Telecommuting and rightsizing have made going to work only an option for some, a distant hope for others. What's needed is watercooler.com - a Web site incorporating mailing lists and "staff" pages from fictional but hauntingly familiar firms - to give homebodies the chance to participate in the goings-on of virtual workplaces. Think - the thrill of a dream job without the hassle of finding parking.
Watercooler.com provides a choice of pseudoemployers (MackerelMedia, Suq) through an arrangement with the real companies: in exchange for the raw material in these firms' archived email and in-house newsletters, watercooler.com allows access to its subscriber database as well as the ability to monitor former employees' contributions to the "private" discussion forums. What better way to ensure the NDA compliance of employees who now float free in the industry?
