We scour the internet to find the most interesting news on the collaborative consumption front. Here are our picks for the week:
How Airbnb and Lyft Finally Got Americans to Trust Each Other
Jason Tanz, Wired
The sharing economy has come on so quickly and powerfully that regulators and economists are still grappling to understand its impact. But one consequence is already clear: Many of these companies have us engaging in behaviors that would have seemed unthinkably foolhardy as recently as five years ago.
What Makes or Breaks Startups in the Sharing Economy? Insurance Rates
Jason Tanz, Wired
Insurance represents both the lifeblood and the biggest threat to the sharing economy. Sharing economy companies depend upon its customers’ willingness to trust one another. These businesses have devised numerous mechanisms to engineer that trust, but perhaps no one feature has been as important as insurance.
The Sharing Economy Needs to Start Sharing Its Data Too
Jason Tanz, Wired
To hear cofounder and CTO Nate Blecharczyk tell it, Airbnb built its data empire almost by accident.
In its early days, the company was little more than a second-generation Craigslist, connecting homeowners and renters and leaving them to work out the finer points of the stay. But, says Blecharczyk, the limitations of this approach became clear when cofounder Brian Chesky used the service to book a room while visiting the SXSW conference in 2008.
Why we can’t figure out how to regulate Airbnb
Emily Badger, The Washington Post
Whether you think Airbnb is a model of the economy’s new sharing ethos or a tech company flouting local hospitality laws, most people following the short-term rental site’s legal sagas can probably agree on one thing: The “host” recently caught listing 80 separate furnished units in New York City is a louse.
Sharing economies are here to stay
Tess Riley, The Guardian
Far from a temporary blip driven by recession, sharing economies are offering a sustainable alternative to mainstream economics
Ryan Smith: Sharing Economy Fuels Spirit of Disruption
Ryan Smith, Wall Street Journal Blog
Today’s sharing economy has taken on a life of its own. And even if you don’t know the term, it’s likely that you’ve already participated in the phenomenon. I mean there are countless apps for sharing everything from your empty parking spot to a spare conference room in your office. Importantly, it’s struck a chord with the modern entrepreneur.
Business and Luxury Travelers Turning to Airbnb-Type Lodging
Amy Langfield, NBCNews.com
Move over couch surfers. The business traveler and luxury jet setters want in on this sharing economy thing and they’re willing to pay more for the personalized offerings and unique layouts and locations hotels can’t often offer.
Three Strategies For Managing The Economy Of Access
Steve Denning, Forbes
We live in an exceptional moment in history. Gigantic changes are under way in society. Everything we do is being re-invented—how we live, how we work, how we play, how we communicate, even how we think and how we feel.
Narrow Rules Narrow Our Options
Janelle Orsi, The New York Times
The legal system needs to allow for a more diversified economy, because business as usual is destroying us. The middle class is dwindling. Food insecurity is all around us. Traffic and smog fill our cities.
Q&A: Why Does the Sharing Economy Matter?
Rachel Stern, Huffington Post blog
Share, the first conference devoted to collaborative consumption, is taking place in San Francisco on May 13 and 14. I spoke with Natalie Foster, one of its speakers and co-founder of Peers, about her umbrella organization, the challenges of the sharing economy, and how it’s moving forward in the Bay Area and beyond.
Uber’s taxi offensive here to stay
Paul Wallbank, Business Spectator, The Australian
The immediate effect of upstart businesses challenging the status quo is also being felt by regulators struggling to shoehorn the new enterprises into regulatory structures that were developed, at best, in the middle of last century.
The Economist
Perhaps the most flattering—and least welcome—indicator of the sharing economy’s rise is the energy being devoted by governments, courts and competitors to thwarting it.
