#quango — Public Fediverse posts

@thestrangelet

I think they exist, but they are tiny, not numerous, and widely dispersed. If you happen to find a #nonprofit or #QUANGO or co-operative that needs tech assistance, I think you could have a good chance of finding your skills put to use #ethically, possibly even helping make other peoples' lives better.

The #income is not going to be in the same league with working for Big Tech's extraction machines and misery production lines, though.

I used to do independent consulting for many years, before being lured back into an employee role for the last 4-5 years (spread across 2 companies/periods) before I was laid off, just before the "AI" boom kicked off in earnest. I would love to get back into that, even short-term engagements helping tiny orgs and sole proprietorships who happen to be doing things that meet my ethical standards. I haven't had much luck finding anything.

My industry used to make things, things that people wanted, things that people used for work, for commerce, for fun, for joy. Now it seems the only things that pay are rent-extraction, people-exploitation, and financial scams like gambling and "innovative financial product".

Sorry I can't be more positive about this. How about this: I've been #volunteering with my local Repair Cafe for ~6 months, and after each one of those I feel I have accomplished more good than in my last 5 years of paid work.

#RepairCafe #lament #IT #software #CoOp #BigTech #AI #LLM

@thestrangelet

I think they exist, but they are tiny, not numerous, and widely dispersed. If you happen to find a #nonprofit or #QUANGO or co-operative that needs tech assistance, I think you could have a good chance of finding your skills put to use #ethically, possibly even helping make other peoples' lives better.

The #income is not going to be in the same league with working for Big Tech's extraction machines and misery production lines, though.

I used to do independent consulting for many years, before being lured back into an employee role for the last 4-5 years (spread across 2 companies/periods) before I was laid off, just before the "AI" boom kicked off in earnest. I would love to get back into that, even short-term engagements helping tiny orgs and sole proprietorships who happen to be doing things that meet my ethical standards. I haven't had much luck finding anything.

My industry used to make things, things that people wanted, things that people used for work, for commerce, for fun, for joy. Now it seems the only things that pay are rent-extraction, people-exploitation, and financial scams like gambling and "innovative financial product".

Sorry I can't be more positive about this. How about this: I've been #volunteering with my local Repair Cafe for ~6 months, and after each one of those I feel I have accomplished more good than in my last 5 years of paid work.

#RepairCafe #lament #IT #software #CoOp #BigTech #AI #LLM

@thestrangelet

I think they exist, but they are tiny, not numerous, and widely dispersed. If you happen to find a #nonprofit or #QUANGO or co-operative that needs tech assistance, I think you could have a good chance of finding your skills put to use #ethically, possibly even helping make other peoples' lives better.

The #income is not going to be in the same league with working for Big Tech's extraction machines and misery production lines, though.

I used to do independent consulting for many years, before being lured back into an employee role for the last 4-5 years (spread across 2 companies/periods) before I was laid off, just before the "AI" boom kicked off in earnest. I would love to get back into that, even short-term engagements helping tiny orgs and sole proprietorships who happen to be doing things that meet my ethical standards. I haven't had much luck finding anything.

My industry used to make things, things that people wanted, things that people used for work, for commerce, for fun, for joy. Now it seems the only things that pay are rent-extraction, people-exploitation, and financial scams like gambling and "innovative financial product".

Sorry I can't be more positive about this. How about this: I've been #volunteering with my local Repair Cafe for ~6 months, and after each one of those I feel I have accomplished more good than in my last 5 years of paid work.

#RepairCafe #lament #IT #software #CoOp #BigTech #AI #LLM

@thestrangelet

I think they exist, but they are tiny, not numerous, and widely dispersed. If you happen to find a #nonprofit or #QUANGO or co-operative that needs tech assistance, I think you could have a good chance of finding your skills put to use #ethically, possibly even helping make other peoples' lives better.

The #income is not going to be in the same league with working for Big Tech's extraction machines and misery production lines, though.

I used to do independent consulting for many years, before being lured back into an employee role for the last 4-5 years (spread across 2 companies/periods) before I was laid off, just before the "AI" boom kicked off in earnest. I would love to get back into that, even short-term engagements helping tiny orgs and sole proprietorships who happen to be doing things that meet my ethical standards. I haven't had much luck finding anything.

