website, there is more chance for people to find an adequate job. In addition, since this site pick out potential workers, the employers can meet better employees, and also they can return the employees if they do not like them. But because most of the members in this website are uneducated, they do not know how to use a computer. In worse, some people cannot even have a chance to use a computer. So this is an obstacle of this good website.
Well, as this article already mentioned, most of people do not have an actual chance to use a computer. By the way, the question I have about this point is that when the government or the Microsoft provides computers to people, who do they provide first? I think usually, the people who usually get this support are students, in a poor local area, because they are young and valued much more potential than uneducated adults. So it means though in the future, more people in local area will know how to use a computer and get the chance of having a job, right now, the most of the students¡¯ parents do not know. But actually, they are the one who right now needs to get a job. So I think, though there is a support of computers, the people who actually needs cannot get it. The second question I have about this website is that is there a specific line for the age of employees? What I mean is can young people also register in this website? Because: if they can, I think it causes a little problem; young people, under poverty, choose to work instead of studying in a government school. Because: they know that they have to earn some more money for their family, and this site is actually for them. But well, if this site even allows little kids to register, then I think it might be the one which takes them from a little chance of education in their lives. So I wonder about whether there is age control or not, in the website.
The third question I have about this site is that when I actually entered this website, I could see the people¡¯s picture and a map which pointed where the people, in the pictures, are living. Well, though they do not have that secret information of themselves, I wonder how much the people are respected by their employers and the website. Because: though all the people are introduced by their friends, who are in same condition of life, it does not mean the employers always glad with all of the people in this website. So when they meet a person they do not like, one thing they do is returning them and asking this website to send another person. By the way, if one person is returned so many times by many employers, the number of chance that this website gives this person would decrease because since they are the connector, they should care about both employers and employees. So well, if there is this kind of problem with one person, then how do they handle? Though they give them a chance to catch a job, it does not mean they give a chance to learn a job. Therefore, I wonder how much this website is responsible for the all people. Well, in the future I am pretty sure that this website will help much more poor people to find their job, but also since there will be a group of people who use this website with a bad way. So I think this web-site should remember that the people are weak, and they are also responsible of not only the people but also the people¡¯s right,
|
|
|
Post by hawklim on Nov 4, 2007 15:21:47 GMT 5.5
This current event is about India¡¯s new resolutions to help poor people get out from the Poor¡¯s world by make them getting their jobs.
Sean Blasvedt is an ex-worker from Microsoft Company; he came to India and tries to spread jobs, which are empty and make poor to have job. As I went into the site called Babajob.com created by Sean Blasvedt, it said specific plans about how he will provide people who are asking him for a job. However, there were lots of handicap how he will make poor people ask for their job by computer using internet. Well, if they can go to zap center (one kind of the India¡¯s P.C room) and access into the website, next parts will go easy. However, as I checked the steps how to use and inform what jobs people can ask, the site demanded for phone number and E-mail address. I mean, how many people from rural India will have their own cell phones or how to make or how to use E-mail or other computer progresses and how many people will know what to write in English? I think almost75% of them cannot use this site properly.
As a resolution of these problems, I think Sean Blasvedt should make lots of language selections, for example make site in Tamil or Hindi. He needs to also demand something else that is easier for them to contact and how to use it. The helps from people who want to have jobs are also important. They should be linguistic people, intelligent, and friendly with some electronic stuff. However, I don¡¯t think many problems will happen unless, Sean find some jobs that they are not matching with people. There is also refund that people who asked for their job can get it if they don¡¯t really like their job.
India is the country that has lots of public languages so that they cannot even understand what others say. This even becomes an obstacle when they are getting jobs. The only one way to solve communication problem in India is to learn English, which is already public language all around the world and that can help in many things such as know and how to fix electronic stuff. India will be a great country once again unless government can help school educations.
|
|
|
Post by rikke on Nov 4, 2007 15:23:23 GMT 5.5
My opinion to this current event is that I think it is a really good thing they are putting up, specially for the poor people, there don’t know where to go when the need or want a job, even though there are jobs out there for them, so they end instead up with something there is not a quite good as they could have got if they had gone they right place. But know that as change, or are going to be change because of babajob, there are taking care of that, and helping people which I think are really good. Also because when the poor people get a better job, they will earn more money, and when they see that it is going better for them and their family they get happier, and believe more in themselves which is something there is really amazing for them.
