We scour the internet to find the most interesting news on the collaborative consumption front. Here are our picks for the week:
Following A Drop In Completed Jobs, Errands Marketplace TaskRabbit Shakes Up Its Business Model
Sarah Perez, TechCrunch
Errands marketplace TaskRabbit is shaking things up today with a change to its business model. The company says it’s shifting away from the auction model where contractors bid for tasks posted by end users, and will now match clients to potential “Taskers” (aka contractors, which the company formerly referred to as “Rabbits”).
RelayRides Raises $25 Million In Quest To Transform The Rental Car
Kurt Wagner, Mashable
RelayRides, the San Francisco-based car sharing service that’s going after the rental car industry, announced a $25 million funding round on Tuesday.
The funding, a series B round, brings the company’s total fundraising to $44 million. Canaan Partners led the round which also included existing investors like Shasta Ventures, GoogleVentures, August Capital.
The Country That Invented The Car Is Now One Of The World’s Biggest Users Of Car Sharing
Adele Peters, FastCompany
Over 750,000 German drivers now have a membership with a car-sharing service. Of the 8.5 million one-way car-share trips booked around the globe last year, almost half happened in Germany.
Bill requiring tougher insurance for ride-sharing firms advances
Marc Lifsher, LA Times
An Assembly bill seeks to encourage the kind of “sharing economy” innovations pioneered by Uber Technologies Inc., Lyft and other firms.
Monkey Business
In San Francisco’s most forceful action yet against the sharing economy, city attorney Dennis Herrera sent a cease-and-desist letter yesterday to MonkeyParking, an iPhone app that allows drivers to auction their parking spot off to the highest bidder circling for a space nearby.
Southeast Asia’s Sharing Economy Start-Ups May Produce The Next Airbnb or Uber
Yunita Ong, Forbes
Across Southeast Asia more people are warming up to the prospect of turning their personal items into unexpected sources of financial gain, propelling the rise of the ‘sharing economy’ in the region.
Rise of The Sharing Economy: Will Indian Consumers Embrace The New Concept?
Preetam Kaushik, Business Insider India
In a developing market like India, where the number of smartphones and mobile Internet users is rising fast, sharing economy start-ups can create infinite opportunities.
