A new age of sharing and collaboration is upon us. Are you ready?
If not, you may find yourself left behind.
"What's Mine is Yours. The Rise of Collaborative Consumption" is an important new book by Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers. It explains how the extraordinary disruption caused by the communications revolution is spawning an explosion in sharing, bartering, lending, trading, renting, gifting and swapping.
Sites like Couchsurfing.com, which co-ordinates swaps of 'couch' accommodation for visitors and travelers has become the third most visited travel site in the world.
Car-sharing services like Zipcar saw their membership triple in 2009, and it is estimated that by 2015, 4.4 million people in North America and 5.5 million in Europe will belong to similar services.
People are realising that they don't have to own everything themselves, and that reaching out to others and sharing saves them money, makes them feel good and makes them new friends.
It meets a fundamental human need for connection and sharing.
Even mega consumer brands like Nike are shifting their brand focus and advertising away from products and towards building collaborative communities, investing in nonmedia social hubs like NikePlus, where runners around the world post runnning routes, map their runs, offer advice and encourage one another. It is estimated that Nike is spending 55 per cent less on traditional advertising and celebrity endorsements than it did ten years ago.
So why is this change occurring? Botsman and Roo cite a number of reasons, one of which is that it
feeds what sociologist Marilynn Brewer calls our 'social self', the part of us that seeks connection and belonging.
People have a need to connect. We are essentially social beings. And after 60 years of what author Clay Shirky terms one-way media communication (television to us) the internet has given back some choice to consumers - and they're taking it.
Botsman and Roo posit that in 10 years people won't be judging each other by their credit rating but by their 'reputation rating' - what they give to, what they share and in what they participate. This will be a radical departure from the era of defining ourselves by the brands we display and the houses we live in.
There exists a huge desire for more meaning and connection in life.
Now is the time.
This is the most important book since "What would Google do?" and Clay Shirky's "Cognitive Surplus". Read it or miss out on the next big thing.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Follow the authors
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2010
- Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2010
- Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2016
- Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2010
- Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2011
- Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2014
Top reviews from other countries
-
- ThePolitics.inReviewed in India on February 20, 2019
A balanced narrative and a compelling read. It shows effectively why community way of thinking is going to work and will decide much progress going forward. In the league of Peers Inc
-