Basically in this current event they are talking about Babajob, and how to help the poor get jobs, and they are talking about how they can use technology (the internet) to open a website where they can go in and get a job. And they are also paying people to be connectors between the employers and the employees, and they are coming around. And that helps the people to get the right jobs, and make it easier for them.
Actually in this current event they mansion something about Mr. Blagsvedt started focusing on Bangalore to help them there, and after that he wants to spread it all over Indian, and even after help people globally, people all over the world. What I wanted to say about that is that I mean it is not only in Indian there are poor people their need help for example to find jobs, it is all over the world it is like this, specially poor people, but it could also be other people their need help. So I think this issue is a beginning of something big, and it could easily have a connection with something else, because it is a big thing. And I also hope what it would be a beginning of something big, because it would help so many people all over the world, and make their lives much better. To give an example I think in Africa there are people like here in India there a very poor and really needs a job, but don’t know where to go, so Babajob or another founder would could millions and millions of people.
- When they say in the current event that they will do it online, how will the poor people their might not have a computer, or internet or don’t know how to use it be able to go into the website and search there for a job? - Can this idea really help globally? - Would Babajob also be able to help other than poor people? - Is it only jobs like drivers, maids, garners, cooks, nannies and so on, or is it also other kinds of jobs?
What I think and hope might happen next after this is that it would spread and grow bigger, and people might even get a job to help people with using the internet and a computer, so a lot of people will develop more because they know in a way of to use technology which will also make it easier for them to get a job.
Over all, I think this in a way really will help countries to develop when the poor people also get better jobs, which means that the economy would also be better, so I think Babajob was a great idea.
|
|
|
Post by arpitav on Nov 4, 2007 19:07:10 GMT 5.5
Babajob is one of the newest sites that is trying to bring the social-network revolution to the world’s poor. Many of the poor people are not stuck in poverty because of the lack of jobs, they’re stuck because of the lack of connection to find them. Babajob is trying to make it happen. Many people in India are already using their skills to try and fight all the poverty that is around them. Already, 2,000 people are registered. At this site, people who need someone to work for them can look for workers in specific jobs. People were earning only 2-3 dollars a day, but the workers in this site, are way better off now. To me, this site is a major breakthrough to help the poor try and get out of poverty. I also think that it is an extremely good idea for Babajob to global; it would help the people who are stuck in poverty all over the world, not just in India. However, if it does go global, How will it be managed? and How and who will organize the company? Also, How will people get the word out? Babajob has given a lot of people hope. I actually went to www.babajob.com. My first thought when I looked at it, was “wow, this is not even complicated to set up”. It was also a lot better than I had thought. The only thing that I think is a drawback, is the fact that India’s population is too big to find jobs for every single person. Making it easier for the poor to get jobs include making sure that there are enough jobs to do that.
|
|
|
Post by rahel on Nov 4, 2007 19:33:58 GMT 5.5
In India, Poverty Inspires Technology Workers to Altruism
Developing Nations
Can you imagine anybody who as never ever seen or touched a computer? Well, for people who do not really care that there are even those kinds of people they couldn’t imagine as they sit at the computer for hours in a row. But there are many people who haven’t used a computer. Well to state it clearly more than half of the world have never seen or used a computer. They are even not allowed to touch one since they are not as good as us. So what would you feel like if you would sit at a computer for the first time? It would be an amazing feeling and it would be a wonder.
Babajob is a new World Wide Web which is trying to bring up a social-networking profile for the poor who don’t have a computer. Many of the people who are taking part in this work are trying to fight the poverty which is around them using their talents.
Well being in India is like the one place were you actually feel different and special but at the same time don’t you think about what you could do to help the people on the street for example? Doesn’t it also make you feel guilty when you’re walking around with your nice handbag or shoes and then seeing this poor people on the side of the road? Well for me walking on the streets of India makes me sad and frustrated because I can’t bear to see this people and at the same time I want to make them happy.
Many companies for that reason are opening their buildings here because of its low labor and it is perfect to experiment. Babajob helps people who need jobs but don’t have the connections of how they can get them. They are therefore made through social networks. If people who come to India from America they lead a different life because they have servants and people who work for them and in the newspapers what they read is that they don’t have enough food. Being in Germany for example do you ever read such articles in the newspaper?
Poverty is a huge subject here in India and the employees are not seeing it for the first time and many of them have also now got the will to help these other people in the society accept only thinking about themselves.
