T
he world in which we live
does not have an endless
supply of resources and there
has to be a more effective
way of using what already exists, right?
Why should everyone own a car that
sits idle most of the time? How about a
marina full of boats – how often do they
(Airbnb) and even chores (TaskRabbit)
– sharing is a hot trend amongst
entrepreneurs. This movement towards
rental and sharing represents the new
intersection of online social networking,
mobile technology, limited resources
and heightened penny-pinching brought
on by lingering economic uncertainties.
get used? Why own something outright,
only to have it sit unused for most of
its life, when you can rent it for brief
periods of time instead?
Dubbed “collaborative consumption”
or “the sharing economy” – where
people share things like cars (Zipcars),
skills (oDesk and deviantART), homes
share alike
From accommodation to cars, the internet is turning us from consumers into
providers and challenging established business models, writes
Sonia Jackson
.
&
Share
October 2013
85
