This is a great read for those interested in what is really going on- the rise of collaborative consumerism.
“A groundbreaking, original book that explores the rise of “Collaborative Consumption” — a cultural and economic force transforming business, consumerism, and the way we live.
The recent changes in our economic landscape have only exposed and intensified a phenomenon: an explosion in sharing, bartering, lending, trading, renting, gifting, and swapping. From enormous marketplaces such as eBay and Craigslist, to emerging sectors such as peer-to-peer lending (Zopa), ‘swap trading’ (Swaptree) and car sharing (Zipcar), Collaborative Consumption is disrupting outdated modes of business and reinventing not only what we consume but how we consume.
While ranging enormously in scale and purpose, these companies and organizations are redefining how goods and services are exchanged, valued, and created — in areas as diverse as finance and travel, agriculture and technology, education and retail. Travelling among global entrepreneurs and revolutionaries, and exploring rising ventures as well as established companies adapting to these opportunities, the authors outline in bold and imaginative ways how Collaborative Consumption may very well change the world.”
Rachel consults, writes, and speaks on the power of collaboration and sharing through current and emerging peer-to-peer technologies, and how it can transform the way we live.
Roo is a serial entrepreneur with five successful startups currently in the marketplace. He is currently the director of Redscout Ventures.
http://www.collaborativeconsumption.com/events-and-speaking/
Comment by Ravi Prasad
I saw Rachel Botsman (at TedX in Sydney) and she had a statistic: the average electric drill was used for only 13 minutes over its entire life time.
People didn’t want the drill, they wanted the hole.
I wondered how many other things people own that they seldom used.
I wondered about the environmental cost of manufacturing, transporting and selling all of these things; it must be huge. How much could we help the environment just by sharing what we have?
So I started Friends with Things- http://www.friendswiththings.com – new Australian based collaborative consumption initiative. It’s a place where you can share things with, or borrow things from your neighbours for free – from bicycles to power tools, from cameras to sewing machines.
It’s about collaborative consumption and sustainability – but there’s more to it than just helping the environment. At Friends with Things you’re also welcome to share your time, skills and expertise with people – you can even share your local knowledge or connect with local people who share common interests.
In doing this, you make connections with your neighbours and those connections can help bring back a sense of community and neighbourhood that’s often missing from apartment complexes, city living and suburban sprawl – it’s a nice way to make friends with your neighbours.
It’s part neighbourhood notice board, part local market and part ‘town square’ – it’s a community based initiative, it’s Australian, it’s free and it always will be.
Visit the site and let us know what you think.
Cheers
Ravi Prasad
Project coordinator, Friends with Things
Finalist, 2011 Earth Hour Awards
Twitter: @ihavethings
Posted on March 22, 2011 at 9:06 am