There are many, many people who are on this earth without any jobs and would gladly take on anything available in order to get any money. There are also people who are constantly necking about not having enough people to clean their house or cook for them. What if you could be able to put this together wouldn’t both sides be happy? This is basically what the Babajob is trying to do. Many people are trying to give workers classes in computer because that is always necessary. For example in our school a teacher has started giving the workers working for us computer lessons after school. Babajob searches for people who need jobs and gets them in his site online. This seems to be a good idea and it gets a lot of attention and praises.
Well in my opinion it seems to be a very good idea. But can’t their also be misunderstandings through this? Even though people are now taking steps in helping the poor people is this way really the best? Couldn’t there be better and more appropriate ways of helping? Well through this not many people are asked to help. Even though it would give some of the poor jobs there are still so many that there are not enough jobs for everyone. People can get jealous at one another and there could be like a kind of war happening soon. Even though it may sound like a good idea for some time I don’t have a good feeling of what is actually going to happen at the end or as a result. The first time I read about it, it made me feel happy but as I read it a second time I actually took notice of the disadvantages that might occur. And I don’t think India could afford having a war at this moment and then having to start at the beginning again.
I am not positive about all this but I just hope India is careful and that it will also keep its eyes open to what might happen in the future and that they are ready and not taken by surprise or shock. I wish them good luck and I hope even if this goes wrong that they will still come up with new ideas to develop their country.
|
|
|
Post by sujata on Nov 4, 2007 19:39:43 GMT 5.5
This article tells us about Baba Jobs, which helps people locate new jobs, to make the living of the poorer people better. It tells us about how people can get jobs or find workers, at a better price, since there are people in India that would take any job they get, and employers don't need to go through a huge hassle to find these workers.
Obviously, this event, directly, is going to affect the more bothered poor of India, because those are the people that are going to bother to get on to computers at a public library or places like reliance web world to use the internet and get on to babajobs. The poor that are least bothered to make this effort wont get affected by this at all. It also affects employers that get on too babajobs, because it makes it easier for them to find chauffeurs, servants and other workers, maybe even factory workers. It in directly affects the rest of the country, because as the poor grow into a middle class thanks to technology, the country moves ahead in development. Because most of India lives in villages, and can't afford private education to get good jobs at the end of the day. It hopefully also affects other neighboring developing countries, by inspiring them to do the same thing, to make work in their countries easier.
This article basically talks about how a website, babajobs, is making a difference to a lot of people in India, by making jobs easier, and making them more technologically advanced. Technology is a key factor to development, as we've seen in these huge IT parks. It's basically technology that connects the world, which leads to cultural diffusion, and then slowly development. Therefore, babajobs is a helpful factor in India's development; in whatever small way it contributes.
I predict and hope that this one website globalizes, and spreads not only in India but all over the world, especially the developing world. This way, people that want jobs out of their own countries, where they have better or more opportunities, are aware of what is going on. This will bring a huge change to the world, and developing nations will move ahead, which means the poor of the country will start to lead better lives, which is, if u ask me, the most important thing to focus on right now, especially in nations like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh etc.
After saying all this, I'm still not completely certain on what babajobs does, and have a question about it. I was wondering if babajobs, since it’s a private organization, is similar to NGOs and what they do? How is Babajobs making money, or is this just to help the poor? I think babajobs is something comparable to NGOs but I’m not too sure. I'm also pretty sure that no one would start up something if he or she was loosing money, but how is the chairman of this organization making his money?
|
|
|
Post by miriam on Nov 4, 2007 20:28:54 GMT 5.5
Poverty Inspires Technology Workers to Altruism
What this article tries to do is it tries to bring closer and make known to us a new innovation called ‘Babajob’ – however, in my opinion, I think that they could have made a better job on the way that they presented this innovation as parts of this article have been written to confusingly. In my view ‘Babajob’ is pretty much an Indian version of and American website called monster.com, just with a slightly different perspective as to what they want to achieve. First of all, what the American website 'monster.com' is trying to achieve is to get unemployed Americans into the working world. It is a forum that brings together people who are looking for jobs and people who are offering jobs. At the same time it tries to get people a job that suits them best in order to prevent them getting fired if they are not good enough at it or them quitting when the job isn’t what they expected it to be. Secondly, what the Indian innovation ‘Babajob’ is trying to do is it tries to decrease poverty by creating connections through several levels, which eventually might lead to employment. At the moment this service is only available in Bangalore but soon in the whole of India due to the speed at which this innovation is progressing. In the process of getting someone employed everybody benefits, from the person who is asked to suggest someone to the person that is actually hired.
