[consulting] A chuckle

[Therese Kells]

Kristof,

I am of like mind, well at least I think I am.  Most customers want to be
able to have face to face interaction. Unless the customer has very strong
technical and business folks on staff they don't really even have the skill
to ask for what they really need. This is where a good developer can become
the best consultant a small to mid size company could possible have by truly
partnering with them. As for the multinationals, if they don't spec out
exactly what they want (and how often has that happened?), they blow their
budgets and end up torturing their internal staff. If we can get to that
tortured internal staff, there is a real opportunity to become a hero. Am I
too much of an idealist?

By the way, the game show I had in mind was something more like American
Idol. Companies present their ideas with their budgets in hand to a group of
skilled developers and perhaps a savvy business person who knows the ropes
and pitfalls. Doesn't this sound like more fun? Who wants to be Simon?





On Sat, Aug 7, 2010 at 2:36 AM, Kristof Van Tomme <kristof at pronovix.com>wrote:

> The wild running beast that is the Drupal market doesn't need
> regulation, just brace, be aware, grasp opportunities as they come and
> enjoy the ride. If you could regulate it, it would die.
>
> Service markets are not as liquid as we often think, there is too much
> meta-communication that is lost through mail and customers like seeing
> the people that build their sites. They often don't know the channels
> how to find the good low cost producers any way (if there are such
> channels).
>
> I don't know about the rest of the world, but here in Europe all
> except multinationals want somebody who lives somewhere maximum 100 km
> away to do their sites, even if you speak the same language.
>
> So the doom scenario will not materialize.
>
>
> The only way we can stay in the win is to keep on pushing the limits,
> specializing and innovating every day. Improving our tools and
> becoming more efficient all the time. The moment you stand still
> you've lost.
>
>
>
>
>
> On 7 August 2010 11:09, Sami Khan <sami at etopian.net> wrote:
> >>
> >> I'm actually totally sure you're lots of fun at parties, and otherwise.
> >> However, I would suggest that if we would try your union idea, we would
> >> have little to restrict to gain long term leverage when talking about
> > open
> >> source software of zero marginal cost.
> >
> > Restrict documentation.
> >
> >> The factories we would "sit in"
> >> during a strike would have to be every pc on earth, and the alternative
> >> means of production are available on wordpress.com for free.
> >
> > The idea of strike does not apply.
> >
> >>
> >> Instead, focusing on driving down the cost of international
> > communication
> >> between workers by making more drupal websites and teaching the masses
> > to
> >> the same would be a nicer strategy for laying the groundwork for
> >> international organizing around really resource restricted goods like
> > food,
> >> water, housing and healthcare.
> >
> > No amount of websites are going to solve these issues. Communication is
> > hardly
> > the problem. Websites are hardly the problem. Biggest problem for
> > developing nations
> > are ideological, and the situation is exacerbated by the elites in the
> > countries currently
> > on top, as well as their own elites.
> >
> > A developing nation can always raise a host of developers of Drupal to
> > service their niche, in
> > their own country. When they look to our markets to export their labour
> > to, they create
> > competition that we can not possibly match with the price levels we deal
> > with (PPP). This
> > in the long run will lower the price level, but also the buying power of
> > our citizens. Therefore,
> > creating  globalized competition is digging yourself a grave if you are a
> > middle class worker
> > in the developed countries.
> >
> >> In the long path towards this goal there
> >> will be many technologies to master and make a living developing along
> > the
> >> way.
> >
> > It's a nice sentiment. But one person can master one piece of technology
> > at a time...
> > This for the developed country worker means nothing but pain... it may be
> > beneficial for developing
> > markets to create new export industries to bring in money; but it
> destroys
> > our software
> > industry in the developed countries. I can only speak for myself and my
> > country when I say
> > I personally don't support your view. I think I much rather not destroy
> > our industry (software)
> > so that other industries may prosper from cheap or costless IT.
> >
> >
> > Sami
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
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