On Thursday March 12, 2009, the New York Times published an article about freelancers turning to the Web for work. The sites in particular they refer to are (why can't they put links in the online version of the articles, isn't that what the Web is about?):

• Elance
• Odesk
• Guru
• NineSigma
• InnoCentive
• CrowdSpring
• Genius Rocket
• RentACoder

I have to say that I don't have experience with sites like this. I did do temp work in the mid 90's, so I do have experience there, and some things about these sites sound fairly similar. So let me share some general thoughts, and I would love to hear any stories that you have about these or other similar sites.

To start with, in general, if it helps you get work, that's a good thing. The more desperate you are and having a hard time finding work, the more just about anything that gets you started is worth trying. Putting food on the table and keeping a roof over your head has to be a priority.

That said, things such as "the big sites continue to add features, largely to keep people from taking business connections offline to avoid the fees" can be troublesome. The question is whether these features literally block you from taking business offline, or are just so cool that you don't want to take your business offline, are two entirely different things. The more difficult a site makes it to transition out of it, the more hesitant I'd be to do a lot of my business through it.

In the temp world, at least back when I was doing it, part of your temping contract typically states that a temp client can't hire you for about a year after the agency places you there, and/or the agency gets a big bite of your new salary. Traditional job recruiters are similar, they get a percentage of your salary for helping you find the work.

So be sure to look over any agreements you have to sign for sites or services very carefully. Make sure their terms are things you can live with. Maybe you don't mind giving over a percentage of your pay in exchange for the work leads, the site's tools, and more. There's nothing wrong with that if you find such an arrangement works for you. Will you be able to build your own brand at the same time? One that will translate outside the site as well? If the site folds one day, you don't want it to take all of your clients and career with it.

I guess my initial take boils down to there's nothing wrong with using a service as long as you're careful about it, and don't rely exclusively on any service for your work. Even people with agents shouldn't just sit back and wait for that agent to bring them everything. Ultimately getting work is your responsibility. Using every angle at your disposal is smart business. Just make sure to use each angle wisely.