Some of these people that are being hired don’t even own a computer in ‘fact, in India workmen’‘are usually forbidden to touch clients’ computers.’ As you can see, this generation of some families is still less privileged but due to this program this will change one family after another and generation after generation will grow up with new options, new possibilities and a better life - as parents now have an income to send their children to proper schools, where they can get the proper education they deserve.
In India poverty as well as unimployment are so wide spread that any attempt to improve the situation and to better the outlook for the people that have to live in these conditions should be welcomed. Even if some of the ideas and innovations seem to be far fetched and sometimes difficult to understand, they are like a straw to a drowning man.
This innovation is giving people hope. It is giving underprivileged people a chance of connecting with the developed world and improves their lives as well as their families. This program is starting off slowly, focusing on one part of India in particular, in order to have as many disadvantaged people living in that area as possible gain from it, so that once ‘Babajob’ has been spread over the whole of India you won’t ‘see 7-year-olds begging on the street’ anymore but see them on their way to school.
|
|
|
Post by pyeonchan on Nov 4, 2007 20:53:09 GMT 5.5
The social networking connections among people have become important as time goes on. Even though it was popularized by Facebook or Myspace, the website named Babajob.com has settled down the broad connections for the people who need jobs or employees in India. Even though it was not an altruistic intention, the companies like Nokia, Citibank, and Microsoft have created such positive results for the poor people in India. Generally, the best-known websites for the social networking connections have enabled the connections among people who have computers, but Babajob.com has connected the elites and poor people at the same time. The founder of Babajob.com got the explanations from one economist of Duke University, and the economist analyzed the reason of poverty due to the lack of connections between the employers and employees. Based on that, the founder of Babajob.com, Mr. Blagsvedt made an website and paid anyone to notice their websites. Furthermore, for the problem of quality of workers, Babajob.com paid the conncectors as well.
I believe that Babajob.com showed one kind of innovations to the people who live under the poverty line. As the economist of Duke University mentioned, many people lacked the connections and lost the opportunities to get a new and better job. The website changed the idea that the social networking connection sites are for the people who have the computers, generally the rich. In order to give better chances to better jobs, people need more connections, but the connections like Babajob.com that can connect the employers and employees at the same time. These socioeconomic connections among people will help each other; the employers can get the workers that have been qualified by others and employees can get more chances to work with better working environment and salary.
However, I wonder whether it is really what the employees wanted. Some of them may not want to expose their identities to the others, but the websites can expose it with no intentions. I faced with this issue several times. Although exposing one¡¯s identity is for oneself, we sometimes feel bad about exposing ourselves by the others. Perhaps job seeking sites such as Babajob.com should care the identity problem. They also need to check whether they show minimum informations for the people. The employers generally do not need the specific personal informations which are related to one¡¯s privacy, but the websites can give them to the employees. Except the identity problem, the job seeking websites can assist the Indian society a lot by connecting each other. These proper systems should settle down soon for providing better opportunities for people.
|
|
|
Post by jayanth23 on Nov 4, 2007 21:52:44 GMT 5.5
I think the main point of this article and website is to show that everyone including the poor can be benefited from the Internet. Internet centers are available everywhere but the poor who don't know English cannot even go near them. These Internet centers are so cheap that even beggars could afford them, (I think something like Rs. 5 for 1 hour). I think that OS that are in local languages should be available as well. Right now Babajob is going though the upper-middle class (wealth wise) to get to the lower-middle class and the poor, but what if they could straight to them. Wouldn't be more effective and less time consuming? If computers were available in local languages then more people will search for jobs on the internet and more people will be able to recieve them. Proving my statement, only 2000 people have reived jobs via Babajob which is a mere of fraction of the people who are jobless.
Babajob is the start and will only get better. I'm guessing by the end of 2008 more than 5 websites will be out there just like Babajob just for India. Then the competiotn will grew and drastic improvement will take place. India has just found the next best to reach its diverse population. But they will be negitive aspects to it. First of well million have farmers will not be benefited, either that or it will cause many people to move to the city due to their jobs. The already crowded cities will become more conjested. Second of all many peope can get easily cheated. Considering that the employer and the employee have never met before.
