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Otetsudai Networks, a Twitter-style service, increases Japan freelance labor force

A Twitter-style service
In this video, Joi Ito describes how Otetsudai Networks is using mobile phones with continuous presence to create a new labor market in Japan of people who walk the streets using their mobile phones to offer to work for few hours. All you need to do is switch your phone onto “Looking for Work” and it will match your time available and skill set with an employer nearby who has a job and salary that fits. (Joi has also blogged about the company.)

builds up a system of trust
The service has eBay-style ratings from employers and employees. Since people rarely change mobile phones, it makes the ratings information relatively reliable.

gives students jobs
For students, the system is perfect: You have three free hours, go work a bit at a convenience store.

creates a much-needed labor pool
With Japan’s rapidly aging population, one of Tokyo’s most popular noodle shops had to shut down. They could not find enough people to serve the noodles. In addition, there is a large population of fully trained convenience store employees who - due to restrictive labor laws - only work part time.

give great flexibility
As Joi, a former DJ, points out, the system would give organizations such as nightclubs great flexibility in how many people to hire for a night. If the crowd is bigger than expected, put up the call for workers and some at the party might decide they wanted a few extra bucks (or yen).

modernizes an old system
The best analogy I could find to the system is a wireless-enabled version of those street corners in many cities where manual laborers hang out waiting for day jobs.

Technorati Tags: Joi Ito, Otetsudai Networks, Twitter

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