Archives for June 2014

After our first class, I decided to move my blog over to Tumblr. I previously moved from WordPress to Ghost. Now, I moved from Ghost to Tumblr. In most cases, when you move any structured data from one place to another (ie. a data migration), you use an existing tool that exports and imports data. Traditionally, a Google search and some decently written tutorials will be enough. In my case, I couldn’t find anyone who had migrated their blog from Ghost to Tumblr. This could be because Ghost is so new. It could also be because Tumblr isnt very import friendly. Either way, I decided to use the labor market places online. Or as I like to call, the Human API.

The Human API is my definition of hiring someone on a labor market place through the internet. Im not intending to dehumanize the person on the other end. In fact, someone is starting a company with the same name. (Although its a health-tech company looking to do something completely different). I find it fascinating that I can hire a person to do something I need, through a few text posts.

When I use the term Human API, I refer to the ease of accessing a service based on a web request. I can access a user service based on a request I made through a website. I make a POST request containing parameters that tell the system what I need. After a long callback, I get a series of responses and determine what data to trust. After deciding to trust one data source, I submit my payment for escrow and return to waiting. I am given a promise that I will get a certain response back. Once the promise is complete, I process the rest of my payment.

In my case, I needed to do something that I knew was very simple, but potentially time consuming. Specifically, I needed to copy and paste text from one window to another. I didn’t feel like doing the work and I valued the task enough to pay to have it done.

To make sure the task would be done correctly, I wrote up a clear instructional document with screenshots. The document showed the potential employee how to do the work. If they didnt think they could do the job, this step was meant to filter out candidates. This was also an exercise for me to make sure there was no miscommunication through the process.

The document can be viewed here

Once I completed the document, I sent a series of emails to potential employees. My selection was based on the asking price I set for my task: 10$. I was given choices to choose from people across South East Asia. I sent emails to a Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Thailand, and the Philippines. After sending out direct emails, I posted the job listing and waited for responses. Less than an hour later, I began receiving responses and determined who I wanted to hire.

The results were varied. Many of the responses seemed like copy-and-pasted answers. Im sure these people are sending out messages all day, hoping to get a few jobs that will result in paid work. I decided to make my selection based on the responsiveness and chose a person who didn’t have any previous work. After sending over the Google document with my instructions, the person reconfirmed that she would not have any issues with the task. I initiated the contract and an hour later received an email tell me everything was completed.

I was very pleasantly surprised at the speed and quality of the work. For the record, Ghost.io will export your blog posts in a JSON format. The format is well structured and can easily be used to import content into any blog service. Tumblr does have methods for importing blogs. One specific approach uses an external service that imports Blogger posts as a Tumblr app. This can be used by converting the Ghostio posts into the Blogger format, then running the import service. Tumblr itself does not have an import utility that I know of, so this is your best bet. Otherwise, you can use the Human API too.