Lastly, A website that can be used by anyone in India is a website that one should be proud of. This is a revolutionary break through that should be started in many other developing countries as well. I think this site will have to be advertised in order for everyone to make full use of it. I like the way that both the employer and the employee are benefited. Also the fact that you can make money out of this is inspiring.
|
|
|
Post by yulli on Nov 4, 2007 23:54:40 GMT 5.5
-In India, poverty inspires technology YULLI
First of all, the title of the article itself really expresses what this article is about. This article mainly talks about the website Babajob.com, which was established by Sean Blasvedt, who had a greater interest in helping those destitute in India than working as an ordinary worker in Microsoft, i think. Babajob literally is a very inspiring, significant website in which poor people can actually be hired by the employers. Although they have no access in using computer to upload their profiles or other things that require technological knowledge, hopefully, many technology workers are using their talents in order to fight for the extreme poverty around them. Babajob intends to bring the social-networking revolution to those who don't even have access to computers. The point is that even though these people don't know how to use internet, they can get helped from the internet, all due to the existence of babajob.com. It is really important that people of India get employed and the fact that this babajob will benefit in reducing the unemployed rate of India is indeed very fortunate and hopeful to hear. Employers and employee are connected gives more insightful and somehow more hope from the article.
When I was reading this article, I got almost thrilled to hear about what babajob.com is actually there for, to help those people to get employed. Because I've been in India for past three years and have heard a lot about India's one of the biggest probles; an extremely serious unemployed rate all over India. But the fact that this babajob is also making the elites, or high society, as it is normally called and these poor people to get close. It is always good to have a balance, not too much or too little. Although I am not even Indian or someone who needs to find a job, I was as happy as these people who will be so excited about babajob, and I really think that this babajob.com is one of the most inspiring as well as essential website in developing nations, especially in India I suppose. Hopefully India's economical problems, such as low rate of employers and undevelopment will also get resolved if more websites that intend to keep helping the poors, like babajob.com.
I have three basic questions to ask after reading this insightful, thought-provokingly significant article. -How babajob really get started. I really am curious how the founder of this website managed to bring the changes that he is producing about right now. -In what way would it be affective in technological use to Indians rather than them getting jobs? -How many people of India know about this website? Because I had no idea about babajob before i came to read this article.
Once again, I appreciate what people of India are doing to produce some magnificent changes to their own nation and am happy to see those changes. Further more, as a result of this current event, I don't think any bad incidents would happen, unless any good ones. Hopefully many businessmen or just ordinary men will get inspired by the idea of helping those who have no way to find job to find job, perhaps not by establishing a website but by many other ways. I believe there are many good, fortunate people who want to bring about some true, deep changes to the people of India and I truly hope for it.
|
|
|
Post by divya on Nov 5, 2007 0:20:28 GMT 5.5
Babajob.com is just one of the many sites that are trying to replicate the Facebook scene with slight alterations. I speak from experience because my father’s company is also trying to achieve a similar goal just not for the poor. I think this website is interesting because as we talked about in class, globalization is a rapidly moving bus and many are struggling to get on or at least come within a radius of it. Though this application is like reaching out your hand to help the helpless get on the bus, I still have many questions about this website.
My first one is about the accessibility of the webpage to the audience it is trying to cater to. Though it mentions the trade system between internet cafes and other places to encourage users onto the site but is that really effective. How many beggars on the street would step into an internet café even once in a while. The centers that do have internet and also people to help them use it is extremely low. I do know that there are cafes where they have cheaper used computers to spare and the fees are low but you also need someone to assist you in signing up and following up and many are not used to that procedure since it is usually the poor helping the wealthier in services.
Another issue in India is the caste system that the article mentioned but I think it plays a larger role in society than the article made it seem. Half the reason we have such a wide range of social classes in India is because of the caste system, which is abolished but some tend to ignore that fact and carry on with their irrational behavior. A lot of people who volunteer already with the less fortunate can help the people but that number is not nearly enough to help a lot of the people. I think the arrogant attitude some still carry will sadly hinder the progress of this website.
