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Inside Amazon's clickworker platform

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Re: Inside Amazon's clickworker platform

#51
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but on the other I realize that these people are competing with people who come from places without a minimum wage at all. "Places", or "countries" might have low minimum wage compared to US or even below the average of world. But no minimum wage at all seems unlikely. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_wages_by_count... I wonder if there is a 18+ check involved. > To me the answer is to tell yoursel…

I'm (oddly) glad someone else finds the name offensive. I know the history from the chess playing machine, but I found it felt more strongly tied to the meaning behind that in Turkish people. I just worried I was being overly sensitive and no one else would see it that way. But I'd also say having a stated minimum wage, and having a relevant minimum wage are two different things. I come from a country on that list wi…

Thank you for your post and clarifications. They make a lot of sense to me.

I made a mistake in my post:

> in a good part of the 90s in Europe cheap labour and Turkish people went hand in hand

I meant to say the 20th century, not the 90s. It occurred from about '60s till '80s. I'm also glad I'm not the only one who finds the name offensive, and FWIW I'm not Turkish in any way. Nor do I resent being associated with Turkish people. However for it to change, two people wouldn't be enough. I also wonder if the name is a coincidence, or deliberate. If Amazon were a European company I'd expect the latter, but America doesn't have the same history with Turkey as Europe does.

As for hobby. I'd just call it what it is: "a badly paid job". One you'd replace ASAP if you could. You need to also take into account that one requires a computer which requires maintenance and is going to (partly) die at some point. Sure, internet bill is likely flat fee and paid already, but electricity is going to be higher.

Re: Inside Amazon's clickworker platform

#52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To some extent, this happens today. In countries like Australia and the UK, companies that pay their fair share of tax and employ a lot of people are viewed upon favourably by government. For instance, the entire automotive industry in Australia. The problem becomes when globalisation occurs, and those companies are no longer competitive against foreign car companies. The Australian government tried to bail out the a…

That's a good point and I don't really have an answer to it. If a global company is only selling imported product produced elsewhere shouldn't they be paying higher taxes which will make the play ground even. I don not think they would like to lose access to a market just because taxes are higher. After all they too need consumer to sell products too. In current state globalization is able to produce cheap services b…

>They are essentially discounting the future to provide cheap services today.

This statement describes a problem I have with a lot of the Republican/Libertarian outlook. A lot of deregulation is just risking the future on today. If the EPA goes away all will be fine and dandy until we're all underwater. Consumers will choose the cheap option with no regard for the future.

Re: Inside Amazon's clickworker platform

#53
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm always torn when I see stories like this. On one hand I feel for someone making less than minimum wage doing a job, but on the other I realize that these people are competing with people who come from places without a minimum wage at all. The same thing happens on freelancer sites. Jobs for pennies on the dollar of their worth are fought over by people barely making it in the US, and people who are enjoying a rat…

> but on the other I realize that these people are competing with people who come from places without a minimum wage at all. "Places", or "countries" might have low minimum wage compared to US or even below the average of world. But no minimum wage at all seems unlikely. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_wages_by_count... I wonder if there is a 18+ check involved. > To me the answer is to tell yoursel…

I don't disagree with the negative connotations of the name, but it's not named after the Turkish people, but rather after The Turk, a chess-playing machine invented in the 18th century: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Mechanical_Turk#Overvie...
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