Latest articles Wednesday May 27, 2020

1. Featured Story: Gig worker rights matter - for all of us

   As COVID-19 sweeps across the world, gig work is in demand. Shops, restaurants, and bars are closed; and with most traditional workplaces shut, workers are furloughed or asked to work from home. But that’s not true for everyone: our new lifestyle has led to an explosion in demand for home deliveries, from groceries to just about everything Amazon has on offer. And whilst some early reports suggested a slump in food delivery services as we rediscover the joys of home cooking, the experience of countries further down the COVID timeline shows a sustained surge in demand.

   By Jeremias Adams-Prassl

1. Why are so many tech crowdfunding projects such a mess?

   “Overpromise, and underdeliver” has become a running theme of crowdfunders. The budget was severely underestimated. There are manufacturing delays. The product doesn’t work as smoothly as everyone thought it would. The product doesn’t work at all. There is no product, because the founder never actually planned to make it in the first place.

   By Aimee Pearcy

   From the Crowdfunding desk