But after enough of showing the possible negatives of the site, I want to also point out the many benefits. This website will not only help the working class but will also make it easier for the employers because they are constantly searching for reliable and dependent housework and the expectations are rising. Though it may seem like the ones who are well off are in control, they are actually dependent on the workers they get and are scared to loose them because now more and more jobs are opening up for them and they want to make the most of their lives for the future. I think that is people see the benefits of this site, not so much as a social interacting website but a helpful one that can actually make life easier for many, India can completely change and actually develop at a much faster pace than other developing countries by skipping the invention period. All the materials and inventions are here, with advances in technology like never before and once the working class learns how to make the most of it, there can be some flatness in India instead of the steep mountain we have today.
|
|
|
Post by jihyeyun on Nov 5, 2007 0:45:10 GMT 5.5
Another social networking is taking important place in India, like Citibank and face book which connect people. Babajob is the site where people who need jobs or employees can provide their information in this site so that they can get jobs. The good thing about this site is that unlike other well-known websites which only can connect people who have computers, babajob tries to connect upper class people and poor people. According to the founder of babajob, the poverty of India was created because of lack of connections between employees and employers. Thus¢¬ the founder of babajob pays people who notice their websites and also the connectors. I like the fact that motivated the founder which is that the poverty has been created due to the lack of connections among people. From this website, people are getting jobs more. According to the information, India unemployment rate was 7.8% (2006). However, the rate of unemployment is decreasing slowly. While I understand that this website is an important and timely important innovation from the perspective of business in India, there are at least significant problems that cannot be overlooked. At first I thought that this web site may have problem with exposed email address, mobile number, and some detailed information. However, after visiting this site I changed my mind that this problem is not really serious one; even though people expose their basic personal information the numbers and too detailed one, the website covers them up. Yet, still I don¡¯t like people dropping their information in this website where the employer can choose the exact weight, height, color of skin of the person wishes to employ. Also other people can abuse these information to do something other things. The word ¡°baba¡± contains very clear class distinctions and positions. At last the most significant problem is that, the fact that babajob.com is itself in English makes it abundantly clear that this isn¡¯t so much a social network for the poor as it is a network for elites in cities like Bangalore to find cooks, drivers, peons and so on. This Website needs some modification to have both native and English and other parts so that people who can not speak English can actually access this website and get help from it. If these networking system have more adjustments and modification to suit every people not only elites and upper-class people but also people in rural areas, this will more flattens the India by giving equal opportunities to get jobs. The slideshow about babajob and babalife: www.slideshare.net/seanblagsvedt/introducing-babalife-and-babajob
|
|
|
Post by meehye on Nov 5, 2007 1:23:50 GMT 5.5
This article is about the Babahob.com. this site is very useful because the poor people can have a job. Like what this article title show that ¡°poverty inspires technology workers to Altruism.¡± They can have a job and they can work. In India have lots of poor people, almost 70% of India population. In fact, poor people also have lots of ability and smart and they are good enough for working. But most of employer wants to have a person of great scholastic ability. So they can earn the lots of money. But they cannot or earn the money only little. Like Rs.2 in a month because they are poor, only that reason. For example, they have cannot go to school or they have to stop studying because of family so when they are young they have to earn the money. So they try to earn the money and work hard anyone else and they do best. However, they cannot get their money and they do not have any right. That is that India problem I think. I went field trip and I hear that many of that kinds of story. Even though, my driver and savant are very smart and intelligence, first they comes to my house they cannot speak English that much but they watch television and they learn their self. That is mean that maybe, poor people is smarter than other rich people. They can work and they have lot of ability but many people cannot have job because of they are poor. However, this article is about that the website help poor people who did not have job or they can earn lots of money because they have good ability but they cannot earn the money that much. The website help them and they can have job what they want and they can earn the money, everything is much better than before their life. So I think, it is really good for people. Therefore, I hope all the poor people can have job and they will have happy life. I HAVE QUESTION! If, really people are really poor even they did not know how to use computer so they did do anything then what they going to do? It that everyone knows that site? How people can use that site? I really do not have any idea of this question.... if they have this answer than all poor people can live happily so and if they earn the money, all the people can do that then the GDP of India can developing and growing up so anyway this is good for India and Inida is developing Nation!
|
|
|
Post by yeeun on Nov 5, 2007 11:36:49 GMT 5.5
For So hee)
I think you clearly stated the summary, and you also showed your opinion. By the way, in your opinion, you said the website, Babajob, would have a limit to provide a job for people. Well, one question I have is that whether they also send people to the other countries or not. Because: if they do, then I think there would not be that serious limit problem.
