Is Homeshoring the new Offshoring?

I don't know how you guys feel about links to radio stories...but I'm a big NPR fan, so occasionally I'll link straight to them.

This is the first time I've heard about 'homeshoring' -- companies employing home-based workers to take customer service jobs. This is an idea that is gaining traction, and seems to offer something for everyone. There are a pool of people out there who want to work but are tied to their home in one way or another -- why not let them work from home if all they're doing is talking on the phone to customers anyhow? And besides, somehow, a call center job seems less soul-destroying if one can do it from the comfort of one's own home in fuzzy slippers between sips of cocoa.

And since I'm sending you NPR wards, here are a couple of other 'markets in everything' type stories:

The scoop on Japanese custom bras

A service for In-flight Dating