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"With the U.S. government shutdown now in its second week, tech startups are now targeting furloughed federal workers for freelance hire through a new online job board, cleverly named Unfurlough.us.\nSee also: Space-Loving Twitter Users Cover for NASA During Shutdown\nTech companies post freelancing gigs, and those seeking work can post their r\u00E9sum\u00E9s and what type of work they're seeking.\nThe website started off as a simple Google Doc that was being circulated among the companies at startup incubator 1776. Within 24 hours, the Google Doc helped forge several connections between furloughed workers and startups for freelance work including photography, programming and industry research analysis.\n\"There is a large and vibrant startup ecosystem in D.C. that they could be working in and contributing to rather than toiling away in government roles,\" 1776 cofounder Donna Harris told Mashable via email. \"Ironically, the shutdown is giving them time to explore it.\"\nThe Google Doc project quickly morphed into Unfurlough.us, an open-sourced project now available to companies beyond those at 1776 built by BLEN based on the aforementioned Google Doc. The domain name was registered on Oct. 3, and although it's aimed at tech startups and federal employees, other types of companies and job seekers can also join. There are currently about 40 listings for each category \u2014 \"Gigs\" and \"Freelancers.\" \n\"This is what make entrepreneurs different from other people \u2013- where there is a problem, entrepreneurs always see opportunity,\" Harris said.\nJosh Hurd, founder of the analytics startup NonprofitMetrics, said he used Unfurlough.us to hire a freelance blogger who is a furloughed federal employee who works for the National Academy of Sciences. The blogger earns at least $35 per post; higher-performing posts fetch more money.\n\"[The blogger] proactively contacted me based on my listing that I had put up,\" Hurd told Mashable. \"He's currently using NonprofitMetrics information and tools to develop blog posts that highlight trends within the nonprofit sector.\"\nFlat World Knowledge, a personalized digital textbook company, is another startup that has made use of the site, using it to set up interviews with four potential developers.Vice President of marketing Omid Jahanbin  said the company has already conducted two interviews.\n\"The most interesting work they'll be doing is helping our business intelligence and analytics efforts run more smoothly through the use of big data analysis,\" he said.\nJahanbin said Flat World plans to hire one of the two interviewees, but the other is not a good fit because he or she is only looking for temporary work during the furlough. Any of these four candidates who are hired will receive \"competitive\" salaries and \"excellent benefits,\" according to Jahanbin.\nThere's a note on Unfurlough.us warning potential job seekers to check their agency's \"ethics guidance\" to make sure they are allowed to engage in outside work during the furlough.\nThe D.C. area is one of the top 10 metropolitan areas with the highest density of tech startups, according to a report published last month. Harris said she thinks the site could gain momentum if the shutdown goes on for an extended period of time. Through a partnership with General Assembly, 1776 plans to offer free training to furloughed workers. \nUPDATE: Oct. 8, 10:45 a.m. ET\nSeveral job seekers who made listings on Unfurlough.us replied to our email inquiries, including the two who wrote that they're from Europe the site. One did not answer whether or not he is a furloughed worker, but said he found the site on Hacker News. The other said he is not a furloughed worker, nor was he aware of the furlough, but he still takes any chance he can to get work. He said he wouldn't be surprised if his profile \"gets removed as irrelevant/spam.\"\nHarris, of 1776, said the site there are no plans to remove profiles of people who are not furloughed workers.\nAnother respondent, Lily Bradley who resides in the D.C. area, said she is in fact a federal worker on furlough. Her LinkedIn profile says she works for the Department of Health and Human Services.\nBradley said her profile on Unfurlough.us led to a job photographing products that pays more per hour than her normal job.\n\"I came to DC to improve healthcare and I believe in civil service,\" Bradley told Mashable. \"Right now, I cannot use any of the skills or expertise I have acquired to do those things, because the law forbids it. The American people deserve better; the best and brightest should be empowered to serve as much as they are willing and able.\"  \nImage: Win McNamee/Getty Images\nBONUS: 15 Captivating Photos of the Government Shutdown\n\n\nGovernment Shutdown\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1. The Lincoln Memorial \n\nImage: Mark Wilson/Getty Images\nA U.S. Park Police officer stands guard at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n2. Yellowstone National Park\n\nImage: Flickr, NPCA Photos\nThe first of the nation's national parks did not escape the government shutdown.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n3. \"House of Turds\"\n\nImage: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images\nCongress' inability to strike a deal captured all the morning headlines. Some were more creative than others. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n4. The Statue of Liberty\n\nImage: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images\nThe shutdown closed the gates on Lady Liberty.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n5. President Barack Obama\n\nImage: Win McNamee/Getty Images\nFlanked by residents who've benefited form the new health care law, President Barack Obama urged Congress to end the shutdown during a mid-day press conference in the White House Rose Garden.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n6. Rickshaw Driver\n\nImage: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images\nThis rickshaw driver usually makes his money taxiing tourists between attractions in Washington, D.C. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n7. United States Capitol \n\nImage: Twitter, M. Scott Mahaskey\nPolitico photo editor M. Scott Mahaskey tweeted this photo of the empty rotunda inside the U.S. Capitol. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n8. Fort Point National Historic Site\n\nImage: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images\nEven in the shadow of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, the Fort Point National Historic Site could not hide from the shutdown.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n9. Mount Rushmore National Memorial\n\nImage: Scott Olson/Getty Images\nMount Rushmore will remain closed during the shutdown.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n10. Emoji Shutdown Explanation\n\nImage: Twitter, USA Today\nHere's a creative emoji visualization of the shutdown by USA Today -- thumbs up for services unaffected by the shutdown, thumbs down for those that are closed.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n11. Republican Congressmen\n\nImage: Twitter, Eric Cantor\nHouse Majority Leader Eric Cantor provoked Senate leaders when he tweeted this photo of himself and his Republican colleagues waiting at the negotiating table. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n12. World War II Memorial\n\nImage: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images\nA U.S. Park Ranger barricades the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n13. World War II Memorial\n\nImage: Twitter, Leo Shane III\nAs Leo Shane III of Stars and Stripes showed us in a series of tweeted images, veterans managed to access the World War II Memorial, despite its closure. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n14. The Jefferson Memorial\n\nImage: Flickr, NPCA Photos\nThomas Jefferson may have authored the Declaration of Independence, but that didn't spare his memorial from the shutdown. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n15. Some Government Websites Are Down\n\nImage: NASA.gov\nA number of federal agencies, such as NASA as seen in this image, took their websites down during the shutdown. Even though  a disagreement over Obamacare caused the shutdown, the law's online marketplaces opened today and remained operational, despite technical difficulties.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/10/08/unfurlough-us-shutdown-jobs/>