But anyway, because of your deep question, Rikke and I could think about a question. Thank you.
|
|
|
Post by eunjucho on Nov 5, 2007 11:42:57 GMT 5.5
reply to hawk's respond from mee hye and eun ju -
we think that you did an excellent job on pointing out the problem of the site you said that people who cannot speak English will have various problems we think that it is true and the poor should either some how learn to speak English or the site will have to change the language. Overall, it's really good.
|
|
|
Post by yulli on Nov 5, 2007 11:45:22 GMT 5.5
Sam and Yulli responding to Hawk: Good response, but i think the assumption that 75% percent of Indian people cannot use the site babajob.com might be a little bit of an exaggeration. On the site it asks for EITHER a mobile phone number or a E-mail. The majority of people do in fact have a mobile phone. The percentage would probably be closer to around 30%. But i understand how you could maybe misread the print or forget about it when writing. Overall i enjoyed your response. Good job!!
|
|
|
Post by rahel on Nov 5, 2007 11:46:36 GMT 5.5
Reply To Jayanth
From Rahel and Sujata
We agree with Jayanth’s understanding of the main point, about the internet being really cheap, but are people in villages (where poverty is most) going to make an effort to go to these internet cafes? These cafes are too far away for them to get to, and public transport in India isn’t the best. We don’t agree to him saying it will improve too much, because it is a fifty-fifty chance. It can get bigger if people make an effort and contribute to this, but it can’t if people in rural areas are behaving the way most of them are at present- no enthusiasm. We also agree that he brought up a really good point, on how people get cheated on the internet, and there needs to be some form of security that website will need to work on.
|
|
|
Post by eunjucho on Nov 5, 2007 11:47:22 GMT 5.5
reply to Jayanth's post from Eun Ju and Mee Hye
it is really inspiring, don't you think? and we agree that there are some negative aspects to it, too. Like the one you mentioned about farmers and moving. You did a good job on pointing out the main points.
|
|
|
Post by yeeun on Nov 5, 2007 11:48:21 GMT 5.5
For Yeon Chan)
As you wrote about the importance of keeping their identitiy, I also agree with it. Becuase: when I first entered this website, the first thing I focused on was a map with marks of where people live. So I think they really need to keep the people's identitiy like you think.
|
|
|
Post by hawklim on Nov 5, 2007 11:50:16 GMT 5.5
To. Divya We think your discussion forum contains all the main points of the articles and your thoughts are really deep. Especially when you talked about your father's job, it was really unique. However, if you have added some questions that you had, then it would be better and seems much deeper. Good job, Divya! Love you From. Hawk and So Hee
|
|
|
Post by rahel on Nov 5, 2007 11:51:07 GMT 5.5
Reply to Arpita
From Rahel and Sujata
We really understand how Arpita found certain aspects of the article important, but find it not too interesting to have to re-read the same thing the article said in very similar words. We like her enthusiasm in going to check out the site, and telling us about it, because we’re sure not too many people know how easy the set up is. We certainly agree with the idea that she gave, that it’s easier for the poor to get jobs, but how is easy is it for them to get on the internet?
|
|
|
Post by divya on Nov 5, 2007 11:52:16 GMT 5.5
Arpita-
Maybe you could pose a few more critical thinking questions in your response instead of just stating the facts already in the article. Maybe you could elaborate on your ideas because yours slightly short. Your other observations were insightful though. JAYANTH, DIVYA, DEVIN
|
|
|
Post by arpitav on Nov 5, 2007 11:52:56 GMT 5.5
Arpita replying to Divya
First of all, I want to say that you did a good job. I think that talking about the caste system is good thing. Before I read your response I hadn’t even thought about the caste system playing that big of a role. I also liked how you talked about the internet cafes and how rare it is to see a beggar in one. But you didn’t just explain the cons, you also explained the pros. I liked how you incorporated and explained both well.
|
|
|
Post by eliasse on Nov 5, 2007 12:11:23 GMT 5.5
I think that this is a good job, the article is really interesting and show how the indian population, decided to change its own traditions to involve in a mordern population, where there are lots of innovation and something of new to discover.
|
|
|
Post by eliasse on Nov 5, 2007 12:12:09 GMT 5.5
I think that this is a good job, the article is really interesting and show how the indian population, decided to change its own traditions to involve in a mordern population, where there are lots of innovation and something of new to discover.
|
|
|
Post by eliasse on Nov 5, 2007 12:12:46 GMT 5.5
I think that this is a good job, the article is really interesting and show how the indian population, decided to change its own traditions to involve in a mordern population, where there are lots of innovation and something of new to discover.
|
|