My industry used to make things, things that people wanted, things that people used for work, for commerce, for fun, for joy. Now it seems the only things that pay are rent-extraction, people-exploitation, and financial scams like gambling and "innovative financial product".

Sorry I can't be more positive about this. How about this: I've been #volunteering with my local Repair Cafe for ~6 months, and after each one of those I feel I have accomplished more good than in my last 5 years of paid work.

#RepairCafe #lament #IT #software #CoOp #BigTech #AI #LLM

@thestrangelet

I think they exist, but they are tiny, not numerous, and widely dispersed. If you happen to find a #nonprofit or #QUANGO or co-operative that needs tech assistance, I think you could have a good chance of finding your skills put to use #ethically, possibly even helping make other peoples' lives better.

The #income is not going to be in the same league with working for Big Tech's extraction machines and misery production lines, though.

I used to do independent consulting for many years, before being lured back into an employee role for the last 4-5 years (spread across 2 companies/periods) before I was laid off, just before the "AI" boom kicked off in earnest. I would love to get back into that, even short-term engagements helping tiny orgs and sole proprietorships who happen to be doing things that meet my ethical standards. I haven't had much luck finding anything.

My industry used to make things, things that people wanted, things that people used for work, for commerce, for fun, for joy. Now it seems the only things that pay are rent-extraction, people-exploitation, and financial scams like gambling and "innovative financial product".

Sorry I can't be more positive about this. How about this: I've been #volunteering with my local Repair Cafe for ~6 months, and after each one of those I feel I have accomplished more good than in my last 5 years of paid work.

#RepairCafe #lament #IT #software #CoOp #BigTech #AI #LLM

You're a non-profit, improving peoples lives and need outside #expertise?

Let's talk.

You're an underfunded government agency or #QUANGO trying to fill a contractor position but having trouble getting the attention the Facebooks and Googles of the world get?

Let's talk.

You're a one-person #business and just need to talk through a problem you're facing with an #engineer for an hour, so you can figure out if it's even a solvable #problem you could hire someone to work on?

Let's talk.

The above (well, except shitting on your head for money) are all things I've done. In general, if you're #helping #people rather than #hurting them for #profit, let's talk. Full-time? Part-time? Contract for just a few hours? You might be surprised.

Hell, I might be surprised. It's happened before.

Thanks for reading. Boosts or sharing with someone who might want my services appreciated.

3/3

If you are in the public eye and complaining about fictional #strawmen such as #DeepState or #Quango, maybe you should retire. Why?
Because you are incapable of facing the reality that you have fell under the control of a #cult.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/21/liz-truss-deep-state-cpac-far-right

If you are in the public eye and complaining about fictional #strawmen such as #DeepState or #Quango, maybe you should retire. Why?
Because you are incapable of facing the reality that you have fell under the control of a #cult.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/21/liz-truss-deep-state-cpac-far-right

Voor een land dat zich volgens Rutte moet gaan voorbereiden op de armoede, werken er verdacht veel uitvreters in #QUANGO's. Ze worden betaald omdat ze elkaar kennen.

Ik ben beschikbaar voor het bemensen van een #Burgertribunaal, heb als ervaringsdeskundige expertise op de gebieden #Software, #QUANGO, #Onderwijs en #Gezondheidszorg.

Brief 3 ontvangen van het #CBS, een volksvijandige #QUANGO in Den Haag en Heerlen, die publiek geld verbrand om privé-informatie van burgers op te vragen en door te sluizen naar de criminele regering. Weer beloven ze een kans op iPads en weer zal ik niet meedoen. #Privacy.
cc @privacyint

Opnieuw post ontvangen van het #CBS, een volksvijandige #QUANGO in Den Haag en Heerlen, die publiek geld verbrand om privé-informatie van burgers op te vragen en door te sluizen naar de criminele regering. Weer beloven ze een kans op iPads en weer zal ik niet meedoen. #Privacy.
cc @privacyint

Got a letter yesterday from #CBS, the Dutch #QUANGO statistics agency, with a call to fill out a survey. It featured a picture of three iPads (c)(tm)(r), and stated that those who participate will have a chance of winning one of 25. If you don't participate they might call you or visit you. Public money should not be used for giving away proprietary software driven tablets.
#Netherlands
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistics_Netherlands
cc @fsfe