<s>
vWorker	B-Application
was	O
an	O
employment	B-Application
website	I-Application
that	O
enabled	O
companies	O
to	O
outsource	B-Architecture
projects	O
and	O
independent	O
contractors	O
to	O
find	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Together	O
with	O
Elance	B-Application
,	O
Freelancer.com,	O
Guru.com,	O
and	O
Upwork	B-Application
,	O
it	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
largest	O
global	O
freelance	O
marketplaces	O
of	O
its	O
kind	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
November	O
19	O
,	O
2012	O
,	O
Freelancer.com	O
acquired	O
vWorker	B-Application
"	O
for	O
a	O
price	O
in	O
the	O
millions	O
"	O
and	O
the	O
URL	O
was	O
redirected	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
vWorker	B-Application
was	O
founded	O
in	O
2001	O
in	O
Tampa	O
,	O
Florida	O
by	O
Ian	O
Ippolito	O
under	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
Rent	O
A	O
Coder	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
type	O
of	O
job	B-Application
board	I-Application
that	O
he	O
had	O
in	O
mind	O
differed	O
from	O
a	O
static	O
Craigslist-type	O
online	O
bulletin	O
board	O
by	O
being	O
enriched	O
with	O
features	O
that	O
would	O
exclude	O
the	O
possibility	O
that	O
employers	O
give	O
out	O
advance	O
payments	O
for	O
work	O
that	O
does	O
not	O
get	O
delivered	O
when	O
agreed	O
or	O
that	O
does	O
not	O
meet	O
their	O
requirements	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
chance	O
that	O
contractors	O
deliver	O
their	O
work	O
online	O
but	O
never	O
hear	O
back	O
from	O
employers	O
who	O
choose	O
not	O
to	O
pay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
protective	O
features	O
included	O
time	B-Application
tracking	I-Application
software	I-Application
for	O
pay-for-time	O
projects	O
,	O
escrow	O
accounts	O
into	O
which	O
employers	O
place	O
the	O
funds	O
for	O
a	O
job	O
and	O
from	O
which	O
the	O
mediating	O
company	O
pays	O
contractors	O
when	O
the	O
work	O
is	O
delivered	O
,	O
arbitration	O
support	O
for	O
settling	O
disputes	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
double	O
blind	O
rating	O
system	O
from	O
previous	O
employers	O
and	O
contractors	O
for	O
reputation	O
management	O
to	O
build	O
trust	O
and	O
credibility	O
between	O
parties	O
who	O
do	O
not	O
know	O
each	O
other	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
vWorker	B-Application
added	O
several	O
innovative	O
features	O
including	O
trialsourcing	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
a	O
competition	O
is	O
used	O
for	O
an	O
initial	O
sample	O
of	O
work	O
,	O
before	O
hiring	O
the	O
freelancer	O
in	O
a	O
traditional	O
outsourcing	B-Architecture
manner	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
reflect	O
the	O
wider	O
site	O
audience	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
changed	O
its	O
name	O
to	O
vWorker	B-Application
,	O
short	O
for	O
"	O
virtual	O
worker	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
vWorker	B-Application
allowed	O
employers	O
to	O
post	O
projects	O
and	O
jobs	O
on	O
the	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Employers	O
chose	O
the	O
bid	O
they	O
preferred	O
and	O
escrowed	O
the	O
funds	O
with	O
vWorker	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
vWorker	B-Application
made	O
money	O
by	O
charging	O
6.5	O
%	O
–	O
9%	O
commission	O
fees	O
on	O
successfully	O
completed	O
hourly	O
projects	O
and	O
7.5	O
%	O
–	O
15%	O
fees	O
on	O
fixed	O
price	O
projects	O
;	O
the	O
commissions	O
included	O
strictly	O
enforced	O
arbitration	O
and	O
payment	O
guarantees	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
the	O
model	O
described	O
,	O
vWorker	B-Application
was	O
not	O
a	O
freelancing	O
marketplace	O
in	O
a	O
traditional	O
sense	O
where	O
workers	O
created	O
works	O
on	O
their	O
own	O
initiative	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
try	O
to	O
market	O
and	O
sell	O
them	O
while	O
keeping	O
the	O
copyright	O
to	O
their	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
vWorker	B-Application
,	O
all	O
projects	O
were	O
performed	O
on	O
a	O
work	O
for	O
hire	O
basis	O
in	O
which	O
an	O
employer	O
requested	O
a	O
certain	O
task	O
to	O
be	O
performed	O
according	O
to	O
his	O
or	O
her	O
specifications	O
and	O
received	O
the	O
copyright	O
to	O
the	O
work	O
produced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
bidding	O
system	O
on	O
vWorker	B-Application
differed	O
slightly	O
from	O
that	O
general	O
model	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
vWorker	B-Application
used	O
closed	O
or	O
hidden	O
bidding	O
,	O
a	O
person	O
who	O
submitted	O
a	O
bid	O
did	O
not	O
know	O
the	O
prices	O
that	O
other	O
bidders	O
quoted	O
and	O
could	O
not	O
modify	O
his	O
or	O
her	O
own	O
bid	O
accordingly	O
,	O
so	O
there	O
was	O
no	O
necessary	O
decrease	O
in	O
bid	O
amounts	O
during	O
the	O
auction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
turned	O
out	O
that	O
the	O
lowest	O
bid	O
on	O
vWorker	B-Application
was	O
chosen	O
only	O
by	O
20%	O
of	O
the	O
employers	O
and	O
that	O
most	O
buyers	O
tended	O
to	O
choose	O
the	O
bid	O
that	O
was	O
submitted	O
last	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2004	O
,	O
workers	O
in	O
Livingston	O
County	O
,	O
New	O
York	O
accidentally	O
released	O
private	O
information	O
about	O
low-income	O
and	O
foster	O
care	O
families	O
on	O
the	O
vWorker	B-Application
website	O
while	O
posting	O
a	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
vWorker	B-Application
was	O
also	O
sometimes	O
used	O
by	O
students	O
to	O
hire	O
people	O
to	O
do	O
their	O
homework	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
vWorker	B-Application
's	O
solution	O
was	O
to	O
strengthen	O
its	O
copyright	O
and	O
intellectual	O
property	O
complaint	O
system	O
so	O
that	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
by	O
site	O
users	O
and	O
members	O
of	O
the	O
public	O
for	O
removing	O
sensitive	O
materials	O
.	O
</s>
