India Inspires Geeks to do Good

Tech workers use their talents to tackle poverty
By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 30, 2007 10:58 AM CDT
India Inspires Geeks to do Good
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)

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. (More India stories.)

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