Interesting op/ed from the Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...AR2007050402555.html

It discusses how offshoring is good in many ways, but the U.S. is not prepared for how big this trend will become ... an excerpt:


... Technological advancement and the rise of China and India -- suggest that this particular transition will be large, lengthy and painful.

It's going to be lengthy because the technology for moving information across the world will continue to improve for decades, if not forever. So, for those who earn their living performing tasks that are (or will become) deliverable electronically, this is no fleeting problem.

It's also going to be large. How large? In some recent research, I estimated that 30 million to 40 million U.S. jobs are potentially offshorable. These include scientists, mathematicians and editors on the high end and telephone operators, clerks and typists on the low end. Obviously, not all of these jobs are going to India, China or elsewhere. But many will.

It's going to be painful because our country offers such a poor social safety net to cushion the blow for displaced workers. Our unemployment insurance program is stingy by first-world standards. American workers who lose their jobs often lose their health insurance and pension rights as well. And even though many displaced workers will have to change occupations -- a difficult task for anyone -- only a fortunate few will be offered opportunities for retraining. All this needs to change.


What does this mean for the b2b industry? Will editors become more of a commodity item, or will our specialization in specific industries keep the offshoring monster at bay?

There are many flavors of B2B editor, each with their own level of risk in the new media industry. Editors who have roots in the industry they cover are at less of a risk than those who do not, and editors who create a role for themselves as ambassadors or evangelists for their publication in the industry at events and seminars are safer than those who rarely leave their cubicles.

In this industry as in every industry, we have to do as much as possible to add value to our work. Nobody is irreplacable, but someone can become too cost-effective to replace.