Where We Live: Collaborative Consumption
Swapping, sharing, bartering, trading and renting...
We all have junk...maybe too much. You know, the stuff we just don’t use that much. But what if there was a way to make better use of it?
For instance, you use a lawn mower once every few weeks. Your weed-whacker might get used once a year. So why spend hundreds of dollars on something that only occasionally gets used?
That’s one of the questions being asked by people taking part in what is being called “Collaborative Consumption.” Why buy something when you can swap, share, barter, trade or rent for it instead?
Today we’ll talk with someone from the Collaborative Fund who funds new startups that utilize this strategy. We’ll also check-in with the founder of a store where you can get things...for free.
Do you participate in Collaborative Consumption? Are you open to the idea of sharing things with local strangers?
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It's breaking some of that mold of growing up and thinking 'Gosh, I need to own a car...I need to own my own things.'
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P2P Carsharing
Another good example for Collaborative Consumption is private carsharing, which is now also becoming more and more popular in Europe. Examples of this include WhipCar in Great Britain on http://www.whipcar.com/ and rent-n-roll in Germany on http://www.rent-n-roll.de/ . Nevertheless, promoting p2p car rental might be a whole lot easier in countries where ownership of a certain good is not as important as its use. In my view, that's one of the reasons the U.S. is the chief pioneer for Collaborative Consumption.
Awesome show!
Yes, aren't humans ingenious? And cultural habits go in cycles. So glad this one is coming back.
Agree with Tracy
In my community even right upto the mid-nineties it was perfectly fine to ask neighbours, friends and family for help or borrow certain things. Now its all different but thanks to the internet, some of this is coming back.
I myself have started a #Collcons business offering help for self-storage space through sharemystorage.com. So many poeple have spare space, why not put them to use!
Collaborative Consumption
I grew up in the 70s in a working class neighborhood & this was standard operating procedure. One family had a snow blower, another had the chain saw and so forth & so forth. Everyone borrowed from one another & bought a can of gas when needed. Neighbors asked if you needed anything at the store & picked it up for you. Everyone lives in closed off worlds & this doesn't happen. No one wants anyone to cross over the moat & know what's in the garage. They'd rather go to walmart, purchase 20 lbs of sugar than ask the neighbor for a cup.
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