In Defense of Freelancing

Paying money to obtain fake reviews is a ridiculous marketing tactic that should be contained to the extent Amazon and the Internet can do so. Thanks to Cliff Feldwick for writing his column on this topic on Nov. 4, in The Business Monthly. I haven’t personally met Cliff, but he has been writing quality articles for many years.

However, I felt it appropriate to write an alternative perspective on the services sites like Fiverr, Elance, UpWork, etc. offer, as they perhaps are being unfairly considered the source of the problem — as opposed to merely a well-meaning, but unfortunate, facilitator.

Freelancing is the future, and Fiverr is well on its way to being a leader in it, in my opinion. As a businessman, responsible for branding, marketing, lead generation, content, advice, business modeling and SEO, among many other tasks, I have used Fiverr and its competitors many times. I don’t find the providers of services to be offering [what] “people with Internet access and spare time (and perhaps a lot of desperation) are willing to do for very little money,” by any means. They are information technology (IT) professionals, graphic designers, professional writers and copy editors, and also work in many other occupations.

I have personally hired people from Sri Lanka, Florida, Israel, London, Italy and others. It’s a new world, and anyone anywhere can offer services through the Internet to anyone else in the entire globe.

Yes it’s scary, and yes it’s disruptive to a variety of industries with hardworking Americans who need revenue to support their families and maintain their businesses; but these are the same goals they have, and they have a right to compete just like everyone else, as long as their services are ethical and legal.

Fiverr made a mistake allowing these “gigs” (as they are called) to be offered, but the business model is sound and will continue to grow. This is the new reality of global capitalism.

—Brian Kuhn, PSG Clarity
Odenton/Fulton