The "gig economy," which is really just another way to describe freelance and temporary work, is rapidly replacing dated business models by combining classifieds with location-based services to organize networks for everything from grocery and restaurant delivery to transportation.
A heated debate currently rages about the positive and negative effects of this shift. Many point out that the gig economy has replaced higher paying jobs including benefits with lower paying jobs without benefits. On the positive side, freelance work has given employees power over their own time and schedule. The biggest names in the gig economy have run headfirst into entrenched and regulated industries such as hospitality and transportation. This evolution of our modern economy has changed the power dynamic between employees and employers.
Where this topic intersects with data is through the applications that deliver these services. Organizations want to ensure their employees, or people working under their brand, are driving safely. Not texting, not speeding through school zones, or cutting traffic by rolling through gas stations and parking lots with their logo on attached to your car.
These organizations also want to ensure their contractors aren't double dipping, driving, simultaneously for both GrubHub and Uber, or picking up Lyft fares while on the clock delivering pizza.
Is your organization building or optimizing a location-aware application?
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Colin Mattison
Knowledge Community Shared Account
Shelton CT
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