We scour the internet to find the most interesting news on the collaborative consumption front. Here are our picks for the week:
TaskRabbit Unveils It’s New Look
Miles Kohrman, FastCompany
After announcing a major update to its service in June, the micro-task marketplace TaskRabbit has launched a suite of new products and features-complete new iOS and Android apps, a proprietary messaging platform, a refined matching algorithm to pair Taskers and Clients (“TaskRabbit” and “TaskPoster” have been done away with), and up to $1 million insurance coverage on every task.
Airbnb CEO spells out the end game for the sharing economy, in 7 quotes
Gregory Ferenstein,Venture Beat
The CEO of the sharing economy’s newest multibillion-dollar company, Airbnb, recently made some very bold predictions about how he and his industry will reshape the global economy. In essence, Brian Chesky wants a world more like the villages of old: highly trusting and filled with micro-entrepreneurs who shared their assets to make a living.
Airbnb fined €30,000 for illegal tourist lets in Barcelona
Ashifa Kassam, The Guardian
The fine – the San Francisco-based firm’s first in Europe – was for breaching local laws that state any flat rented to tourists must be registered with the Tourism Registry of Catalonia. Regional laws also prohibit the renting out of rooms in private residences.
Lyft is coming to New York City
Brady Dale, Technical.ly
Lyft, one of the controversial ridesharing services that has faced regulatory pressure for using its own class of drivers, appears to be on its way to opening in the country’s largest city. The company is hiring drivers in Brooklyn via Craigslist.
A week immersed in the ‘sharing economy’
Konrad Marshall, Sydney Morning Herald
For some, it’s the win-win way of the future. For others, it’s a return to old-fashioned exploitation. Konrad Marshall spends a collaborative week immersed in the “sharing economy”, where he finds himself earning less than $10 an hour after costs are taken into account.
Lisa Gray, Houston Chronicle
Lisa’s article shows heat maps of collaborative consumption companies to see where they are in the world.
The Circular Economy Is Going Mainstream
Ariel Schwartz, FastCompany
The circular economy, in which companies move from a system of waste to one of reuse, has been gaining in popularity for years. A new report claims that this model of doing business has finally moved in to the mainstream, as trends like urbanization, rising energy costs, resource shortages, and a related trend, “the sharing economy,” take hold.
