The first phase of sharing was of media and ideas, we call this social media; the second phase of sharing is the sharing of the physical world, we call this the collaborative economy.
Using powerful technologies like smart phones, mobile apps, payment systems and social networks, people can easily share the following things from the physical world: goods, services, space, and money.
This has upsetting impacts as people can now get what they need from each other, and often without buying it anew, this collection of stats shows how this is spreading across many markets.
It also creates intense friction as power changes hands, as regulators, governments, unions and lobbyists grapple with the power shift that’s powered by the internet. See this simple news query to see the many stories.
Back to the first phase, social media. If your business card or LinkedIn account lists social as part of your title, congrats, you’ve been a leader in change. Yet we must advance our careers to the next phase of sharing as the physical world starts to be shared –beyond media and ideas.
To prepare for this shift in society, and our careers, we must ask and answer the following question:
“What role do companies play if people get what they need from each other?”
I’m betting my next company on answering that bold question. If you work at a big company that wants to be part of the answer, you can email me at jeremiah@crowdcompanies.com to discuss more.
So there you have it: 1) the next phase of sharing is of the physical world, 2) it has radical impacts to companies, 3) prepare your career now.
(image credits Emmanuel Catteau)
I think the real opportunity here will be a blend of consumers getting some things they need from each other (services, tasks, used goods) & smart companies innovating to provide unique value to more of their customers.
The steel industry isn’t going to crumble due to collaborative technologies. But it could benefit from the local awareness and logistics capabilities from these technologies to begin better meeting local & regional market demand.
Healthcare is undergoing a massive change outside of technology, but opportunities abound to use collaborative tools and social support systems to improve health for individuals. There will be new challenges for healthcare then to bring the data from that world into their own regulated world. Reimbursement pressures may cause this as much as consumers.
Consumer products stand to be impacted the most in my opinion because of true personalization of products. Unique relationships with customers that feel empowered to take their brands further because they can to the benefit of both.
The third phase is the sharing of copyright to leverage the first two phases