Google Launches Taskmate, Gig Workers Get Stock With Move, You're Being Judged, and More...

There are approximately 60 million Independent workers in the United States, representing $1.5 trillion in U.S. GDP and growing. Projections estimate that 50% of our U.S. workforce will be independent workers by 2025- 2030. The Gig Economy represents a trend that will digitally transform how organizations engage with talent.

I believe that every organization in every industry needs a Gig Economy strategy. Not having one in 2021 is like missing the internet trend in 1990 or the mobile revolution in 2010.

The Freelance Revolution

The rise of independent contractors and globalization of knowledge work is the Industrial Revolution of our time. Everywhere we look, we can see the U.S. workforce undergoing a massive and structural change.

Moves wants to reward gig workers with shares in Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Grubhub - Moves, a Toronto-based gig economy fintech startup, to reward gig workers with stocks from the companies they drive. The first version of the Moves Collective launches on Thursday with Uber stocks available and then quickly offers Lyft, DoorDash, and Grubhub shares.   

Goole eyes TaskMate global launch after Kenya rollout - Google has today launched TaskMate in Kenya, a crowdsourcing app that lets people use smartphones to do tasks and get paid, tapping the growing gig economy. The tech giant said it has rolled out the beta version after a year-long experiment in the East African country and is preparing to introduce it to other countries across the continent. The app is available in India too, where it's also in the pilot stage.

Will On-Demand Talent Be The Next Work Revolution? 3 Tips For Building A Freelance Talent Strategy - The remote work revolution is already over—hybrid has won—but another major shift is on the way. The number of platforms for highly skilled freelancers increased over 300% since 2009, giving rise to new theories on how future organizations will use and manage talent.

The Creator Economy 

The Creator Economy has many similarities to the sharing and gig economies back in 2012-2015. Independent talent, technology platforms, and hype. All are driven by the dream of making a living by doing what you love. At over $100B+ the creator economy is just getting started.

Stripe, Hubspot, And JP Morgan Are Buying Audiences. Why Acquiring Media Companies And Communities Is About To Explode. Instead of renting an audience, companies realize that owning their audiences and going direct can lower CAC and increase LTV. Here are our predictions for the media companies that technology and financial services companies should have on their M&A radar.

In the online gig economy, content creators are taking power back one platform at a time - From Substack to OnlyFans, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ creative workers are challenging companies that benefit from their content but don't protect their interests.

UTA Study: $18 Billion Opportunity Awaits Brands That Embrace The Creator Economy - It's the question brands of all ilks are grappling with: How to engage younger consumers, particularly elusive Gen Z, who are disinterested at best and skeptical at worst when it comes to traditional advertising. 

Getting started with building an audience in the creator economy - How can you anticipate the content people want before they want it? How do you figure out where your audience lives online and what they like? What is a creator, after all?

The Hybrid Workplace

We see unprecedented numbers of companies implementing remote work programs. The way we work has forever changed and will require new skills and leadership approaches.

The future of remote work is text - It's impossible to talk about Automattic without talking about remote work. The company is a role model and innovator in this area: It has been entirely remote since 2005, and at 1,700 employees, it has helped prove that remote workplace culture can succeed at scale.

Is it fair to get paid less money as a remote employee based on where you live? - Many companies decided to allow employees the chance to continue working from home. Still, a potential salary adjustment would be a condition. Veuer's Johana Restrepo has more.

4 Takeaways From Drew Houston, the Dropbox CEO Who Cut His Company's Office Space by 80 Percent - Where you locate matters tremendously to your startup's future. In my book, Startup Cities, I found that each city has a different attitude towards startups. Those cultural differences between regions can make a huge difference in whether your startup can raise capital and hire the talent you need to turn your idea into a fast-growing public company.

Over Half of Americans Have Judged Their Coworkers' Home Decor on Video Calls, Survey Finds - In a recent survey of 2,004 Americans, half (54%) of all remote workers admit to judging their colleagues office decor or furniture during virtual meetings.

Opinion: Should the U.S. Adopt a 4-Day Workweek? - Longing for a permanent three-day weekend? If one congressman (and a chorus of advocates) has his way, a four-day, 32-hour workweek could be coming to the U.S.

Workplace Wellness 

We will spend one-third of our lives working, and the disruption to the way we work has never moved faster. This all can impact our overall wellness as we navigate the changing landscape and fight for balance.

 Workplace Mindfulness Remains a Critical Leadership Issue - Employees at every level of a business experience stress—from fresh-out-of-school to the CEO. The causes of stress may be different, but it's just as important to recognize it, regardless of what role you hold in a company. Nearly nine in 10 employees report that their workplace stress affects their mental health, and such a significant statistic warrants immediate and widespread action.

PAUL ESTES, the best-selling author of the best-selling book Gig Mindset and is an unstoppable advocate for the simple idea of ensuring that all voices are heard and that all people have access to opportunity. This passion is inspired by the quote from the late Leila Janah "Talent is equally distributed, opportunity is not." Now is the time to address systemic location bias and encourage companies to reach beyond their organizational boundaries to engage the world's best minds.  For 20 years, He struggled to balance his life with fast-moving leadership roles at Dell, Amazon, and Microsoft. He led a team of progressive H.R., procurement, and legal trailblazers to launch Microsoft's Gig Economy freelance program. Hiring his first virtual assistant transformed the way he lived and worked.

Paul is the former host of the Gig Mindset and The Talent Economy Podcasts. Each week, Paul provides insights and perspective to over 100,000 readers of his weekly LinkedIn newsletter, and he frequently shares his insights as a keynote speaker and panelist.