"The level of animosity portrayed on 'whinge' sites on the Internet is a testament to the extent to which the new economy has acquired a bitter edge. "One reason is the wall of venture capital that liberally descended on the new economy: A lot of bad ideas and bad managers received big sums of money. "There are few experiences more disillusioning than working 16 hours a day for a company that's run by cretins and is almost certainly going bust. "In the new economy, 'whinge' sites may be the electronic equivalent of labor unions -- a counter-force to the over-weening power of profit. For workers, that's good. "Corporate managers might become more careful how they treat people when they know every misdeed could wind up posted on a Web site read by their customers." In the New Economy, Workers Grow Restless by Matthew Lynn London, July 6 (Bloomberg) -- Remember how the World Wide Web was supposed to be about digital communities communicating instantly, ushering in a new age of prosperity and democracy? Think again. At the moment, the Internet is all about spitting bile and hatred into the atmosphere. The past few months have seen the emergence of a host of ``whinge'' sites, electronic water coolers where the employed of the world gather to swap tales from the fetid trenches of corporate life, and to moan about the various numbskulls for whom they have the misfortune to work. What is it about the new economy that produces so many unhappy workers? Has the Internet so altered the relationship between employers and employees that every office quarrel will now be broadcast to the world, and preserved in code for customers, rivals and potential hires to feast upon? If so, the working world has changed fundamentally, and not necessarily for the better. At the respectable end of the whinge market, there is thevault.com, a hybrid job site that also includes message boards on just about every company you've ever heard of. Some bits seem useful: If you are going for an interview at Merrill Lynch, for example, you can ask the board how big your bonus might be and get a sensible answer the same day. But much of the material is more along the lines of don't go work for Jack at BigBank Inc., he's a useless fool with psychotic leanings. New Economy Icons New economy icons in particular take a beating. Two remarks about Amazon.com Inc. are typical: ``It's starting to get a bad rep among Seattle job hunters as a sweatshop and generally devious employer,'' says one. ``Amazon is about getting big fast and abusing its employees along the way,'' goes another. Switch to the Yahoo! Inc. message board and read this succinct comment: ``This place sux!'' Farther down the whinge market is Netslaves.com, a site that gathers the disappointments and frustrations of the new economy, and preserves them in a scrap-book of dot com folly and pig- headedness. ``Net slaves is dedicated to everyone who's been burned by the incompetence, moronic planning, and hysterical management of New Media companies,'' says its mission statement. But for hardcore Web whinging, the place to hang out is fu&*edcompany.com -- our spelling. This is the X-rated stuff, where the truly embittered describe the implosion of the new economy in graphic detail. Here's one example about a site called eLuxury.com: ``Rumor has it that the Manager and Director of BizDev at luxury e-tailer eLuxury walked out last month. This week the second VP of BizDev, after 2 months, is making her exit. Thus leaving just the UCLA MBA intern unknowingly to run things. He starts next week.'' Points are awarded for brainless business plans and for inept, vicious and tyrannical management. New Twist In one sense, the whinge sites are just a new twist on some old impulses. Ever since work was invented, it has been part of human nature to grumble about the boss. No doubt the slaves hauling rocks to the pyramids gathered at night to criticize the ridiculous deadlines, and question whether anyone needs huge pointy things in the middle of a desert anyway. It is also part of human nature to turn any new technology to destructive effect. The forge gave us the spear, the stirrup the cavalry, and so on through history. The Internet is now giving us a lot of sour adjectives about incompetent marketing managers. But, that said, the level of animosity portrayed on the whinge sites is a testament to the extent to which the new economy has acquired a bitter edge. One reason is the wall of venture capital that descended on the new economy -- a lot of bad ideas and bad managers received big sums of money. There are few experiences more disillusioning than working 16 hours a day for a company that's run by cretins and is almost certainly going bust. There are lots of bad old economy companies to work for. But at least they have customers and revenue, and a place in the market. Many Internet companies have none of those things and never will. Empowerment But there is another, more fundamental, reason. At its most basic level, the digital economy is about empowerment. Most attention has focused so far on the extent to which it has empowered consumers and entrepreneurs; it gives customers far greater choice, and levels the playing field between new businesses and established giants. It is now empowering the humblest creature in the economic food chain, the employee. Aside from moaning with their colleagues, employees have usually had little redress against their managers. But sites such as thevault and netslaves -- a sub- set of disobey.com -- give them a powerful tool: information. Will people want to work for companies that are getting a hammering on these sites? And will bankers and fund managers invest in businesses without checking out those sites? In time the whinge sites may become the electronic equivalent in the new economy to labor unions; a counter-force to the over- weaning power of capital. For workers that is good. Managers will be more careful how they treat people when they know every transgression will be recorded on a Web site somewhere. Jul/06/2000 5:42 ET For more stories from Bloomberg News, click here. (C) Copyright 2000 Bloomberg L.P.
