Collaborative Consumption

[Elly]

British scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented the internet in 1989. He did not cash into his invention. He even set up a foundation to ensure the web was free for everyone to use. In my view, this was the beginning of a worldwide revolution.

The democratization of such technology enabled the birth of new dynamics. Individuals, once disconnected and secluded, can now reconnect, communicate and collaborate with each other. The potential of redefining the balance of power is there. Each individual has now access to a platform where he can influence millions. He has the tools to implement a huge cultural change, to design a new system around the old one.

Rachel Botsman, author of ''What's Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption'', reports about the power of collaboration and sharing through network technologies and its effect on business, consumerism, and life. She gives a presentation on TED about this movement, a shift:

''(…) away from the 20th century, defined by hyper-consumption, towards the 21st century, defined by collaborative consumption. I generally believe we're at an inflection point where the sharing behaviors – through sites such as Flickr and Twitter that are becoming second nature online – are being applied to offline areas of our everyday lives.

(…) I believe we're actually in a period where we're waking up from this humongous hangover of emptiness and waste, and we're taking a leap to create a more sustainable system built to serve our innate needs for community and individual identity. I believe it will be refered to as a revolution, so to speak – when society, faced with great challenges, made a seismic shift from individual getting and spending towards a rediscovery of collective good.''

http://www.ted.com/talks/rachel_botsman_the_case_for_collaborative_consumption.html

I see individuals yearning for a sense of community, for sharing and collaborating. For the first time since a long time, we can take matters into our own hands and co-create the world we want to live in.

- Post update -

Here is an article about communities as new business models:

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/102622/Community-A-New-Business-Model-for-News.aspx

[Elly]

The first web site was launched in 1991. I remember hearing about the internet in 1993. The idea, although still vague at the time (there were talks about a ''web'' of information), filled me with great excitement. Having access to information beyond a library, being able to connect with people around the world...

One of the most interesting aspects of the internet is the development of platforms for sharing and collaborating.

An example of belief in the community is the site CouchSurfing where people offer a free spare bedroom to travelers. Member of this community share their experiences and give advice. This involves trusting strangers. http://www.couchsurfing.org/.

Another example is Kickstarter (funded in 2009) is a model in public financing ''crowdfunding''. Creators can submit their project for financing. If enough internet users like a project and place a pre-launch order for the product or service, the creators of the project obtain the funding they require to ensure the project's launch. 60% of submitted projects get financing and the success rate is 44%. This is an good example of the weight of numbers. An alternative way of doing things. http://www.kickstarter.com/

[Elly]

Juliet Schor (PhD in economics) wrote a book titled "Plenitude : The New Economics of True Wealth". Bellow is a video from May 2010.

She states that for the next 25 years, we can expect to be in a downturn economy. We are in for a harder period. "Business as usual" economy will no longer work. Level of job creation needed to reach levels of before 2008 crash is not going to happen according to her.

A new vision is emerging. More DIY, small scale green sector, moving from information culture (Linux, Wikipedia), to food (permaculture with high level of knowledge), to construction (off the grid, DIY homes, natural materials), with free labor (friends and community), fabrication machines (FabLab costing around 50K, peer production model) towards open source replicable self sufficient communities. She sees that we are getting into a period where smaller is more beautiful.

Future instability will be happening (climate, economic, etc.). Therefore, we need to build a resilient system, with social connections, and we cannot do that unless people have more time...

She states that corporate economy is a fraud. People are taking things into their own hands and creating their own models. Delink from the market (business as usual economy) and re-engage into a new (transitory) self reliant network.


http://vimeo.com/12034640

http://www.julietschor.org/

[Elly]

http://vimeo.com/26573848

[modwiz]

Great thread. These ideas need to find a permanent home in our psyche. We will all be winners. The sociopaths will not be happy but they already have enough. Like coming off of any drug there will be cold turkey. Better than a cold prison cell.

[Samsara]

This is very useful information. Thank you Cara.

:angel:

[Black Panther]

http://vimeo.com/26573848

Nice video Cara!

Just heard about the term "crowdfunding". It's a very interesting idea in the
times we live in nowadays. You don't put your money on the Rothschilds banks
where they again use our money to start news wars or invest in corporations
where they use child labor for example.

You can choose to invest in a company / idea and by being a shareholder in a
good running company you can get a much higher return on your investment
than placing your money on a bank.

[Elly]

Thanks Black Panther. Like you said: a very interesting idea in the times we live now. It's great to see alternatives to the present system. A ''Plenitude economy'' could even be a transitory one. To save this planet and survive as a species, I believe a true revolution of the mind is required. Ultimately, free energy has to come to the open.