Tips and Transparency

With nearly 20,000 members now, I'm very curious how much tipping is actually going on, and what those numbers have looked like over time. Has the rate of tipping grown, commensurate with the population of Imzy?

I'm just curious about it. But I'm also thinking about the future and about transparency as well.

For instance, I really, really like Buffer's transparency. I think it's what's needed to be done in business for a long time.

From the beginning of time, businesses have been built on deception. The boss never reveals how much profit is being made (or how much they're taking home), making it harder for employees to demand more pay for themselve when the boss says "we're really strapped for cash right now, sorry". And employees are deceived into believing that they're worth less than they are. They're essentially tricked into taking the lowest salary that the boss is willing to give them.

I find this at my workplace. Nobody knows how much anyone else makes, and many people who do the same job and have the same experience are not being compensated even remotely similarly.

For instance, there are two designers that I know from my previous company. They are both at the same level of experience, skill and knowledge, and both produce the same level of product at the end of the day.

They both applied for a position at my new company, and provided us with the pay rate they were receiving. My boss and I discovered that one of the two artist's rate was much higher than the other (essentially netting him $100 more per day than the other).

I said to myself, how could my former boss live with himself, knowing that he's shafting one of his artists like this?

And then I realized - that's business. Business is deception.

In any case, obviously I'm a transparency advocate.

Now, some of you may ask - if you're such a transparency advocate, then tell us how much YOU make! And to that, I'll say that I'm a Clinton-Style transparency advocate. I'll tell you when everyone else does. I'll show you mine if you show me yours, essentially (learned that one in kindergarten under the jungle gym).

Anyhow, that's my thought for the morning.