So the Orange County Register (a pretty good paper in my view) is going to outsource editing and some page layout to India.

It is easy to rant and rave about all the negatives about this: bye-bye American jobs, lost localization, et. al.

But what about the tremendous advantage this gives underdogs? I've used services like proof-reading.com, elance and other outsourcing resources very successfully. Lots of people/companies do. And they use them to create better products and stronger brands.

Don't fear outsourcing. It is inevitable. Economists call it comparative advantage.The trick is how to turn India's (or Brazil's or Ukraine's) comparative advantage into YOUR comparative advantage.

One last thought...

This shift will have winners and losers. The biggest winners, it seems to me, are the companies that own the brands. The biggest losers are those who provide commodity services that can be done from anywhere. And I'm not so sure anyone's safe. Not ad agencies, architects, shoe designers, anyone. What are you doing today to be in the winner column?