For the past few years, I've followed the birth and development of the sharing economy, amazed by the market potential for activities based around a very common human act: Sharing.
On the web or via mobile, we can now share almost anything. With Airbnb, we can share our living spaces. With Skillshare and Udemy, we can share our knowledge. With Getaround, we can share our cars. And if we have a car, but lack a parking spot, we can find a spot to share on Parking Panda.
All of this sharing activity, though, often begins with a conversation about safety. How do I know an Airbnb guest won't ransack my apartment? Is it guaranteed that a Getaround user will return my car? If I lend my parking spot, is the space renter going to leave it vacant when I need it? Or when will be that inevitable day when something goes wrong?
Sites like Airbnb and Getaround have taken drastic measures implementing features, such as ID verification and social graph integration, to guard against safety issues. Startup TrustCloud, too, has ambitions to create a portable measure of trust that can be referenced from any place on the web.
Safety and trustworthiness, as it appears, are still issues in the world of collaborative consumption, but we're moving towards a model that favors reputation: A reputation economy, if you will.
In its latest installment of the Networked Society film series, technology company Ericsson looks at new ways of exchanging money and how reputation is becoming a driver for trusted trades, especially digitally. The film, On the Money, among other things, discussed the effects of sites like Airbnb on the way we live, travel, and even work.
The world is still in need of a standard solution that transparently showcases the trustworthiness of individuals offering goods and services on the Internet. So, there is much room for innovation and discussion here. Check out the video above and share your thoughts on reputation and the sharing economy. What system would you create to better the reputation economy? Let us know in the comments below.
Image and film courtesy of Ericsson
