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Collaborative Economy: Rent or own? The new sharing economy values access over ownership
Christian Science Monitor ^ | September 30, 2012 | Eilene Zimmerman

Posted on 10/01/2012 1:27:45 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife

Lisa Gansky likes to share, and usually with strangers.....

•She leaves her house in Napa, Calif.,at 7:30 a.m. and drives to the ferry, parks her Mini Cooper, and takes the 60-minute ride across the bay to San Francisco.

•If it's raining, she'll pull up the RelayRides application on her iPhone and see if someone nearby has a car she can rent to get around that day, usually for less than $10 an hour. If there's nothing available, she'll open the mobile app for Uber and book a ride with a nearby town car sitting idle,waiting for a customer.

•Fifteen minutes later she's at her office, a co-working–or shared–space known as the Hatchery, which is open to those in the social innovation industry. There, Ms. Gansky manages Mesh Labs, an incubator she founded focused on "sharing economy" companies and Meshing.it,a global share-economy business community and directory.

•At the Hatchery she pays about $100 a month for access to a desk, quiet spaces, meeting rooms, drinks, and Wi-Fi. There, she meets with her team – two full-timers and colleagues that include investors, new start-up founders, and friends – but also with others who share the same space. Those working there also share knowledge, feedback, connections, and problem-solving ideas.

•If Gansky wants to meet a friend for lunch and the restaurant is too far to walk to, she'll open up the app for SideCar and search for someone driving his or her car – with an empty seat – in the same direction she's going, and coordinate with that person for pickup.

Welcome to the sharing economy – also known as the collaborative economy or the access economy – where tangible things are shared, like power tools or kids' toys, as well as intangibles like space, time, car rides, and knowledge....

(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Extended News; Government
KEYWORDS: economy; privateproperty; socialism; socialmedia
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1 posted on 10/01/2012 1:27:58 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

What a leach!!!

I wouldn’t even want to know or meet the creep!


2 posted on 10/01/2012 1:36:15 AM PDT by dalereed
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To: dalereed

What? She’s paying for everything or getting it voluntarily from another individual - this seems like the pure free market at work.


3 posted on 10/01/2012 1:48:57 AM PDT by socalgop
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
•If Gansky wants to meet a friend for lunch and the restaurant is too far to walk to, she'll open up the app for SideCar and search for someone driving his or her car – with an empty seat – in the same direction she's going, and coordinate with that person for pickup.

Sounds like a way to meet new (dangerous) people. Hitchhiking isn't safe, especially for women.

4 posted on 10/01/2012 1:51:46 AM PDT by thecodont
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Not only does she have to hustle for her work, she has to hustle to get around, on one side of the ferry anyway.


5 posted on 10/01/2012 1:52:13 AM PDT by skr (May God confound the enemy)
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To: dalereed

I believe this is a composite story of several individuals and I’m doubtful that it’s 100% authentic.

Yes you can rent office space by the hour, and you can own time share cars, the example business given is probably something like Avon.

On the face of it this looks like a so-called 1%’er fantasy. Anybody making real and significant money is for the most part, going to have their own office and transportation.


6 posted on 10/01/2012 1:59:18 AM PDT by Usagi_yo
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To: thecodont

If she`s catching the ferry, she`s likely doing so in high-crime, bankrupt Vallejo... not exactly the kind of place sane people would want to meet strangers. Someday we`ll read about her having been found in one of the sloughs off Sears Point Road.

(If you know that area, that last reference will make sense)


7 posted on 10/01/2012 2:38:10 AM PDT by ScottinVA (Record high turnout is our hope for sending 0bama home. Pray hard!!!)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Good for her. though, I think she is KuhRayZee to spend 3 hours a day commuting.

But, if it works for her that’s her choice.

I wouldn’t do it. I have better things to do with my time.


8 posted on 10/01/2012 2:43:34 AM PDT by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously, you won't live through it anyway)
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To: Usagi_yo

Naw, all that crap is available in the city. It actually makes sense if you are into communal living, where everything is shared.

Me? Skip that, I’d rather have the ability to go where I want, when I want without having to put my thumb out for a ride.


9 posted on 10/01/2012 2:46:30 AM PDT by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously, you won't live through it anyway)
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To: ScottinVA

I agree. A lone woman in Vallejo is a disaster waiting to happen.

Hopefully, she catches it at Sam’s Cafe.


10 posted on 10/01/2012 2:57:19 AM PDT by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously, you won't live through it anyway)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

I’m a little disappointed in this article. There are some interesting stories in it, but when I saw the title I was looking forward to an article that included some detailed financial assessments of all the costs of owning assets vs. renting or “sharing” them.


11 posted on 10/01/2012 3:05:36 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("If you touch my junk, I'm gonna have you arrested.")
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To: Alberta's Child

I believe this article is designed to mentally (and physically) move Americans further down the road toward socialism - away from private property and the suburbs.


12 posted on 10/01/2012 3:08:11 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

I always love these articles about a small subculture of goofs that then extrapolate this as the future for all Americans. Who does this lifestyle?

Leftist, vegetarian, neo-hippies without kids. They’re generally in their early twenties and in the CA tech business. They’re 100% urban and believe that shared ownership is better.

But, who in their right mind would live this way when you can own a car for $10 a day?


13 posted on 10/01/2012 3:08:17 AM PDT by 1010RD (First, Do No Harm)
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To: 1010RD; Cincinatus' Wife
1010RD: you can own a car for $10 a day

Article: ... a car she can rent to get around that day, usually for less than $10 an hour.

Interesting numbers.

Using a phone app to get rides to lunch with strangers seems very unsafe - rather like letting random people sleep in your spare room because they were benighted on the way to the beach.

14 posted on 10/01/2012 3:31:02 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Optimism is much shallower than hope.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Maybe so, but I’d suggest that when you peel away the facade of McMansions, quiet streets and “private property,” you’ll actually find that suburban America is a great example of socialism at work.


15 posted on 10/01/2012 3:41:33 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("If you touch my junk, I'm gonna have you arrested.")
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Why doesn’t she just take MUNI, or a cable car or a cab?

Silly Yuppie.


16 posted on 10/01/2012 3:55:21 AM PDT by Tainan (Cogito, ergo conservatus sum)
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To: 1010RD
Leftist, vegetarian, neo-hippies without kids. They’re generally in their early twenties and in the CA tech business. They’re 100% urban and believe that shared ownership is better.

Shared is better====when you don't have anything.

17 posted on 10/01/2012 4:23:55 AM PDT by Lion Den Dan
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To: Tax-chick

Then there are the hygeiene and “gaseous anomolies” issues when one goes to pick up on of those ‘share cars’ to ride around in, where one of the previous occupants has left a rather aromatic colon discharged reminder of the 3 bean tofu breakfast burrito he or she had that morning.


18 posted on 10/01/2012 4:29:59 AM PDT by mdmathis6 (We have grieved the Holy Spirit, with our Dark hearts and dark minds turned against God!)
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To: mdmathis6

Those things can happen with one’s own family, too!


19 posted on 10/01/2012 4:33:24 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Optimism is much shallower than hope.)
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To: Tax-chick

Yes but we “love” our own the best!


20 posted on 10/01/2012 4:41:23 AM PDT by mdmathis6 (We have grieved the Holy Spirit, with our Dark hearts and dark minds turned against God!)
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