Outsourcing As A Way to Hang On For Dear Life

Filed in archive Outsourcing News on June 27, 2008

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Pali Rao

It is somewhat ironic that this author, an American attorney sitting in a cafe in Los Angeles, is writing for a new media blog about outsourcing while an old media stalwart, the orange county Register, is outsourcing its copy editing and layout to Mindworks in India. (see article here)

I think that this speaks volumes about the changes in both the domestic economy and the inability of some traditional media outlets to adapt to those changes. It also speaks volumes to the raw amount of creativity that has been unleashed by the disaggregation of content and distribution.

Finally, I do wonder if the good people of Orange County will notice the difference in the product. Having worked with outsourcing providers for the better part of a quarter century, the one glaring communication disconnect always seems to arise around colloquialisms - the small bits and pieces of language that define it as very local. It will be interesting, over time, to see if the "voice" of the Orange County Register changes - even while the editorial content remains the same.