The trend of remote, micro work

There is an emerging trend of remote working, where by people complete tasks as necessary. Instead of going in to do a 9-to-5 job, people are contracted in for specific assignments, which they complete as necessary.

It started with sites such as ODesk and MechanicalTurk. However, these days there are a slew of micro-task sites emerging. For example, on Zaarly, you can pay people to bring you a hotdog. Through Cookitfor.us, you can get people to cook recipes for you. Meanwhile, TaskRabbit has made it all into a game.

Will microworking disrupt the way regular nine-to-five jobs are done? Not yet, but as technology improves and becomes cheaper to widely deploy, it will become a reality. This Cisco video explaining its Telepresence service offers a glimpse of that future.