[Iftheshoefits]

Talented freelancers do themselves a disservice by using either of these "services". The only reason for a talented freelancer to use them is out of a desperate need for even abysmal compensation. This merger will likely make things worse for them (freelancers), not better.

Yes, I know there are some freelancers working on these sites who earn a "decent" living. They're anomalies. The vast majority of workers earn really horrible wages. The well paid oDesk or Elance freelancer is as common as a rags-to-riches startup billionaire in the software industry as a whole.

[nikolak]

From a US based dev's perspective, I'd agree with you.

But it really depends on your definition of "horrible" and "well paid".

$5/hr in US is horrible.

$5/hr in a developing country is awesome and well paid - Even for talented freelancers.

And finding clients who are ready to pay you, as a developer from outside US, an standard/decent/well US wage for the job is pretty hard - almost impossible - at least in my experience.

Do you have any tips on finding well paid (generally better paid than oDesk) jobs for freelancers outside US/Western europe?

[zavulon]

While I agree with you for US and Western Europe-based freelancers, it's not true for other places. When you live in a third-world country, Odesk/Elance are some of the only ways for you to make money as a freelancer.

[tempestn]

So where would you go to find a talented freelancer then? (Assuming you don't have any good word of mouth recommendations.) Not sarcasm - I'm generally interested if you have a better way of finding them that's more reliable that google searches or trolling stackoverflow.

[tamasnet]

There are a number of second-generation sites/agencies out there now that focus on ensuring a quality of both freelancer and client (e.g. toptal.com for devs), or that simply provide matchmaking services (e.g. folyo.me for designers).

[tmarthal]

Do you have a network on Twitter? I see people looking (and responding to) freelance inquiries all the time. All based on word-of-mouth and friend-of-friend networks.

[albedo]

We posted on this thread already, so I hope this isn't spammy, but we're http://getlambda.com and we personally screen all devs for quality.