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September 8, 2008 7:11:49 AM CDT

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India Inspires Geeks to do Good

Posted Oct 30, 07 10:58 AM CDT in World,  Business,  Technology 

(Newser) – Tech workers in India are turning their expertise to innovative ways to combat the poverty that surrounds them, the New York Times reports. One example is a site called Babajob.com, started by former Microsoft worker Sean Blagsvedt, which allows Indian laborers to use social networking to land jobs.

“In India, you can’t escape the feeling that you’re really lucky. So you ask, What are you going to do about all the stuff around you?" says Blagsvedt. Many poor Indians lack the connections to find employment, so Babajob takes a page from Facebook and allows potential employers to see the chain of shared acquaintances from them to the people they might hire.

Source New York Times

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An Indian worker takes a nap on a truck loaded with mangoes at a fruit market in Ahmadabad, India, Thursday, April 26, 2007. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)   (Associated Press)
A stock broker watches the trading screen of the Bombay Stock Exchange in Mumbai, India, Friday, Oct. 19, 2007. The division between technical workers and laborers has given birth to a job-hunting site...   (Associated Press)
A construction worker fills sand onto a trailer at a construction site in Gurgaon, a suburb of New Delhi, India, Tuesday, April 10, 2007. As India's middle-class thrives, many technology workers are turning...   (Associated Press)
A worker engaged in car manufacturing at the newly inaugurated production facility of Fiat group at Ranjangaon, about 175 kilometers (109 miles) south-east of Mumbai, India, Monday, April 2, 2007. (AP...   (Associated Press)
Investors react as they watch the screen on the facade of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) displaying the market trend in Mumbai, India, Friday, Oct. 19, 2007. Tech-savvy members of India's middle-class...   (Associated Press)
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